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 In the Jungle
Of late, however, the action among labels seems to be in the jungle.
Animals, mostly those perceived as noble, have long graced serious wine labels. Eagles and other birds, deer, foxes and members of the cat, dog and horse families are especially popular, including the quail of Covey Run, the crows of Croze and ravens of Ravenswood.
A few brands’ identities are synonymous with the whimsical creatures on their labels. These include Toasted Head with its fire-breathing bruin, Frog’s Leap with its classic leaping frog, lighthearted Toad Hollow and Goats do Roam, a tongue-in-cheek allusion to Côtes du Rhône. Goat Roti is a similar take on expensive Côte Rôtie; then there’s Goat Door (Côte d’Or) and Bored Doe.
 Gundlach-Bundshu Winery, itself subject to jokes about its name, makes a Bordeaux blend called Bearitage (their play on "meritage"). Cayuse has a Flying Pig, a retort by eccentric "biomic Frog" winemaker Christophe Baron to those who doubted he could produce a fine Bordeaux blend from an unlikely site in Walla Walla, Washington.
More recently, the wine shelf has turned into a veritable zoo of inexpensive wine, a situation many attribute to the phenomenal success of [yellow tail] with its stylized, yellow-footed rock wallaby, a small kangaroo that’s known to roam the producer’s vineyards.
The truth may go a bit deeper, however.
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