Denomination is thrilled to announce the appointment of Bronwen Westrip as Executive Creative Director of its London studio.

Bronwen will partner with UK Managing Director, Anna Hamill, in leading Denomination’s UK business. Bronwen has deep bench experience in the drinks category and we are looking forward to her bringing her beautiful creative and strategic eye to our European and UK brands.

What’s the future of sustainable packaging? 
 Our CEO Rowena Curlewis spoke to Cory Connors about sustainable packaging trends in the drinks industry.

Listen to the podcast here

Very happy to see so many Denomination brands triumph at the Australian Drinks Awards 2023 hosted by The Drinks Association, securing 6 Brand Award wins. Congratulations to our clients on this fantastic achievement. 

With the rise of no/low alcoholic beverages, the humble piquette has the potential to make another renaissance. 

Naturally light in alcohol, organic and vegan, this wine is made from bare grape skins and has a gentle fizz. And so it was the product nature that inspired the name: Fuzzy Bare.

To commemorate the Bella Union Winery opening in Summer 2024, Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards tapped Denomination to develop two new DTC tiers, which will launch in concert with the winery. 

We are proud to have played a role in the latest COO from Penfolds: the Chinese Winemaking Trial (CWT) 521.

Having worked with Penfolds for two decades, and having designed both the Californian Collection and the French Winemaking Trial release, it was a privilege to design this latest release.

With the average consumer spending just 13 seconds choosing which brand to purchase in-store, disruptive branding is the key to standing out and capturing consumer attention. Our CEO, Rowena Curlewis speaks to Harpers Wine & Spirit Magazine on how to master the art of disruptive branding.

Read the full interview

Denomination have been nominated for 6 Pentawards. With 30,000 entries globally over the last 16 years, we are thrilled to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award program.

With the final results announced on November 10th, we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

We are delighted to have worked with England’s leading wine brand, Chapel Down Group, on a distinctive new brand identity and brand world, as well as the redesign of their entire packaging range. Having partnered with Chapel Down for the past seven years, we are really proud to have contributed to the brand’s success and its establishment as a leader in the English sparkling wine category now, and in the future.

Denomination win double at the 2023 FAB Awards. The team bring home a Gold for On the Fringe wine and Silver for Los Dias Mágicos Tequila. A big congratulations to the team and all the other deserving winners and finalists! 

Denomination is thrilled to announce that the talented Anna Hamill will be joining our team as Managing Director UK / Global Chief Strategy Officer as of Monday 26th June 2023.

Denomination win double at the 2023 Drinks Business Awards. The team won Gold in Best Design & Packaging for Spirits for Los Dias Mágicos Tequila and received a ‘Highly Commended’ in Best Design & Packaging for Wine for Second Glance.

Huge congratulations to the team and all the other brilliant winners!  

Our CEO, Rowena Curlewis, wrote about the necessity of drink brands taking a holistic approach to designing sustainably for Creative Review.

Read the full interview

Great ideas often come from simply listening.  Larry Cherubino talked about his winemaking and vineyard selection philosophy, saying: “on the fringes is where you get the greatest reward”. This became the genesis of the design idea: creative winemaking pushed to the outer limits.

Read more

Our US Executive Creative Director Butler Looney chatted to Debbie Millman at Print Magazine to discuss what matters to him most. Butler’s thoughts provide valuable insights and advice for creatives at any stage of their journeys.

Read the interview here

Our CEO Rowena Curlewis spent time being interviewed by the delightful and insightful Polly Hammond of 5forests for her podcast series Be Nice or Leave, about unlocking the power of empathy to drive success in their business.

Listen here

Second Glance is designed to ‘behave differently’ – to give consumers the chance to try something free from normal and austere wine conventions.

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Denomination is delighted to announce the appointment of Lauren McClure (WSETIII) as our newest Sr. Account Manager in our US office. Lauren has extensive experience in the drinks space having spent the last few years at CF Napa and before that, working in Marketing for various Napa Valley wineries including Crocker & Starr Wines and Frank Family Vineyards.

Our Global Creative Director Margaret Nolan chatted to Creative Boom about the value of creative curiosity and how a life-long exposure to art, literature, architecture, and music (to name a few) has shaped her as a brand designer.

