The Most Beautiful Champagne Bottle Ever Produced?

About ten years ago I had a dream to make a Champagne, but not just any Champagne.  I wanted to make a Champagne in a style never made before with a bottle design never made before.  My first call was to an old friend, James Jean.  James had already designed my Southern Gothic Wine Collections labels.  He agreed to create original art for the label.  I've had an obsession with Southern culture since I was born into it, married it, read it (heroes William Faulkner and Dorothy Allison) and can't seem to escape it.  I began a years long conversation with Sissy Van Winkle who educated me in the subtleties of Southern vernacular and unwittingly came up with the names of the two Champagnes.  Good Lord and Bless Your Heart.  But then the journey began.  It turns out that a Champagne package is more complex than any label I've ever created. Check out my history at www.gratefulpalatelibrary.com. I've created a few labels.  But nothing prepared me for this.  Capsule, neck label, box, cork, muselet. 

Everything needed to be designed and everything needed to tie together like a puzzle.  James wanted to create an all over, full sleeve design for the bottle and that was a challenge, in part because when the sleeve shrinks, the artwork changes. See video below.  James and I engaged his friend, designer Will Staehle in Seattle to realize the artwork and design the box, neck label and capsule.  JJ Bertram, a gifted designer in Barcelona provided further design and guided the production to completion.