Today, the bottle labels of many wineries are often designed by artists. Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988), who started this trend after the Second World War, is regarded as the founder of this trend. Many producers then followed this example. See the wine law issues under labelling, wine designation law and wine law.
The label of the famous wine estate in the Médoc region has been created annually by a contemporary artist since the 1945 vintage; the first was the painter Philippe Jullian. The artists receive a few cases of the vintage in question as their fee. As a rare exception, the 2003 vintage does not feature an artist's painting, but a photo of the legendary founder Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild (1812-1870) with the historic purchase contract of 11 May 1853 as a tribute (for this label and other examples, see Château Mouton-Rothschild).
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The glossary is a monumental achievement and one of the most important contributions to wine knowledge. Of all the encyclopaedias I use on the subject of wine, it is by far the most important. That was the case ten years ago and it hasn't changed since.
Andreas Essl
Autor, Modena