Read Article

Branding so good you can almost taste it. ? Greasy Fingers’ delectable branding is for a ‘burger wine’ with moreish charm.

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Thanks Dieline for featuring our CEO and co-founder Rowena Curlewis on the five sustainability questions brand agencies should be asking.

Read Article

As a female owned and led design business, we felt it was important to be a signatory to Australian Grape & Wine Diversity in Wine (DEIW). Along with many others, our co-founder Rowena Curlewis contributed to this #crackingthecode: Innovation video for a gender-equal future.

Watch video here

The first ever label-less, branded wine – Crate – has been launched by Fourth Wave Wine. The innovative design does away with superfluous branding materials and optimises only the necessary packaging components.

Read More

The first-ever multi-vintage Chardonnay from Penfolds has been formally unveiled in Paris this week. Penfolds heritage crest intersects the modernity of the enlarged V, and pared back contemporary typography suits the innovative nature of this wine. We are proud to have worked with Penfolds for over 20 years.

A thought-provoking conversation with Zaidee Jackson, Ball & Doggett’s ecoporium, and our CEO Rowena Curlewis on Denomination’s futureproof model and the challenges that lie ahead for all brands in the drinks space.

Listen on Spotify

It’s Black History month in the US and we want to raise a glass to House of Brown – the second label offspring to Napa Valley’s first Black-owned estate winery Brown Estate Vineyards.

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An ode to Charles Pierlot: the Frenchman who produced the first Méthode Champenoise sparkling wines in Australia and adopted by Seppelt Great Western Winery. This premium, contemporary sparkling brand is flying off the shelves.

Today Harpers Wine & Spirit announced the results of the Design Awards, and for the fifth time Denomination won Agency of the Year. This was as a result of winning: Best Individual Product Wine, Best New Spirit, Best Product Range Wine, Best Redesign, 6 Golds, 3 Silvers and 1 Bronze.

As our Sydney team continues to grow, we welcome Simi Sehra and Octavia A’Hern to the Australian client service team. Both hailing from the UK, Simi is an Account Director and has worked at some great agencies in London including Superunion and Williams Murray Hamm on brands such as Ford, Nespresso, and BBC 3. Occy is an Account Manager who most recently worked at on the Diageo account for Bloom in London before moving to Australia.

Having recently joined our Denomination London team is the talented Sarah Burns as Senior Account Director. Sarah has been working in drinks and innovation throughout her career, most recently on the Diageo, Heineken, Pladis and Henkel accounts. She has quickly immersed herself in our London studio and across our UK and European clients, and we are loving her energy and smarts.

Tread Softly by Fourth Wave Wine is proudly celebrating one million trees planted to create a native forest from reclaimed agricultural land in the Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor in Australia. We loved working on this special Tread Softly limited edition – our joyful design delights in the forest’s now thriving ecosystem and the return of native species not seen for decades.

Thanks to Global Drinks Intel for featuring Denomination Strategy Director and Sustainability Lead Mariella Menato in the latest issue ‘Smart and Sustainable’. With every carton, label, can and plastic bottle posing a threat to the environment and to our health, it’s imperative that we work collectively to reduce carbon and toxicity in drinks packaging. 

Four Stones is named after the four members of celebrity chef Curtis Stone’s family, with each member represented by a distinct stone shape and texture. The bold, clean graphics ensure clear pop on the TV screen, where Curtis can be found selling Four Stones on HSN. Great to work with Vintage Wine Estates and Curtis Stone on this lovely brief.

A unique collaboration between two iconic heritage brands of both Australia and the Hunter Valley: Tyrrell’s Wines and Mount Pleasant. This wine celebrates two of the Hunter’s most historic vineyards: Tyrrell’s NVC Shiraz and Mount Pleasant’s Old Hill Pinot Noir – both planted in 1921. It’s rare that two of our clients come together to form a collaboration like this, and we were honoured to partner them in the design of this rare release of just 2,000 bottles.

Sophia Longhi interviewed our CEO Rowena Curlewis on her weekly Instagram live ‘Wednesday Wine Women’. Rewatch the conversation via Sophia’s Instagram channel @skinandpulp to hear about Rowena’s experience running a global drinks design agency:

A sensitive move-on to add premiumness and an extra oomph to the iconic Mumm brand, along with the welcome addition of a Tasmanian Cuvée.

