Wine: White Pinot Noir -- Design Help Requested

[Mike Buckley]

Probably at least 99% of all wine made from the Pinot Noir grape species is red wine. Yet recently some wineries are making white wine from that species. The red color of wine comes from the grape skins being in contact with the juice during fermentation; when white wine is made, the grape skins are never in contact with the juice.

I have never had a white Pinot Noir, so I look forward to the experience.

I could use your design help, please: I really struggled with the design of this photo and am not particularly happy with it. The bottle features gold tones and grey tones, which makes no sense to me and makes it even more difficult to come up with a design that works really well for me. The label's dominant color is blue, which in the context of the grey and gold also makes no sense to me. I want to make a photo that showcases that the wine from this grape species is white rather than red as normal and haven't come up with a concept that does that particularly well. I considered photographing only part of the bottle but still came up blank without coming up with anything that really excites me. So, I ended up settling at least temporarily on the very minimalist look shown below.

Any ideas are gratefully appreciated because I would like to have another go or two at photographing this bottle of very unusual wine.


Setup
The tabletop and background are a single sheet of translucent vellum. A medium continuous-light lamp on the right side lights mostly the background and that side of the tabletop. Another medium continuous-light lamp on the left side and above the bottle lights the subject and that area of the background and tabletop. A pair of flashlights handheld together above and in front of the subject brightens the label and the tabletop in front of the bottle.

[John 2]

Set it with a bottle of red Pinot Noir in the BG and call it Siblings". Or perhaps since you normally choose a plain studio BG, for a change, layer it onto an appropriate (perhaps slightly de saturated) landscape as a BG. You did ask.

Red Pinot Noir is our affordable, go to, day to day wine. I have never heard of let alone seen the white variety.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for the ideas, John. The first one is more like my style.

It is a complete coincidence that I first heard about white pinot noir a few weeks ago and now have this bottle. Few wine stores carry white pinot noir. In fact, I walked into a wine store that was new to me and asked if they could suggest wine that was so unusual that I might not have heard of it. This white pinot noir is one of the three suggestions and I bought all of them.

[John 2]

Had a quick Google to what was available in the UK. Not much is the answer but interestingly, of the three examples that I found, two were from English vineyards.

[Mike Buckley]

I don't think I've ever seen wine made by an English winery. I've never been to England, so that would at least partly explain my ignorance about that.

[Wavelength]

Awesome shot

[John 2]

I don't think I've ever seen wine made by an English winery. I've never been to England, so that would at least partly explain my ignorance about that.

English wineries have been around for about 20 years or so but they are only just beginning to produce quality consistently. They're a bit of a niche product though and expensive as a result. The thinking seems to be that global warming will increasingly act in their favour but we shall see.

[madcrow]

Brilliant.

[Kaye Leggett]

I don't think I've ever seen wine made by an English winery. I've never been to England, so that would at least partly explain my ignorance about that.

You must come..... our south Kent coast produces some lovely sparkling wine - the terroir is the same as that in Champagne. But as John says, its pricey.

Regarding the set up - would a soft gold background be an idea ? BTW I like the way the bottle is positioned, i.e. on the left. But as to how you make the point that it is rare as a white wine, I don't know. Maybe check out how white rioja is marketed as this is also relatively rare (though not a much as a white Pinot Noir

[tao2]

English wineries have been around for about 20 years or so but they are only just beginning to produce quality consistently. They're a bit of a niche product though and expensive as a result. The thinking seems to be that global warming will increasingly act in their favour but we shall see.

They've been around a lot longer than that, since the 1940s (post war). Wales as well. Ah'd say that English wines are very mature now, they consistently beat their mainland European rivals at wine fairs and competitions. They are now a lot cheaper than they used tae be (relatively speaking). There are a number of Gold medal winning wineries now.

Anyway Mike , what about a plain burgundy background as a nod tae the wine's usual colour...

[Mike Buckley]

our south Kent coast produces some lovely sparkling wine

Unfortunately, I don't like sparkling wine.

