Native Texan Laura Runge’s Joyous Crush took the top prize in the third annual competition to design the U.S. label of Georges Deboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau. Over 600 pieces were entered.
Her painting is a vivid interpretation of the celebratory feeling that Beaujolais Nouveau embodies. She chose to use colors with fruit names such as grape, tangerine, peach and cranberry, to demonstrate her interpretation of the harvest in France—with deep pinkish-red and purple tones to mimic the colors of the wine, and greens and blues to reflect the earth and sky.
“I wanted to create a festive piece that would have the look and feel of celebration,” commented Laura. “There is a depiction of the wine itself, surrounded by subtle bursts of confetti to evoke that joyous feel.”
Now in its third year, the Georges Duboeuf Artist Label Competition was created to support the creativity of emerging artists all over the U.S. “Our family has long been avid supporters of the arts, having worked with many artists over the last 40+ years to create our iconic labels and limited-edition posters,” comments Franck Duboeuf, CEO of Les Vins Georges Duboeuf. “Hosting this program has been almost as exciting for us as it is for the artists – it’s a great joy for us to see who the public selects each year as the winner.”
Of the more than 600 entries submitted online via the competition’s website, 15 were selected as finalists by a combination of public vote and input from a panel of winery representatives and art experts. The finalists were announced on April 15, followed by a fifteen-day period of public voting. In a competition where public voting was the determining factor in the selection of the winner, social media played a very important role.
Finalists were invited to share their submissions on their own accounts, finding support from local residents, fellow artists, friends and family. With over 6,000 total votes and thousands of likes and comments on social media, the 2019 competition saw the highest level of engagement yet from art and wine-loving fans and enthusiasts.