We’re pleased that in addition to praising the label, the wine itself, and the brilliant mind behind it, gets some attention: “The meteoric popularity of their wines seems as much indebted to the name they chose as the quality of the wines themselves, which are produced by noted local winemaker Michael Shaps at his custom winemaking facility, Virginia Wineworks, in Keene.”

The label’s rapid growth certainly caught us off guard, and it’s one of the many facets of the business that gets explicated:

“Sales have sextupled in the year and half since the first vintage was ready. “We have sold every bottle in our first vintage,” said Rash. That was only 220 cases, but they sold 550 cases the next year and in 2010 sold 1,400 cases. Their sales chart rockets up. They now produce four wines, a chardonnay, a petit verdot, a cabernet sauvignon and a cabernet franc. They also make reserve wines such as Very Well Hung Chardonnay.

“At first no one would approach our booth at fairs and music festival. Now they are 20 deep,” said Steers.”

I can only pat myself on the back so much before my arm gets tired (and I start wondering where everyone else went…), so I’ve just pulled a couple of quotations to highlight here, but the whole article is well worth the read if you’re interested in learning more about the label!

Brand Name Lift Off: Well Hung Vineyards Label Makes MoMA – The Crozet Gazette

Cheers!

In an exhibit running from Nov. 20 – Apr. 17, the SFMOMA displays “How Wine Became Modern“, a collection of significant wine artifacts, multimedia presentations, and contemporary labels, which place the wine industry in today’s cultural context as it has developed since 1976 when the earth-shaking Judgment of Paris rated Californian wines above France’s in a blind tasting.

One of the highlights of the exhibit, designed by the New York architecture studio Diller Scofidio and Renfro, is a wall of wine, “Labels and Storytelling”, featuring 200 labels. The diverse collection of bottles is arranged categorically, each one subsumed by a branching genre of associative qualities attributable to the label’s story and brand identity. And lo! What bottle do I spy there that is both “Cheeky” and “Sex”?

We could hardly believe that our little label was deemed museum-worthy, but we excitedly shipped a bottle out to San Francisco a few months ago and waited for its moment in the spotlight.. er.. track lighting.

One of Well Hung’s owners, artiste Tracy Verkerke, and her daughter Therese, took a very serious, professional-like, trip out to San Francisco last weekend for the opening and snapped the great pictures you’ve seen in this post.

We’re honored to have been selected as a part of this ground breaking exhibit. If you want to learn more about it, check out the page on SFMOMA’s website, here. We were titillated to see a specific, albeit brief, mention in the San Francisco Station, which recently wrote about the show: “One of the highlights of the exhibit, the art of the wine label, features nearly 200 wine bottles suspended in rows against a white backdrop. Categorized by similar concepts and images, such as ‘Good + Evil’ and ‘Truth or Consequences,’ the label art illustrates how wine has taken on attributes far beyond just the wine itself. My favorite section is ‘Cheeky,’ which features humorous labels such as ‘Well Hung’ and ‘Fat Bastard.’” How cool!

If you want to see some more pictures from Tracy and Therese’s trip, there’s a whole album on our Facebook page devoted to it.

And remember, Californians: yours is one of the few states to which we can actually ship wine. So if you see us on the wall and want to actually know what’s inside the bottle, go ahead and order one (or five!) from our online store.

Cheers!

Swirl, Sip, Snark, a Virginia-centric online wine reviewer (and Twitterer [just like us!]) had some very kind words to say recently about both the ’08 Well Hung Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc in a recent review.

Our wine is no joke!

Well, it is, sure… but it doesn’t taste funny! And now you don’t just have to take our word for it!

Notable quotes-

The chardonnay: “On the nose I got light oak, green apple and yeast – I love a yeasty white wine, so I was really excited. When I got around to tasting the wine – I mean I had to savor that yeasty nose for a while – it struck me as a bright, fruity wine with hints of oak and a balanced acidity. All in all, it was a good, all purpose white that very drinkable.”

The cabernet franc: “I was immediately struck by how dark the wine was. I’m used to cab francs having a bit lighter color, but I love a dark wine, so I started to get excited for this one as well. The wine had a lot of complexity on the nose. I got dark cherry/plum, spice, caramel/oak, and a bit of leather and chocolate. In the mouth it was a mellower wine. There were definitely dark fruit elements and there were hints of oak/toastyness/caramel. The wine had a very short finish and a lighter mouthfeel than I would have expected, but it was another enjoyable wine.”

And in conclusion: “Keep an eye on these women and try their wines if you get the chance. I’m sure glad I did.”

Cheers!

The name might be fun, but the wine is no joke – Swirl, Sip, Snark, 2/18/2010 [Link]