FLCC’s next student-made wine label symbolizes starting point

FLCC student Rachel Graf's "Foundation" design won the wine label competition. The label will appear on this year's student-made wine varieties.

The label chosen for the wine that Finger Lakes Community College students will bottle next spring pays homage to where it all began.

Second-year graphic design major Rachel Graf of Walworth designed the label and name for the college’s 2019 vintage wines. To be called “Foundation,” the wine label features antiqued blueprints of the college’s Viticulture and Wine Center, which opened in Geneva in early 2015.

The name and design symbolize the center’s opening and its role as a starting point – or foundation – for students enrolled in the program.

“I wanted to showcase the hard work of the viticulture students and pay homage to their studies and the center itself for creating these amazing opportunities for them,” said Graf, a 2018 graduate of Wayne Central High School in Ontario, Wayne County. “The blueprints represent the literal foundation for the center itself, and the center represents the educational foundation for the students.”

Graf and her classmates designed labels for a graphic design course taught by Liz Brownell of Victor, professor of graphic design. In what has become an annual tradition, the labels were revealed recently at a gallery-style reception at the Viticulture and Wine Center. The 14 student designers took turns pitching their concepts, touching on themes, color palettes, font choices, as well as what types of computer programs were used to create the designs.

“This project is a chance for the students to have the experience of working with actual clients,” said Brownell. “It’s a boots on the ground approach. In any discipline of study, the teacher can describe what it’s like to work in the field, but when students have the actual experience for themselves it’s a different level of learning.”

During a reception at FLCC’s Viticulture and Wine Center in Geneva, graphic design students took turns pitching label designs to be voted on by student winemakers. Rachel Graf is shown during her presentation; her Foundation label was selected

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Students of Paul Brock, associate professor of viticulture, voted on the labels. Selecting a winner proved challenging. In fact, a tie-breaker vote was required. The runner up, Adele Fishbaugh of Dundee, paid homage to Native Americans with her minimalist design, titled Nilch’itsoh.

Students Lex Nicotina of Greece and Quinn Howell of Palmyra were also finalists in the contest.

Niagara Label of Akron is donating its services to make the labels and Waterloo Container is donating the bottles.

For more information on the FLCC viticulture and wine technology degree or the graphic design degree, visit flcc.edu or call (585) 785-1000.

Information about financial aid and all other enrollment steps is available at www.flcc.edu/onestop.