New label honors historic oak in organic vineyards in Mendocino County
Redwood Valley, Mendocino County, CA, February 2023 — BARRA of Mendocino announces a new package design for its tier of CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers)-certified reserve wines. In honor of the historic oak tree found on its home ranch, Redwood Valley Vineyards, the Barra label has been elegantly re-imagined with embossed and foiled oak and grape leaves entwined on a black background. Designed by dG Creative Branding, the new package also eliminates the metal capsule, an acknowledgement of the family winery’s long-standing position on environmental stewardship. As with previous bottlings, they will continue to use the 100% fully recyclable Nomacorc line of wine closures made from plant-based biopolymers derived from sugar cane.
“Like an old oak tree, our roots run deep,” reads the back label. Charlie Barra, often referred to as Mendocino County’s “godfather of grape growing,” was born in 1926, in Calpella, California, to first-generation Italian immigrants. His career in farming and grape growing would span over 70 years, and he was a leader in organic grape growing: as he liked to say, he was farming organically before the term was invented. His goal was to make good wines of good value, from organic grapes.
When the Barra family began the redesign process over a year ago, they were faced with the challenge of trying to create a more contemporary design while at the same time, paying homage to the family’s 70+ year history of grape growing and their dedication to organic farming. After creative briefs and focus group surveys to club members, employees and distributors, the first round of designs didn’t yield a clear winner. “With a project like this, I think you can fall into the trap of trying to convey too many messages to too many different audiences, all in the hopes of appealing to a broad base of consumers,” said Shelley Maly, Barra’s Director of Sales & Marketing (and Martha Barra’s daughter). “We had to step back and ask ourselves ‘what is the most important part of our story that we want to tell?’, and then once we did that, Karen Adair at dG Creative was able to work her magic!”
“A powerful icon in our vineyards, the oak tree represents wisdom and knowledge, strength and endurance, stability and honesty”, explains Martha Barra, winery owner and co-founder. “These are the same traits that make us a legend in organic winegrowing and provide the foundation for crafting exceptional wines year after year,” she adds.
Being released now in the new package design are the 2021 Barra Reserve Chardonnay ($24.00 at the winery), 2021 Reserve Pinot Noir ($26.00), and 2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($28). Later this spring the 2020 Barra Reserve Zinfandel and 2020 Barra Reserve Petite Sirah will also debut in the new packaging. All three wines were made by the Barra family’s Director of Winemaking & Operations, Randy Meyer.
About BARRA
The Barra family farms 9 varietals on their 350 acres of estate organic vineyards in Mendocino County (Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah). Proprietor Martha Barra explains how they came to farm organically: “the first thing my late husband Charlie Barra did to farm organically was to tell his best friend, a vineyard chemical salesman, to ‘not come in my vineyard anymore.’ The salesman would come into Charlie’s vineyards, see some deficiency, and then relate a horror story of a neighbor down the road who had lost 50% of their crop because they didn’t spray with a certain fungicide. Charlie’s reasoning was: ‘My grandfather and father didn’t use pesticides or herbicides or commercial fertilizers, so why should I?’”
The original 175-acre parcel purchased in 1955, Redwood Valley Vineyards, was certified organic in 1989. After selling their grapes for many years, the Barras began making their own wine in 1997 under the BARRA of Mendocino label and added the Girasole Vineyards line in 2003.
BARRA of Mendocino offers both indoor and outdoor tastings at their tasting room, located at 7051 North State Street in Redwood Valley. No reservations are required. For more details regarding special events guests can call 707/ 485-0322 or email events@barraofmendocino.com. Set on 50 acres of certified organic vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, the sprawling 5,000 square foot tasting room offers 40-foot ceilings, a circular tasting bar, indoor fountain and extensive gardens. Dating back to the 1970s, this architectural phenomenon also serves as an anchor venue for many Mendocino County weddings, corporate and non-profit community events.
About dG Creative Branding
Karen Adair, dG Creative Branding
“40 years as a graphic designer working with a diverse range of clients has given me a deep understanding of branding, visuals, and messaging. It has honed the skills it takes to visually tell my clients’ stories in a way that expresses what’s unique about them and connects with their audience.” dG Creative Branding is based in Grants Pass, Oregon.
