The label created by Studio Sonda for the sparkling wine Piquentum Brut Nature has been shortlisted at three internationally relevant festivals: One Show, ADC and European Design Awards.
Winners will be announced during May in New York and in mid-June in Sofia.
This kind of result rarely comes from the wine packaging category. Not because it is niche, but because design in this space typically remains at the level of aesthetic differentiation. Here, the shift happens on another level, in redefining what a label can be.
A label as a consequence, not a starting point
In most cases, a label comes after the product. It explains it, positions it and visually interprets it. In this case, the process works in reverse.
Piquentum Brut Nature is produced without industrial additives, without added sugar or artificial yeasts, entirely within its own organic production. That principle becomes the starting point for design: if the product is the result of a natural process, its communication should be as well.
Instead of depicting naturalness, it uses it.
During the second fermentation of sparkling wines, sediment is formed, which is typically removed and discarded. Here, that residue is recognised as a key element of identity.
Studio Sonda develops a concept in which this sediment is used to create the label itself. The result is a surface that is not static but changes over time, reacting to cellar humidity and temperature, and developing a layer of noble, harmless mould.
The label thus stops being a carrier of information and becomes its proof.
From visual aesthetics to material truth
In an industry where luxury is often defined by precision and control, this approach shifts the focus towards the opposite: unpredictability and the raw aesthetics of process.
For restaurants and sommeliers, which are the primary distribution channel for this sparkling wine, this means the story is no longer just a verbal interpretation. It is visible on the bottle itself.
At the same time, the project opens a broader question about the role of design: whether its function is still to interpret the product, or whether it can become an integral part of it.
Parallel recognition at global and regional level
Alongside the three international shortlists, the project has also reached the finals of regional festivals IdejaX and BalCannes, with winners to be announced at Dani komunikacija 2026 in Rovinj, from May 7 to 10.
For a project coming from a relatively narrow category, this combination of recognitions suggests a wider shift: design is no longer just a way to make a product visible, but a way to make what the product is impossible to ignore.
