Hillersden Estate Winery

After my work for Hillersden was completed, my marketing efforts helped Hillersden to increase distribution from 7 to 17 US states, introduce the product to Gelson’s Market in California, and launch 3 new products in all markets.

One of my responsibilities as an Art Director for Hillersden was to direct photography campaigns. The goal my first photography campaign, Release The Animal, was to highlight five of the vineyard’s popular wines. Each bottle designed by Makers & Allies showcases a different animal found naturally in New Zealand.

To create a cohesive campaign, I worked to anthropomorphize each scene with a still life that echoed the unique animals on each bottle. I decorated each scene with Caravaggio-inspired rays of light, accompanying culinary delights, and props that elaborated on each of the several creatures found on the principal display panel of each label. Due to the rustic nature of the existing brand identity, I used a visual strategy that referenced the aesthetic of classic Dutch Golden Age still lives. 

I designed the packaging to debut their winemaker’s new signature bottle of Fumé Blanc. The bottle utilizes a visual identity I titled Rooted In Heritage, exploring the vineyard’s intimacy with the historical roots in New Zealand and the pioneering technologies used by their winemakers.

On the primary display panel, the bottle juxtaposes a traditional tree from New Zealand with historical tools such as gears and barrels to elaborate the vineyard’s intimate connection with their history. Featured on the back panel of each bottle and in corrugated shipping containers for online customers, there is an illustration encompassing the breadth of landscape located only in Marlborough. After release, the new Fumé Blanc helped Hillersden to reach a wider range of customers in the United States.