I love wine, and I can be serious about it if needed. But wine is for enjoying and sometimes a great label just adds to the pleasure. Like (some of) these .... .

The adventures of ZINSKEY Robert Sinskey Vineyards	Napa Califormia
	A great gulumphing Zinfandel from Robert Sinskey Vineyards. The back label has this thrilling tale - "In a world of greed and corruption, an American superhero has emerged. He is on a quest to save the reputation of the real American grape. Commander Zinskey's self imposed mission is to restore the rose colored glasses that blind the misguided, post cold war masses, with the message 'It is O.K. to be Red.' For years, the evil White Zin Supremicists have been infiltrating rural America. The W.Z.S. have convinced our poor, unsuspecting grape growers that their financial future resides with the publics pathetic addiction to sugary, pink libations. Commander Zinskey must find and save the exploited Zinfandel vines before the White Zin Supremicists subvert the world... BUT CITIZENS BEWARE! Do not be lulled into a false sense of security. A new nemesis is threatening the Zinfandel vineyards of America - The Merlot Maniacs! Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of Commander Zinskey!"

Festival of Clowns	France
A jolly label commemorating a festival of clowns. Many thanks to Angelo Musanti in Genova, Italy for posting this label to me.

Benito Mussolini	Italy
These two labels feature Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. I don't have any details about the wine of why the labels feature 'Il Duce', but I remember reading of an Italian wine that specialised in labels with notorious people on them. Many thanks to Angelo Musanti in Genova, Italy for posting this label to me.

Two Toads Toad Hollow Vineyards	California USA
I just couldn't resist buying Cacophany when I saw it's cheery label in the shop. And I wasn't disappointed by the excellent Zinfandel inside. Then a couple of weeks later I met co-owner Todd Williams in Austin. He signed the label of his Chardonnay for me. There is no doubt that while a good label doesn't compensate for a bad wine, a good label -like these - add to the pleasure when drinking a good wine. For another Toad Hollow label see Page 2

TexZin Messina Hof Wine Cellars	Texas USA
TexZin is a great name for this Texan Zinfandel. Messina Hof annually commission an artist to provide the design for the label. I don't know about you, but I find this label very spooky. It's something about the vacant expressions on the faces of the naked children in the vineyards. And their eyes look eerily empty. This picture, called Reflections is by Texas artist Emma Stark. I've been told this label had to be withdrawn after complaints. It seems the folds in the middle child's clothes disturbed some people.