Women in Wine: Ashleigh Barrowman’s Path to Siren
When Ashleigh Barrowman landed in Marlborough a decade ago, she was convinced the wine tanks that dotted the landscape were hiding dairy secrets.
Taking their visual cues from tarot cards, these bottles pack a vibrant, symbol-rich punch. “I wanted to personify each wine,”´says winemaker Ashleigh Barrowman. “They all have a personality that I’m not necesarily in control of. I’m not creative enough to make up characters so I decided to find a tarot card to match each one.”
She shoulder tapped her designer friend Lily Paris West for the task. “I taste the wine and tell Lily what colours and characters I see and which tarot card I think might be suitable. She comes back with a couple of designs and always nails it on the first draft.”
The Siren Wines line-up: High Priestess Pinot Noir, Queen of Swords Chardonnay, The Magician Sous Voile, The Empress Chilled Red, Queen of Cups Chenin Blanc, The Fool Orange Chardonnay, and The Lovers Méthode Traditionnelle Blanc de Blanc.
Lily says it was a dream design brief. “What a joy to create something so colourful and illustrative within the wine label format. Ash is a brilliant maker, and I wanted the labels to express a high standard of craft and detail to reflect her work. I researched tarot cards and their traditional colours and developed a style and format, with each wine having unique details specific to its tarot.”
Some in the hospitality industry have commented that the labels aren’t serious enough for them to stock. “I don’t take any offence to that,” Ashleigh says. “Wine is to be enjoyed so the labels should depict enjoyment. I don’t take it too seriously. I mean, it’s just wine at the end of the day – I’m not saving lives!”
