De Krans launches new label design for Port-style wine range
De Krans Wines, situated in Calitzdorp, has long been synonymous with the port-style wine industry in South Africa and is well-known for their range of award-winning port-style wines, specifically their flagship, the De Krans Cape Vintage Reserve. With Port-style wines and Portuguese grape varietals being an integral part of their heritage since 1973, when the first Portuguese grapes were planted on the farm, it was of great importance to the brand to stay true to their heritage throughout the redesign process of the port-style range. The farm’s heritage dates back all the way to 1890 when the De Krans farm was bought by the Nel family. De Krans is part of the first farm established in Calitzdorp in 1757, known as “Buffelsvallei” or Buffalo Valley, where wild animals, including buffaloes, freely roamed the area along the banks of the Gamka river. While the buffalo has long featured as the De Krans logo (although only the buffalo head), the new logo and label designs portray the full-body buffalo to pay tribute to this magnificent animal.
The new port-style wine label design ultimately features the new De Krans logo – a hand-illustrated sketch of a buffalo with a slightly textured light beige background. Dark colours like ruby red, purple-blue, and tawny are used as colour capsules to reflect the colours and the richness of the different port-styles. The new design is a fresh and elegant take on the classic port-style label and is a big transition from the previous white print on black labels. The goal was not only to celebrate the farm’s humble beginnings, but also to make the label and in effect the wine, more approachable for the consumer – especially the younger consumer and those new to the category.
Since the ruling in 2010 prohibiting South African producers from using the word “Port”,, the South African Port Producers Association collectively agreed to include the word, “Cape” plus the style, as a means of brand identity. As a result, port-style wines are labelled as Cape Ruby, Cape Tawny and Cape Vintage. There is no doubt that much education is still left to be done regarding port-style wines in South Africa – what makes them different to still wines, and when and how to enjoy these delicious wines. It is our hope that this new label will yet again place emphasis on this important and much-loved category and encourage both loyal port-style wine drinkers and newcomers to the category to experiment with and enjoy these intricately-made fortified wines. Most importantly, the labels may have changed, but the incredible quality and style of the port-style wines’ content is still true to the De Krans style, and just getting better.
The new port-style range label design marks the third label launch for De Krans Wines in the past year with the Premium Moscato range new design launched in March 2024 and the Classic Varietal Range launched in October 2024. The Classic Varietal Range also features the buffalo illustration with a modern label design and a pop of colour.