My Mutt & Lynch Wine Label Design

I have submitted a design for the Mutt & Lynch Winery wine label contest, sponsored by Dog Art Today, http://dreamdogsart.typepad.com/art/vote-here.html.

The winning entry will be made into a label for Mutt & Lynch Winery's limited edition wine that will debut at the winery's Dog Days of Summer on August 8, 2009. This annual event includes wine tasting, dog themed art, and vendor booths to benefit the Healdsburg Animal Shelter. Dogs on leash welcome.

The Wine Label Contest winner will receive one case of the rare and exclusive wine, a featured spotlight on Dog Art Today, and an invitation to attend the Dog Days of Summer in Healdsburg, Sonoma County (travel and accommodations not included.)

Wine Description: A Dry Creek Valley Meritage, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that is aged in 100% French oak for 18 months. Only 500 bottles of this rare and exclusive wine will be produced. The wine will retail for $25 a bottle, with 10% of the sales benefiting the Healdsburg Animal Shelter.

Voting runs until midnight PST, Friday, June 19, 2009. Please take a moment and click on the title of this post and place your vote for old #13.

Artwork Explanation: This is an artwork that was created exclusively for the label contest, it is not a previous work of mine that I have regurgitated for the sake of entering the contest. I included two dogs to represent the two vatietals used to create the wine, and I have put them on and next to a French Oak barrel to represent the barrel used for the aging process. I have also left the work untitled because I know that Mutt & Lynch are infamous for using clever word play for the names of their wines (so I left it up to them). In addition, I left adequate spacing on the top and left so that when text is added, it would not interfere with the artwork.

My Murphy Goode Video Application

A Better Murphy Goode Video Application from Richard Ritter on Vimeo.

Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) #58: Label this one "Too Heavy"

Nothing like waiting to the last minute to put a major production together for (WBW)- Wine Blogging Wednesday at 10:00pm EST. After having all the planets align for what would have been one hell of a video blog, it happened...but it just didn't happen. I had the wine, I had the props, I had the music, but what I didn't have was the where-with-all to realize that there are restrictions on file size when it comes to uploading video. My WBW episode clocked in at a hefty 20 minutes and a 1.2GB file, (just a tad over the limit). I had so much juicy and pertinent information that I just couldn't stop sharing the knowledge. There was wine, music and dancing and I guess I got a little carried away with it all.

After trying to eliminate segments with editing to get it down to 1GB, it just wasn't possible (and I wasn't going to do a two-parter). Every minute was filled with great information and compelling video, but alas it will "never" be seen. I also had my first guest on the show as well as a surprise ending, and it will all be done again (within the limits of cyberspace video) and presented in a non WBW format. The video blog recorded last night WILL appear on the Lost Episodes DVD that will be released sometime in the distant future. HA!

My apologies go out to the wine blogging community for trying to be an over-achiever, the winelabelreview fan base and my sincere apologies to Katie Pizzuto at http://gonzogastronomy.com/ (aka @gonzogastronomy on Twitter) for not starting sooner and knowing my limits. I will however make mention of my results from WBW #58 in the next video blog. Again, I - am - sorry!