Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmers warned to monitor stock water wells
Sheep and beef farmers in Hawke's Bay are being urged to keep a close eye on the wells that supply water to their stock.
Each is named after a family member instead of a varietal or vineyard site. The Dobson wine whanau: Francie (Jenny's mother/Cabernet Franc), grandmothers Doris (Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet Franc) and Florence (Fiano), Patsy (a favourite aunt/Rosé), and uncles Mac (Merlot) and Alick (Cabernet Sauvignon).
"The support of my immediate family has been very important to me through my winemaking life and I wanted to acknowledge that with my wines and labels. Much of the character of the person is reflected in the wine, so I decided to portray them on the label," Jenny says.
She commissioned Hugo Mathias - a New Zealand artist and a friend of her son's - to create the artwork.
Jenny sent him photographs of her family members, along with background information about the character of both the person and the wine.
Hugo made sketches from these and added any character-amplifying tweaks she was keen for.
Then Max Parkes at Unit Design in Hastings turned the artworks into labels.
Jenny says Hugo's sketches are photo-faithful in their old-world feel,and likes the fact that they're reminiscent of mid-twentieth century sewing pattern illustrations in their elegant minimalism and pops of colour.
Asked how her mother Francie feels about being immortalised in/on a bottle of wine, Jenny says she loves it. "She gets excited (and I think, secretly proud) whenever I tell her that I've had an order of Francie. She's turning 97 in May and a glass of red wine is part of her daily routine."
As for whether that daily tipple is always a Francie (to cleverly bump up sales) or perhaps a Doris, a Mac or an Alick - well, that would be an impertinent question.
