Only a few decades ago, a common belief was that the more contemporary the design of the label, the more mediocre the quality of the wine inside. The legendary luxury wines of Europe remained faithful to the centuries-old tradition of featuring labels with ornate script lettering, fine line engravings of chateaus, gold foil borders and corks sealed and stamped with red wax. Only upstart nouveau wineries in places like California ignored proper wine labeling etiquette by hiring graphic designers to come up with something colorful and stylish.

But perceptions have changed. Fine wines are being sold in supermarkets, online and even Costco. Wines from around the world compete for consumer attention and shelf space. The assumption that bottles with traditional labels contain better wine no longer has validity. Wine packaging and labels are projecting unique brand personalities, and not shying away from presenting a look that is bold and innovative.

Which brings us to the new label for German-based Motif Wine designed by Kristina Bartosova at En Garde Interdisciplinary in Austria. En Garde’s concept for Motif was to create a label without words and let the collection of wines be identified only by color, pattern and form. The different geometric patterns are all based on the same angles and line width to give a cohesive look to the brand packaging, while also distinguishing the different types of wines in the Motif line. It’s an arresting sight and so attractive that you want to display the bottle prominently like a piece of art.