Spotlight to our recent project with Winesmiths Organic Collection, where every element of the brand and packaging has been designed with a healthy environment in mind. The packaging has just 13% the carbon footprint of bottled wine and the cardboard is made from a minimum 75% recycled materials.

We’re thrilled to have received a World Beverage Innovation Award for Accolade Wines Wise Wolf by Banrock Station. This design is an excellent demonstration of a packaging that considers every aspect of sustainability.

Continuing our partnership with the hugely successful 19 Crimes brand for Treasury Wine Estates comes Cali Gold: a collaboration with the legendary Snoop Dogg. 

Joining Denomination’s US team is D’Arcy Porter, who joins as Senior Account Director. We are incredibly excited about D’Arcy joining the business given her hefty drinks experience managing brand identity and packaging projects for clients including Molson Coors, Coca-Cola and Beam Suntory for Turner Duckworth.

Our CEO Rowena Curlewis spoke to Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia, exploring the eco-friendly alternatives to glass bottles. Discussing the use of cans to refillable bottles, and ultimately how we can achieve a true circular economy in wine.

Denomination is delighted to announce the appointment of Simon Gawn as Managing Director of its Sydney studio from 15 August 2022. Simon will work closely with co-founder & CEO Rowena Curlewis to further develop our offering, with a focus all visual touchpoints. Simon has spent the past decade+ managing businesses and client service teams at McCann, Merkle and Ogilvy

Our Global Creative Director Margaret Nolan draws on her extensive experience as a designer in the drinks industry over three decades to tell Dieline how drinks brands can stand the test of time and stay relevant to consumers. This article looks at what it takes to be a rock star brand that remains timeless in people’s hearts and minds

The newest wine from Penfolds is the inaugural French release, led by Penfolds II. This innovative wine has been made in collaboration with esteemed Bordeaux House Maison Dourthe, with 71% grapes from Bordeaux and 29% from South Australia. We are proud to have worked on this project, and on the Penfolds brand for 20+ years. 

PENTAWARDS Shortlist has been announced. Denomination has had 5 designs shortlisted, from over 2000+ entries globally. We are thrilled to have performed so well in this prestigious awards program. Final results announced 23rd September.

We were honoured to be sponsors of Australia’s first Zero Alcohol Wine Awards 2022, where our Rowena Curlewis awarded Chris Hatcher, Chief Winemaker of Wolf Blass, for Best Red Wine. The Zero alcohol wine show highlighted the increase in quality of all wines entered, and we were excited to see so many of our designs feature including Wolf Blass Zero, Plus & Minus and Sobriety Society.

We are so proud to have been involved in the rejuvenation of Mount Pleasant Wines, one of Hunter Valley’s legendary wineries. The understated and honest simplicity of the labels reflects the hands-off elegance of the wines and the humbleness of founder Maurice O’Shea, one of the giants of Australian winemaking.

As Denomination US continues to grow, we are delighted to announce the appointment of Butler Looney to the position of Executive Creative Director of the US business.

Who knew how many Game of Thrones fans there were at Denomination? Those fans had the privilege and pleasure of working on the new House of the Dragon wine range from Wolf Blass which was released this week.

It’s definitely awards season! FAB Awards have just been announced with Denomination winning Design Agency of the Year jointly with Design Bridge. Two Golds for Wild Folk and Tread Softly for design effectiveness. Two Silvers for Plus & Minus and Tread Softly Gin. 

We are delighted to present our design for the new premium Tasmanian Pinot Noir ‘Devil(ish)’, which supports conservation efforts in Tasmania in a bid to help protect the Tasmanian Devil species. 

Thank you Drinks Business Awards 2022 for two top gongs: Wild Folk as the winner Best Design & Packaging for Wine, and Battery Point Single Malt Whisky as the winner for Best Design & Packaging for Spirits.

May sees the launch of the new environmentally-focussed ‘Wise Wolf’ by Banrock Station. The new wine brand comes in a 100% post-consumer recycled glass cullet, with labels that are made from 100% recycled paper and closures made from 100% recycled plastic. The total pack is made from 95.1% recycled content and can be recycled again.

