T oo often wine is taken much too seriously. But its is difficult to keep a straight face when these labels are on the bottle.. Thank goodness! Enjoy the following....

What the Dickens	South Africa
	An own label for a South African pub chain. Perhaps its just me, but his left hand seems to have five fingers as well as a thumb.

African Legend The Devils Hiding Place	Western Cape South Africa
When I was little and grown-ups were droning on at the meal table I passed time reading labels on the bottles. My favourite was the OK sauce bottle with its tale of the origin on the phrase 'O.K.'. If only my parents were able to buy African Legend then. Each bottle retells a traditional African legend on the front label. This Pinotage carries a Venda story of the end of the ditutwane spirits and explains why the Baobab tree grows upside down. See also The Secret of the Rain Queen on the Columbard label.

Ideal with Friends

Tolna Hungary

Oh, dear. Supermarkets are falling over themselves to bring out wines with names such as 'Good with Chinese', 'Great with Chicken' and so on, but the crass illustration singles out this own label from the otherwise excellent Morrisons chain for inclusion on this site. The wine was pretty good for the price - a zingy refreshing Sauvignon Blanc and the only thing stopping me from serving it to my friends is the cringing label!

Bearitage Vineberg Cellars

Sonoma California

I love this label with the bear caught up in a grape vine squeezing a grape bunch and pouring the juice into his mouth. And the punning name, referring to both the 'Bear State' (California) and Meritage, the word used by other wineries to indicate a bordeaux type blend. Sonoma was the town where the Bear Flag rebellion of 1846 that established California as a republic took place. This delicious blend contains Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and California's own Zinfandel.

Dynamite Carmenet Winery

Sonoma California

Another great label with bears. They use dynamite at Carmenet to gouge paths out of the solid mountain rock, and have to chase out bears who crash the fences to get at ripe Cabernet grapes. The label refers to this, and also to more heavenly events. This is the 1997 vintage - the year the Hale-Bop comet blazed through the skies over California during an eclipse of the moon. Notice the drunk bear asleep under the vines at the left.

Les Amoureux	Saint Amour France
A charming and appropriate label from cartoonist Peynet for this bottle of Beaujolais from the Saint Amour appellation. Many thanks to Angelo Musanti in Genova, Italy for posting this label to me.