A two-headed
eagle embedded
in the
finest cotton
A story by
Armin Kyre
The Medienagenten agency developed the overall strategy for the winery, redesigned the labels and incorporated the old emblem of the Restaurant – a double-headed eagle – into the design.
As young apprentices, Franz Anton Keller and Franz Vollherbst shared a small apartment raised many glasses in the Schwarzer Adler inn in Oberbergen. This was the start of a friendship and business relationship between the Keller and Vollherbst families that spans three generations.
Over the decades, the Keller family of Baden became a successful family of wine merchants and winemakers. When young Friedrich Keller joined the family business in 2015 as a winemaker, the Medienagenten agency developed the overall strategy for the winery, redesigned the labels and incorporated the old emblem of the Restaurant – a double-headed eagle – into the design and embossed it on the finest cotton paper.
Step 01
Marke & Persönlichkeit
From innkeeper
to wine merchant
and winemaker
A dedicated family can turn a small, romantic winegrowing village into a gourmet attraction. Today the Schwarzer Adler, where Franz Anton Keller and Franz Vollherbst toasted each other with Kaiserstuhl wine, is a national institution, and renowned for its French and Baden cuisines.
Opposite the Schwarzer Adler the 200-year-old family-owned vintner’s house, Rebstock, used to serve down-to-earth regional dishes. “My great-grandfather started trading in bulk wine from Baden and Alsace in the early 20th century,” Friedrich says. “After World War 2, we imported wines from France. Then we built a winery and my dad bought the first vineyards.”
After studying in Geisenheim and spending time abroad in South Africa and Burgundy, France, he joined the winery in 2015. The new winery, built in 2013, is an architectural masterpiece. Spanning three floors, it nestles on the slope of a vineyard, blending in with the landscape. Today, the nearly 40 ha of vines – mainly dry Burgundy – are vinified to accurately reflect the site characteristics of volcanic or basalt rock in the glass. The Kellers call nine Grosse Gewächse (GG) and Erste Lagen their own, for example the Bassgeige Oberbergen or the Schlossberg Achkarren.
Step 02
Challenge
Reverse roll
- with the young spirit
Friedrich discovered an old 1959 vintage bottle of wine in the cellar where rare wines are stored. The double-headed eagle dominated the old label. Watercolour orchids had in the meantime been added to the label. “Why did we change the label?” he asked his dad.
Friedrich wanted to return to the old-style label. “I admire businesses that have never had to change their labels. It creates a real brand. Take the House of Gaja. The label dates back to the 1970s, but it’s still incredibly modern thanks to its simplicity.”
Friedrich’s brief to the agency medienagenten was straightforward: “We want a timeless, high-quality label.” The eagle is regarded as the king of the skies. But what is the significance of the double-headed eagle wearing a crown and sporting a sword and sceptre? “Until 1806, before Napoleon’s time, this area belonged to Austria,” Friedrich says. “Everything was under the Habsburg rule. The inns were assigned names such as Golden Swan and Zum Bären. Our inn was called The Black Eagle.” The double-headed eagle was the symbol of Habsburg Empire. It was only when the Pope recognised it as ruler that the single-headed eagle became the double-headed eagle. It stood for temporal and spiritual power.”
They provide an all-round carefree package, I’m very satisfied with the quality.
Friedrich Keller
Weingut Franz Keller
Collaboration
and family ties
Step 03
Solution
Finest cotton paper and multilevel relief embossing
A former imperial symbol demands the best. “We print the Great Growths label on Cotton White which is a 100% cotton surface,” Vollherbst customer manager Armin Kyre says. “That’s ingenious. It’s like touching wool. The grammage or mass of ordinary paper for stationery is 80 g. But for this label we use 120 g. You can’t get better than that. The paper is firm and substantial. This is pure nature.”
Print Facts
- Material: Fasson Cotton White
- Finishing: multilevel relief embossing, hotfoil gold, varnish
Both the vintage seal and the back label are cotton. “The finish for the eagle is multilevel relief embossing and very vivid,” customer manager Armin Kyre says. Gold hot-foil accentuates the wings and body of the black eagle, and the insignia is all in gold. Two banners in pale grey fluttering on both sides of the eagle display the slogan “Schenk noch emol i, s’isch Adlerwirts Wi” (Alemannic dialect) in gold print.
“The transparent relief varnish is raised like Braille,” Armin says. “It gives the banner expression along with the multilevel eagle and very best high-quality paper.” For the expert, it forms the ultimate triad: best paper, best relief embossing, best varnish.
Step 04
Personal Touch
Collaboration and family ties: It’s a small world for the king of the skies.
“They provide an all-round carefree package,” Friedrich says. “I’m very satisfied with the quality. Projects are handled efficiently and quickly. That’s important – the efficiency. It’s a win-win relationship.”
Friedrich says it’s an added benefit that Vollherbst specialises in the wine industry. “This is not just any service provider,” he says. “Vollherbst’s employees can put themselves in their customers’ shoes. They can see which sales channels need to be served.” In Keller’s case, the wines go directly to the end consumer, as well as restaurants, specialty retailers and exports. The Eagle flies around the world. That includes the Franz Anton wine edition, named in memory of Friedrich’s grandfather.
Anibal Strubinger, the chef at the Schwarzer Adler, will never forget these families either. In 1974, Dr Franz-Josef Vollherbst accompanied his dad Franz Anton to Tovar, Venezuela. “We were impressed that the people still spoke the Kaiserstuhl dialect, six generations after they immigrated in 1842. Anibal’s dad enquired about a training position for his son as a cook in Germany before we left.”
In September of the same year, six young men from Tovar came to the Kaiserstuhl, the home of their ancestors and Franz Anton found them each an apprenticeship. Anibal was one of the six.
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Armin
Kyre
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