Regardless, it's interesting to learn that though little wine is made in England, they are making sparkling wine. The context is that sparkling wine from Champagne made in the 18th century was made exclusively for the British market. The French instead drank still wine made in Champagne.

Regarding the set up - would a soft gold background be an idea ?

Yes, that's one I've considered, especially if omitting the grey foil and cap.

But as to how you make the point that it is rare as a white wine, I don't know. Maybe check out how white rioja is marketed as this is also relatively rare

That's an excellent idea I had not thought of. White Rioja is relatively unknown also in America. As an example, I've still never seen a riserva or gran reserva white Rioja.

For others who don't know about it, white Rioja is made primarily from Viura and red Rioja is primarily made from Tempranillo.

As I think about this, other than Pinot Noir, I can't think off the top of my head of any grape that is used to make both red and white wine when using only that grape. Chianti and Chateauneuf-du-Pape are red wines that can use juice from white wine grapes but when that's done the juice from those grapes is a small portion of the blend.

[Mike Buckley]

what about a plain burgundy background as a nod tae the wine's usual colour...

And possibly a plain burgundy tabletop. Thanks for the idea!

EDIT: It just now occurred to me that when thinking of burgundy as a color, we always think of the color of red wine. Yet perhaps the most famous dry white wine and definitely the most expensive dry white wine in the world also comes from Burgundy.

[pnodrog]

In New Zealand there are at least five vineyards that produce a White Pinot Noir but refer to the product as Blanc de Noir . If that term is used in google searches there maybe more results.

P.S. COMMON SYNONYMS:Pinot Noir Blanc, Pinot d’Alsace, Blanc de Noirs, Burgunder, Blanc de Noir Spätburgunder, Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, Pinot Nero Bianco

[Mike Buckley]

Blanc de Noir . If that term is used in google searches there maybe more results.

Just be on the lookout for the possibility that the wine is a sparkling wine, not a still wine. The term, blanc de noir, has been used for a long time to describe Champagne made from red grapes such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Maurice and Nandakumar, who apparently like the image more than I do.

[pnodrog]

Just be on the lookout for the possibility that the wine is a sparkling wine, not a still wine. The term, blanc de noir, has been used for a long time to describe Champagne made from red grapes such as Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Agreed. Locally they add Methode Traditionelle to indicate it is sparkling (not carbonated). Originally they used the term Champagne but were told unless it was from that region of France that name could not be used so for a few years they called it Champagne Style but that is no longer allowed either. The blanc de noir method of discarding the skin is I understand to expensive to waste on a carbonated sparkling wine. In fact in vintages when the grapes remain relatively small in size, separating the skin is so wasteful that it is more profitable to concentrate on the more productive red Pinot Noir.

P.S. The photographs I have seen on the wine makers web sites of bottles of White Pinot Noir all have a highlight at about the right hand third running down the bottle and some shadow on the right hand side giving a bit more modeling than you have in your photo.

[Mike Buckley]

The photographs I have seen on the wine makers web sites of bottles of White Pinot Noir all have a highlight at about the right hand third running down the bottle and some shadow on the right hand side giving a bit more modeling than you have in your photo.

That lack of shape in my photo in everything except the foil and cap was intentional because I was going for a different effect. Even so, that lack of shape is also one of the reasons I'm not very happy with the photo.

[pnodrog]

That lack of shape in my photo in everything except the foil and cap was intentional because I was going for a different effect. Even so, that lack of shape is also one of the reasons I'm not very happy with the photo.

You achieved what you set out to do and now you're not happy with it? Almost the story of my life...

[mknittle]

Thank you to Maurice and Nandakumar, who apparently like the image more than I do.

It isn't a bad image. It's sort of like a dish that is good but missing something some spice.

[ccphoto]

Lay it on its side, bottle open and an empty wine glass also on its side with a drop or two still in the bowl, lipstick on the glass - hi key. The fat end of the bottle should be closest to the camera and the open end of the glass toward the camera. Kinky, but a fun image.