Wines of Germany – Summer of Riesling

Wines of Germany is the branch of the Deutsches Weininstitut (German Wine Institute) that represents all of the German wine sold in the U.S. Their job is to educate the American consumer on the qualities of their varietals and promote sales across the country.

As a longstanding client of RF|Binder, Wines of Germany has been activating on their Summer of Riesling program annually for years. In 2016, they decided it was time to reinvigorate the program branding to attract a new Millennial audience and introduce them to Riesling, Germany’s most iconic varietal.

Along with the RF|Binder team, I created a brand for Wines of Germany’s Summer of Riesling program that reflected the young, vibrant side of Germany. The summer kicked off with an exciting consumer event in New York City that paired German wines with modern New York cuisine.

The Summer of Riesling logo is a spinoff of the Wines of Germany corporate identity. It includes the circular motif and typography present in their branding, but adds a cork-inspired distressed texture and an energetic angle throughout the mark. Blue is the predominant color in the event’s palette, but the logo was created to exist in a select handful of summery hues, all pulled from the Wines of Germany identity.

This interactive table allowed attendees to learn about Germany’s wine regions in an engaging way.

Outdoor games, including a custom oversized Scrabble board, completed this summery launch event.

Credit: Anya Ermakova