From Heritage to Contemporary Identity: Labelling Wine Project for Encostas do Rabaçal
摘要
This project focuses on the label design for the Encostas do Rabaçal – Grande Reserva wine line, produced by the Valpaços Wine Cooperative in Northern Portugal. Its main objective is to investigate how graphic design—particularly illustration—can serve as a tool for territorial valorization and market differentiation in the wine sector. It is based on the hypothesis that a visual identity rooted in the material and immaterial culture of the region contributes to strengthening the perception of authenticity, quality, and connection to the place of origin. The research adopts as its conceptual axis the rupestrian wine presses found in the municipality of Valpaços—ancestral archaeological structures associated with winemaking practices, which constitute heritage of significant symbolic, technical, and cultural value. Through formal analysis of three selected examples, complemented by direct on-site observation, visual experimentation was carried out using various graphic materials in order to plastically convey the texture of the stone and the roughness of the original forms. The outcome was the development of a visual system applicable to labelling, combining tradition and contemporaneity in a cohesive graphic language. The project thus demonstrates the potential of design as a mediator between heritage and product, proposing an approach that visually reconfigures the collective memory of Valpaços while repositioning the brand for new audiences.