Wine: Châteauneuf-du-Pape's embossed wine bottle

[Mike Buckley]

Winery: Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe
Year: 2010
Region: Châteauneuf-du-Pape (located in southeastern France's Côte d'Azur)
Brand: "La Crau"
Grapes: 65% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre (also called Mataró and Monastrell), 15% Syrah (also called Shiraz), and 5% others

Wine made in the wine region of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is traditionally released in bottles with embossing that indicates the region. Please remind me to never, ever again photograph an embossed bottle of red wine. That's because bringing out the detail of all the embossing on such a large area of a curved surface is really difficult; some parts are inevitably hard to see.

Though I'm not thrilled with my version, I like it at least as much as any other style I've seen made by the pros. There is one detail that I wish I had executed better but I have no plan to redo it. Even so, it's a special bottle of wine made by a highly respected winery with a renowned history, so I'm glad I went to the rather extreme trouble to make the photo.

There was a telegraph tower on a high plateau named "La Crau" near the winery, so the estate and its signature brand is named Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe. That brand is made from vines that are about 60 years old on average. The estate's second brand made from much younger vines is fittingly named Telegramme.

Based on three famous wine critics' thinking, this wine should be spectacular; it's rated 94 to 97 points out of a possible 100 points. They say it should last at least until 2030 but I guarantee this wine will be drunk no later than 2020. That's because I don't have the discipline to keep wine so long. Having gone to so much trouble to get the embossing to look as good as I could, I feel as if I've earned the right to drink the darned stuff now.

[Brownbear]

Mike... It's a beautiful photo, with wonderful detail and lighting as always. I love the colour of the background (and how it fades from dark to light) as well as how beautifully it complements the colours of the bottle; the darker shadow along the sides of the bottle, the highlight on the foil label, and and that SOFT shadow is exquisite.

Never say never... I sure hope you will photograph more of these and similar embossed bottles. If you hang on to this particular bottle of wine even for a few months surely you will not be able to not photograph it.

Also thank you for sharing the story of the wine and the grapes behind each of your images... Very interesting and informative.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you, Christina.

If you hang on to this particular bottle of wine even for a few months surely you will not be able to not photograph it.

Wanna bet? I've already had it for about a year. I'll probably keep it at least for another year and maybe many more years.

By the way, your comment about the soft shadow and that comment's ramifications did not escape me.

[Brownbear]

My pleasure.

No bets, just to say that you were born to photograph this wine bottle, and now that you've started...

Thank you, Christina.



Wanna bet? I've already had it for about a year. I'll probably keep it at least for another year and maybe many more years.

By the way, your comment about the soft shadow and that comment's ramifications did not escape me.

[rpcrowe]

Great image... Only one problem... no broken glass

[Mike Buckley]

no broken glass

Coming soon.

[Brownbear]

Hi Mike,

I'm curious as to what that one detail is that you would like to do better? Is it bringing out more detail in the embossing? Challenging to capture because of the curved shape of the bottle? If yes, is it not possible to use more lights to cover all of the embossing?

Thank you.

[Mike Buckley]

The embossed area is asymmetrically lit on the left and right sides. I was trying symmetrically light that area. If you saw how I was lighting those sides in the limited confines of my makeshift studio, you would probably be forgiving. Even so, I wish I had nailed the lighting to produce the look I had planned.

[Brownbear]

Thank you for sharing. It's a beautiful image.

I am a huge fan of your work, and I can't begin to imagine how challenging meeting the standards you set standards for perfection in capturing every detail in this bottle was.