Wine That Loves Rock 'N' Roll

A new company called Wines That Rock has introduced a wine series inspired by classic rock album art. Although Wines That Rock's founders, Ron Roy and Howard Jackowitz, have no experience in wine, they are banking that their attractive labels will garner shoppers’ attention.

The first three to launch are Forty Licks Merlot, Woodstock Chardonnay, and The Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon. While the labels vary from the original album jackets, all three are unmistakably imprinted with each album’s signature look.

If the current branding landscape is any indication, Roy and Jackowitz, are not the only ones to be taking cues from classic rock album art. As many design blogs have noted (citing Coley Porter Bell’s logo for the Museum of London) one of 2009’s big logo trends was the psychedelic pop background. Other brands that demonstrated this trend in 2009 include, Sunkist, which got a new retro update this year.

Some critics suggest that the appeal lies in album art's flashy "look-at-me" aesthetic. Others believe that it may indicate a nostalgic look back at a romanticized counter-culture — 2009 did mark the 40th anniversary of Woodstock.

Meanwhile, the trend doesn't seem regulated to just design. As The New York Times reports, despite the music industry’s much publicized suffering, there’s been resurgence in vinyl, with sales climbing steadily for several years.

Whether this retro Rock ‘n’ Roll rebirth will last is anyone's guess, but so far the wine labels are attracting their fair share of positive attention.