It’s official: #1 Dieline Clear Spirits has been awarded to Tread Softly Dry Gin. Beautiful, sustainable and commercially successful. So proud of the team that’s created this incredible brand.

Our CEO Rowena Curlewis formed part of a panel of speakers for Harpers Wine & Spirit Magazine’s ‘Sustainability of Glass Webinar’. Glass is a big concern for the wine industry and by no-means a black and white issue. The webinar brought to light key nuances within the topic which prompted debate on the glass alternatives that might gain traction in the future.

Our Production Manager Patrick Byrson shares his thoughts for our sustainability leadership series. 

After a lot of data crunching and putting our sustainability policies into practice, Denomination is proud to have received certification as Climate Neutral for 2022.

This will be our second year as Climate Neutral – first acquired on Earth Day 2021.

Our Associate Creative Director Pati Zywert appeared in Favourite Design this week. We love having Pati on the team, bringing her enthusiasm for design and sustainability to the table.

Our Strategy Director Mariella Menato spoke to Raconteur about the importance of educating consumers on green packaging for ecommerce businesses, and how to integrate this into the brand experience in a way that reinforces brand values and drives positive impact.  

With a clever twist in the name “Le Moné”, this newly launched lemon aperitif brings to life the nostalgia of natural lemon drinks of the past. The freshness and naturalness of the ingredients is conveyed with its bright graphic lemon icon, overlaid with a semi abstract blue agave found in the liquid.

The Dieline has published an article on its development and sustainable footprint:

The latest redesign from Denomination will open a new chapter for this iconic Napa brand.

Taking a careful, evolutionary approach to elevate and premiumise the core Napa and luxury Oakville tiers without alienating the current consumer base, we leveraged the brand’s distinctive assets with the use of updated book icons and an elegant bookplate border treatment.

Today our CEO Rowena Curlewis ran a workshop on making Mindful Choices to Futureproof your Business: packaging choices that improve your sustainability. Run by The Porto Protocol Foundation, with presentations also by inèdit and Viva Wine Group.

Please contact us if you would like Rowena to take your business through this workshop.

The new and very famous face for 19 Crimes has launched: Martha’s Chard, featuring the boundary-pushing and iconic Martha Stewart.

With the 19 Crimes brand experiencing double digit growth over the past year, as our client says, “the sky’s the limit” for this brand.

Our co-founder and Global Creative Director Margaret Nolan speaks to Communication Arts about her love of design, as well as her deep experience as a designer working in the drinks industry for over 20 years.

She also testifies to the power of design to change the way people think about sustainability in the industry.

Proud that our packaging and visual identity for Tread Softly Gin has won the love of Dieline and has been selected for their Pack of the Month.

Read the interview with our CEO and co-founder Rowena Curlewis on designing the brand extension for Fourth Wave Wine’s Tread Softly and all of the sustainable attributes that have been built into the new gin brand:

Today Harpers Wine & Spirit Magazine released the 2021 Design Awards results and we are delighted that Denomination has won Design Agency of the Year for the fourth time: 2016, 2017, 2019, and now 2021.

Denomination’s haul included Supreme Champion for Cockburn’s Tails of the Unexpected, five Trophies for Tread Softly Gin, Starward Bottled Whisky Cocktails, Cowpunk, Cockburn’s and Plus Minus, as well as three gold, two silver and a bronze.

Brand, packaging and the road to sustainability.

You’ve done the hard work, now what? 

In the final blog of our sustainability series we talk about how to communicate the hard work you’ve put into your sustainability drive. From what sustainability means for your brand positioning and packaging design, to tapping into the modern consumer mindset. And importantly why communicating your sustainability agenda is a priority and an essential part of your eco journey.

Embracing sustainability for the long haul.

How can brands stay on top of the sustainability agenda when the goal posts are always moving?

In this penultimate blog in we discuss how businesses can embrace sustainability for the long haul, stay vigilant about shifting rules and regulations, and the importance of having a partner that can help you keep on track.

Our CEO Rowena Curlewis spent time being interviewed by the delightful and insightful Polly Hammond of 5forests for her podcast series Be Nice or Leave, about unlocking the power of empathy to drive success in their business.

Listen here