Designing for Wine: Inspiration and Advice from One of Napa’s Top Designers

Nicole Walsh is the Creative Manager for Delicato Family Wines. As a strategic leader, Nicole manages and supports a team of designers and collaborators, working closely with executive and cross-functional teams. For over 26 years, Nicole has developed her experience as a creative manager and designer in the wine industry, particularly in packaging, advertising, logo design and identity, point-of-sale, displays, and marketing materials. 

Nicole is inspired by innovation in all forms: packaging, branding, advertising, art, fashion, and architecture. She studied fine art, art history, and the Italian language in Florence, Italy for one year. Nicole graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with her bachelor’s degree and Cum Laude Honors. Currently, she is earning her Executive MBA graduate degree in wine business at Sonoma State University.

Nicole applies her extensive professional experience to every project. She has an eye for refined detail and a penchant for the luxury goods category. She forges relationships with team members while guiding, encouraging, and supporting a talented team of designers. Nicole ensures the creative assets are distinctive and authentic to the brands of Delicato Family Wines. She also designs for the Coppola brand, keeping the heritage, creativity, and innovative quality of the Coppola family top of mind.

A wine label should be more than a decorated bottle. There’s a great deal of individuality and heart that goes into the design. But how can wineries on a smaller budget get the same top-grade design as the big name brands? 

According to Nicole Walsh, your logo and brand identity are the keys to making your bottle stand out on the shelf. No matter the size of your winery or experience level as a designer, there’s one thing that will always differentiate your wine: the brand story. Using story-based content for your label will prove influential to your consumers. But where can you find the inspiration to share that story? For Nicole, inspiration can be found in fashion, architecture, nature, or the “art gallery” of a store’s wine section. However you discover that creativity, make sure you’re unfolding your brand’s authentic story and letting it lead your design concept.

In this episode of VINTed, Scout Driscoll talks with Nicole Walsh, Creative Manager of Delicato Family Wines, about where she draws her inspiration and wine label design process. Nicole shares the essentials of a great wine label, the importance of staying rooted in your strategy, and her advice for burgeoning wine label designers. Stay tuned!