Les Vins Georges Duboeuf today revealed the original work of art to be featured on the 2017 vintage of its Beaujolais Nouveau.
This marks the 35th year of the wine’s appearance in the U.S. and the start of the “Artist Collector Series” of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau labels.
Ari Azzopardi’s “Candy Coated” was named the winner after voting took place on Facebook and Instagram in a competition of original art from artists around the world. The artwork, incorporated into the wine’s label, will appear in the U.S. on as many as one million bottles of the “first wine of the harvest” which debuts, per French law and tradition, at 12:01 a.m. on the third Thursday in November (November 16, 2017).
Azzopardi is a mixed-media artist who currently resides in St. Petersburg, Fla.
For the first time, artists from a number of backgrounds from around the globe submitted their label designs for a chance to win up to $5,000 in grants. Jon Lutz, a Brooklyn-based art curator who has worked with emerging artists for the past 12 years, chose the 13 finalists from over 200 submissions. Fans were then able to pick their favorite label by liking, sharing and commenting on Facebook and Instagram.
Azzopardi will receive a $3,500 grant for the winning label, while the remaining finalists will each have their labels presented as an option for private label bottlings that are released every year. If chosen, the artist will receive a $1,500 grant.
Last year’s label (the 2016 vintage) was also chosen by voting on social media, but entries came only from professional graphic designers.
Les Vins Georges Duboeuf has a history of commissioning artist-designed labels for its Beaujolais Nouveau, as far back as the 1980s.
The tradition of Nouveau began with the wine growers themselves who would celebrate the end of the harvest with this young wine. Bottled six to eight weeks after the grapes are harvested, Beaujolais Nouveau is fresh, fruity and vibrant.
