Affinity Creative s Sweet Design for Oliver Winery
Posted on February 17, 2021
MARE ISLAND, Calif., How do you makeover the flagship label of a 700,000 case winery? Very carefully, says Cynthia Sterling, Creative Director at Affinity Creative Group, who recently led a close-in and finely tuned brand redesign program for Oliver Winery and Vineyards.
Since its modest beginnings in Bloomington, Indiana in 1960, Oliver Winery and Vineyards has grown to become one of the largest wine producers in the U.S. Their success is fueled by a philosophy that all styles of wine deserve the highest degrees of the winemaker s craft, commitment to quality and respect for customer choice. With the goal of expanding retail distribution and inviting more consumers to explore the Oliver range of fruit-forward, refreshing and tasty wines, Oliver leadership engaged Affinity Creative to carefully and delicately evolve the look of its foundational line of wines, known as The Soft Collection.
“I came into [Sweet Rose] and it was like it had been full on raining so I ran upstairs [to Wawa] and discover the icemaker in the bar area had blown,” she said. “The ceiling was bowing and we were worried it might cave in so we drilled holes in it and water just poured out. There was a huge load of water and it was even coming through the walls.” Young said the extent of the damage is yet to be determined. “All the water went right through the [Wawa] bar area and kitchen and the floorboards are lifting and cracking,” she said.
Is there even a way to say that 2020 has put us all through the wringer without sounding like a cliché at this point? Probably not. But boy, has it.
From booksellers to restaurants to boutiques, no business in L.A. has made it through this year unscathed. That s why we designed this holiday shop-small guide, to spotlight our favorite local businesses, makers and products. These shops reflect everything that makes this city great, places that have, despite the Amazon explosion, kept L.A. from turning into a wasteland of big box stores and Walmart parking lots. These are items that you might not find anywhere else from vendors who after this tumultuous year could certainly use some love.