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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Contact: Tom
Uribes
Feb. 9, 2004
(559) 278-5366 or
246-1717
Fresno State’s
Award-winning Wines Unveil
New Look Labels for Improved ‘Brand Identity’
California
State University, Fresno’s viticulture and enology program unveiled newly
designed wine labels for several varietals that will help establish brand
identity for award-winning wines produced by students at the Fresno State
Winery.
University
officials, industry partners and retailers presented the new look to the
public during a news conference today (Feb. 9) at the Save Mart
Supermarket at Willow and Nees avenues in Fresno.
The new distinctive labels create three new series of wines: the
Reserve Series, the Winemaster’s
Series and the Harvest Series.
The labels
– designed by
Sugarman Design Group (SDG) of Fair Oaks -- are also the first step in
upgrading the look on all of the university’s student-produced
agricultural products, said Dr. Daniel Bartell, dean of the
College of Agricultural Science and Technology.
“We are
very pleased with the new labels and designs and look forward to
experiencing the impact that they will bring to the winery and other
enterprises,” Bartell said. “We believe the new look will help take our
high-quality student products to the next level.”
The designers, in
consultation with university representatives, are now working to create
the new "brand identity" for all the university’s student-produced ag
products, including ice cream, jam, meat and cheese products and raisins,
in addition to the wine.
Paula
Sugarman,
founder and president of Sugarman Design Group, and Drake
Strader, Southern Division director of operations for Save Mart
Stores, were at this morning’s press conference. Depending on the season,
some 20 to 30 Save Mart Supermarkets in the Modesto-based chain (primarily
in the Fresno, Visalia, Hanford and Los Banos areas) carry the Fresno
State wines.
Save Mart
was the first supermarket chain to sell Fresno State wines after the
university became the first in the nation to
establish a bonded
winery on-campus, said Dr. Robert Wample, chair of the
Department of Viticulture and Enology and director of the
Viticulture and Enology Research Center.
Wample
said the Fresno State wines will be easy to spot on shelves with their new
and inviting look.
“We set
out on this task with a goal of creating a consistent image for all of our
wine labels, one that consumers could easily identify in the marketplace,”
said Wample.
The new look
features three distinctive labels:
-
The Reserve Series
represents award-winning wines of limited release, as well as others that
are unique from a viticultural and/or winemaking point of view.
-
The Winemaster’s Series
includes a selection of
classic varietal wines produced by student winemakers under the
supervision of faculty and staff.
-
The Harvest Series,
which features the Bulldog artwork, consists of three wines, including one
of Fresno State’s most popular wines, Tailgate Red. Perfect for all
venues, from tailgating to summer holiday gatherings, these value-priced
wines are produced from classic red and white varietals grown in the San
Joaquin Valley.
The
Sugarman Design Group is a
branding design firm
that provides identity, collateral and package design solutions
for clients
who cover a wide range, including food and wine, trade and marketing
associations, and healthcare and technology companies.
Among
Sugarman’s
clients are Oak Ridge Winery, Perry Creek Winery, Sierra Nevada Cheese
Company, The WholeSoy Company and Wallaby Yogurts.
Paula
Sugarman said she is proud to be part of the educational process that
helps bring bread to the table.
“It’s exciting to be
a part of bringing these products to the marketplace, drawing attention to
them, letting the public know they are out there,” she said. “The products
speak for themselves. It’s our job to make them look as good as they
taste.”
She said it was a
challenge to come up with a logotype that is appropriate for such a broad
spectrum of foods and agricultural products.
”But the results are
spectacular,” she said. “We’re very proud of the work we’ve done. “
The process to
upgrade the university’s agricultural products image started with the
wines a year ago when Sugarman met
Kevin
Connor, production supervisor for the winery,
at the Unified Wine
and Grape Symposium in Sacramento.
“We knew of Fresno
State wines from the California State Fair Wine judging,” Sugarman said.
“We knew they took the competition by storm about four years ago. It was a
big deal in the industry, but a secret to consumers.”
She and Connor
talked about ways Sugarman could play a role in developing a cohesive
brand identity for Fresno State wines and improving their market presence.
The winery also
realized this could be a move for all the college’s agricultural products
so they created a
university
team that included Dr. Carl Pherson, director of
Agricultural
Operations,
who
oversees Fresno State’s
agricultural enterprises including the Farm Market where the products
are sold.
He and
representatives of the various enterprises joined the winery team of
Connor; Wample; Ken Fugelsang, winemaster and associate professor of
enology; and Cynthia Wood, information services coordinator for the
viticulture and enology programs.
This team
collaborated with Sugarman, who was hired by the Agricultural Foundation
at California State University, Fresno. In consultation with the
University Relations office at Fresno State, they all began working to
create the new "brand identity" for all the university’s student-produced
ag products, starting with the wine labels.
“Over
the past several months, there has been a lot of excitement and
anticipation in the college about the new label project,” said Fugelsang.
“When the first wine labels arrived in January from
Paragon Label of Petaluma, our students and production staff quickly
began labeling more than 20 new wines.”
Fresno
State wines are
available online at
www.FresnoStateWinery.com and
in the wine cellar at the Fresno State
Farm Market (Chestnut and Barstow Avenues) .
In
addition to the Visalia and Fresno Save Mart Stores, the wines are also
available at several area retailers including Hanford, Terra Bella, and
Kingsburg:
-
Albertson’s
(selected locations)
-
Bailey Cannon Wine Merchants
(Fig Garden Village
at Shaw and Palm in Fresno)
-
Catalano's Market
(Herndon and West in Fresno)
-
Long’s Drugs
(selected
Fresno/Clovis locations)
-
Old
Doc's Liquor
(two Fresno
locations: Cedar and Nees and Bullard and West)
-
Sierra Nut House
(two Fresno
locations: Sierra and Chestnut and Bullard and Palm)
-
University Liquor
(Bulldog Plaza at
Barstow and Cedar in Fresno)
-
Varsity Liquor
(west end of shopping center at Cedar and Ashlan in Fresno)
-
Von’s
(selected locations)
-
Whole Foods Market
(Fig Garden
Village/Fresno at Shaw and Palm in Fresno)
-
The
Meat Market
(Fresno)
-
The
Wine Sellers
(Hanford)
-
Terra Bella Supply
(Terra Bella)
-
Town and Country
(Kingsburg)
Members of the
Fresno State Wine Club receive discounts on online wine purchases, in
addition to other benefits.
For more information
about Fresno State wines and/or joining the Wine Club, visit
www.FresnoStateWinery.com.
For more information
about the viticulture and enology programs at Fresno State, visit,
http://cast.csufresno.edu/ve or call Wample at (559) 278-2089.
For more information
on the companies that contributed to the new look for Fresno State wines:
Sugarman Design Group --
www.sugarmandesigngroup.com/
California Glass (Oakland)
- www.calglass-pcc.com/products.shtml
Maverick Enterprises, Inc. (Ukiah)
- www.maverickcaps.com/index.html
Paragon Label --
www.paragonlabel.com/laser.htm
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