Being that there is hundreds of brands and even more variants, it is hard for wine to stand out. With the main indicator of quality being the price tag, to what extent does typography and branding influence the purchase?

When trying to determine the quality of a bottle of wine, your eye is immediately drawn to the cost. But what about the typography? I believe this says a great deal about the kind of wine being marketed. Comparing the typography of the most expensive and least expensive red wine from Tesco, you can see the difference in the appearance of both bottle labels.

Looking at the fonts, although you can see the clear disparity between them, the bottle of Silver Bay is attempting to increase its appeal by using a serif font with high contrast. It has done this to appear higher quality as it displays formal characteristics, appealing to the higher class. Unfortunately, the simplicity of the rest of the label contradicts this aim, as it looks cheap. In comparison, the bottle of Contino displays true elements of quality and worth. With its font being even more so serif and high contrast, not to mention the gold detail which gives the impression of extra expense. Additionally, the Contino has extra text below the name, in a cursive font, as if to seem handwritten. This conveys the age of the wine: the older, the better.

On the other hand, the country of origin could have an effect on the typography of the bottles. The Contino is a Spanish wine, whilst the Silver Bay is a British wine. This is evident, due to the names of the wines, as well as the typeface. Besides the fact it is in Spanish, the Contino font has a European essence to it because of the taller capital letter at the start and the inconsistencies of the serifs and contrasts look less corporate and vintage. Unlike the British wine which could look as if computer generated and printed. The reason Spanish wine has connotations of being a better quality is that it is a hot country, which is better conditions for the grapes to mature in; therefore, creating a better flavour.

At the end of the day, quality depends on the individual’s personal preference for wine. There have been many blind taste tests of the best and worst wines found in a supermarket. And almost every time, there are mixed conclusions as to which is better, due to people have different wine preferences.