Cono Sur unveils limited edition Tour de France labels

Chile’s Cono Sur has launched a series of limited edition labels for its Bicicleta range to celebrate its ongoing partnership with the Tour de France.

Eliza Southwold’s design for Cono Sur

A limited edition label depicting cyclists racing through the French countryside will adorn bottles of Cono Sur’s Bicicleta range from the summer, designed by artist Eliza Southwold, with seven versions of the label, colour-coded to match the different varietals in the range. The Bicicleta range includes the UK’s best-selling branded Pinot Noir, a Viognier, Chardonnay, Merlot and Carmenère, among other varieties.

A former architect, Southwold’s design celebrate Cono Sur’s partnership with the Tour de France 2016 as the event’s official wine sponsor. The producer’s partnership with the Tour de France is apt given that its staff are known for getting around its vineyards by bike.

“We were looking for a way to build on the buzz which has grown up around our involvement with the Tour de France and cycling in general,” said Dan Featherstone, marketing manager of Cono Sur in the UK.

“Once we’d met with Eliza and seen her beautiful artwork, we knew we wanted to do something together. The imagery evokes the scenery of the great cycle races, but also the Chilean landscapes where the grapes are grown – a nice parallell.”

The limited edition wines will be on shelf from mid June in Tesco, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Asda and other retailers.

Earlier this year French winemakers threatened to disrupt the Tour de France over the cycling event’s decision to award the Chilean producer an exclusive sponsorship deal with the iconic French event. The winemakers were appeased after organisers reached an agreement to allow them to showcase their products during the race, according to reports.