It was a privilege to be involved in the meaningful rebranding of one of Sonoma Valley’s oldest wineries, Valley of the Moon Winery. Originally developed as Madrone Vineyards in 1863, the winery was sold to the Hearst family in the mid 1880’s, and operated until prohibition. In 1941 the winery reopened with new owners as Valley of the Moon Winery. This historic estate was recently acquired by wine industry veterans, Dan Zepponi and Tony Stewart, who are focusing on revitalizing the Valley of the Moon brand to reflect the great winemaking history of the property, and thus, a complete package redesign was needed.
While developing the new brand image and package design for Valley of the Moon winery, the Auston Design Group team took the responsibility of stewardship seriously for designing the next visual chapter in the evolution of such a historic brand. The significance of the winery's California history became apparent after touring the property, inspecting the winery’s preserved architecture and studying their collection of historical photographs. It became our goal to create a package design that embodies Valley of the Moon’s storied past, while developing a link to the winery’s location, and most importantly, transforming it into a brand that evokes the essence of a historic Sonoma County winery.
As a result, the Auston Design Group team delivered a distinct rebrand that pays homage to the era when the Valley of the Moon brand was created. We chose to create only hand-drawn components to reflect an era of handcrafted artistry that represents the vision of the new owners; their meticulous vineyard practices, and the relentless attention to detail and the winemaking wizardry of their current and future vintages.
The label was masterfully crafted at CCL Label, Sonoma, CA, on their Gallus RCS 430 press. We used every print process available on the press, including off-set lithography, flexography, silk screen, foil stamp and debossing.