Label & Artist
A New Duck on the Pond
Dan Duckhorn, co-founder and president of Duckhorn Wine Company, is a wildlife art enthusiast and collector. Over the years, he has developed the winery's collection of waterfowl artwork, which is displayed in our new visitor center. As Dan learned more about antique hunting decoys and the artists who carved them, he thought of a way to blend his collection with our Decoy brand.
Duckhorn Vineyards started making Decoy wines in 1985. Under Dan's direction, the initial Decoy label was created as a wonderful artist's rendering of an "imagined" carved wooden decoy. But as his interest in antique decoys grew, Dan decided he wanted to use an actual carving as the basis for the package design. After much deliberation, he chose a prized carving from his collection, a Richard "Fresh-Air Dick" Janson (1872–1951) pintail. A premier decoy carver, Janson lived on a houseboat moored at Sonoma Creek on the far north end of San Pablo Bay (a nearby bridge is named in his honor). Because his decoys are the most recognizable of all Pacific Coast carvings, Janson's pintail was a perfect choice for the label.
The next step was to find an artist who could re-create the unique carving for the label. Martin Allard, one of our company's shareholders, introduced us to the amazing realism of his brother Michael's artwork. Dan knew immediately he was the perfect artist to paint Janson's decoy—the only problem was that Michael lives in Zimbabwe! So Martin packed up the pintail and journeyed to Africa to deliver the prized carving to his brother.
We were thrilled with the results. Michael Allard painted an amazing rendition of the carving, capturing every detail and the true personality of the duck. Our graphic designer used the painting to create the rest of the package. The design has a rich green color that evokes the feel of a rustic hunting lodge, which makes the pintail look right at home. We are pleased to introduce this new package design with the 1998 vintage of our Decoy Napa Valley Red Wine. We hope you'll enjoy the new label as much as we hope you'll enjoy the wine.
