ALUMBRA CELLARS: THE GIFT OF WINTER WARMTH

Holiday Wine Gift Experience

L = Strategic Creative Director

PROJECT BACKGROUND 

To help wine businesses make their wine the most meaningful gift under the tree, my brand consultancy, A Land Beyond, developed a holiday gift guide that encouraged business owners to go beyond festively wrapped wine baskets and create one-of-a-kind wine experiences instead. Our guide featured 10 wine experience gift ideas that could be adapted by any wine business based on their brand and customers' tastes.

Elena Rodriguez, Oregon’s Alumbra Cellars’ president and winemaker, was inspired by our “Gift of Winter Warmth” idea and asked us to customize it for Alumbra’s latest wine release called Mitote.

THE INSPIRATION + THE WORK 

After learning that Mitote was crafted as an homage to Juana, Elena’s Tepejuán grandmother from Durango, Mexico, we knew Alumbra’s “Gift of Winter Warmth” had to do more than warm the body — it had to warm the soul. So we created a gift experience that immersed recipients in the wine’s special story of family heritage and nostalgia. To facilitate it, I designed and wrote a custom, multi-piece collateral element that resembled polaroid snapshots of Mitote-linked memories. The back of the first snapshot included a personal message from Elena introducing the idea behind the gift theme — how she personally feels “WARMEST” when lost in the childhood memories of her dear abuela Juana. Further explanation for each experience element as well as instructions for gift enjoyment were articulated on the back of several more snapshots. We encouraged Elena to use twine and evergreen trimmings as final decorative touches so that even the wrapping tied back to the story behind the gift.

Gift Items 

1 bottle of Mitote

1 traditional Mexican baja pullover

A nostalgic video story from Elena

Abuela’s arroz con pollo recipe

Abuela’s music playlist

Instructions for the Experience

Recipients were instructed to first watch the video (via a QR code) in which Elena tells the story of her abuela and how she inspired Mitote and this gift. Then, they were to make Juana’s famous comfort dish, arroz con pollo, using the recipe provided. Once finished, they were encouraged to put on the traditional Mexican baja pullover — identical to those worn by Elena’s family to keep warm on cool vineyard mornings — and play the Spotify playlist comprised of Abuela’s favorite songs. Finally, gift recipients were to cozy up near a warm fire with a glass of Mitote to enjoy with the arroz con pollo and reflect on warm family memories of their own.  

For a closer look at the collateral, tap through the gallery below.