Unusual Wine Branding

Marilyn Merlot may have been the first to marry clever merchandising to fine wine. Now, winemakers (and their gifted sales teams) have found as many ways to help their bottles stand out on store shelves as there are varietals from which to make them. Car enthusiasts and horror fans, frequent flyers and overworked housewives, take note: There is now a wine made just for you.

—Victoria Scanlan Stefanakos

Fittingly, Hello Kitty wines like the Kitty Angel White and the Kitty Devil Red can be had in Hello Kitty glasses (decorated with pink rhinestones, of course).

Photo courtesy of Hello Kitty Wines

Operating out of a former tractor workshop in Germany's Rheingau region, Anthony's Mini Garage Winery's fruit brandies are packaged in metal cans; its wines come in vintage-style bottles with crown caps.

Photo © Ulrike Kirmse

The tagline for Mad Housewife's wines: "What's domestic bliss without a little wine?" Its labels feature a campy 1950s housewife in pink.

Photo © Ross Anania

Wine importer Dan Philips paired up with designer Chuck House to create genius wine labels that mimic airline boarding passes—"luggage tag" included.

Photo © Max Dunn

This red from Australia's Barossa winemaking region reflects Elderton Wines co-founder Neil Ashmead's twin passions: wine and cars. The screw cap brilliantly features a 6-speed gear stick.

Photo courtesy of Killibinbin

Since 1985, Napa Valley's Marilyn Wines has adorned each new vintage of its signature Marilyn Merlot with a different image of America's iconic sex symbol. Among the most prized: the Velvet Collection, whose label features a peel-off overlay that conceals a nude portrait.

Photo courtesy of Marilyn Wines

The gimmicky Vampire Vineyards went all out with some of its earlier vintages, sourcing grapes from what once was Transylvania. Its recent vintages come from a more expected wine-growing area: the Paso Robles region of California's Central Coast.

Photo courtesy of Vampire Vineyards

Killibinbin Wines out of Adelaide Hills, Australia all bear illustrations from vintage horror films, including depictions of a screaming woman and a man being choked.

Photo courtesy of Elderton Wines