A Timeless Wine Label Design

From Bordeaux to California, the great wine labels of the world share two qualities. They stand the test of time and cleanly organize a large amount of information and symbolism within a small space. These were our goals when designing the Timeless Napa Valley label with San Francisco art director Madeleine Corson, whose iconic California wine labels include OVID Napa Valley, Spottswoode and Far Niente.

As the Duncan family’s first new brand in more than 20 years, Timeless Napa Valley is emblematic of so much more than the wine in the bottle. It represents the lessons, love and memories passed from one generation to the next in a winemaking family. A closer look at the Timeless front label reveals hidden detail and rich symbolism throughout the illustration.

Inspired by this ring, the Timeless Napa Valley logo appears on both the front label and the foil cap.

Logo

The Timeless graphic logo, comprised of two oak leaves and an acorn, was inspired by the traditional Irish Claddagh ring that Proprietor David R. Duncan gave to his wife, Kary, symbolizing love, loyalty and friendship. The design featuring the acorn and leaves was modeled after actual samples from Soda Canyon Ranch. (There are a wide variety of shapes and sizes across the North American oak species.)

Front label of Timeless Napa Valley bottle showing song lyric — *Lyrics to the song, “Timeless,” appear on the bottle label—both front and back.*

Lyrics

“The western sky you went to find” is the first lyric of “Timeless,” a song that David wrote for his father and Silver Oak co-founder, Ray Duncan. The song is also the inspiration for our eponymous wine. The lyric is adventurous and forward-looking, encouraging the drinker to turn the label and finish the verse. “For Ray” on the back label asks to think fondly of the figure in our life who taught us to leave it better for the next generation.

Illustration

The vineyard illustration leads to a California oak grove accented with real silver. This location is where our head of sustainability and granddaughter of Ray Duncan, Haley Duncan, was married in 2016 and why our vineyard team calls it “Haley’s Grove.” This specific angle of Soda Canyon Ranch is also the unique nexus of several micro-climates that define our marquee Napa Valley estate vineyard. From this angle, we also see a familiar vineyard view that reminds us of the Silver Oak label.

Haley Duncan wedding photo at Soda Canyon Ranch — *Ray’s granddaughter, Haley Duncan, and her husband, Yianni, on their wedding day at Soda Canyon Ranch.*

Throughout the Timeless Napa Valley creative process, our team endeavored to create a label that would build upon the rich history and family legacy of Silver Oak while also sharing with the world a wine and design that are, in a word, timeless.