Here at The Adelaidian, if there’s one thing we know for sure, it’s that fashion and wine go hand in hand. This is surely a well-known fact. So, when offered the chance to collaborate with favourite Adelaide winery Alpha Box & Dice (AB&D) in writing a feature article, we were super excited to discuss not only their amazing wine and processes, but their involvement with the fashion industry and collaborations with the local Australian Fashion Labels as well.
Alpha Box & Dice, based down in South Australia’s McLaren Vale region, are not known to be just your regular winery. Their producing and selling processes are extremely unique, making them a successful fit for the market niche of ‘fashionable’ wine-making. That is to say, AB&D make their wines available for only a certain period of time, much like a new line of designer clothing.
Traditionally, a winery tends to have that one range they replicate a new vintage of every year, but AB&D tends to steer away from this certain tradition. Run much more like a clothing brand than a winery, they make every product limited edition. This means, if you find a particular wine you enjoy at AB&D, the stock could potentially run out quickly and you may not get the chance to purchase it again (much like a brand new style of Louis Vuitton heels)! Having said this, a stylistically driven process is one that really creates that sense of exclusivity that comes with any great wine or fashion brand.
Alpha Box & Dice Cellar Door
AB&D’s Justin is a talented wine-maker and has had a vast range of experiences from every corner of the globe, bringing all the different wine-making ideologies back home to Adelaide. From Moldova to Italy, to Spanish influences and French influences, these are all reflective through the AB&D wines as he blends them in non-traditional ways.
For Justin, every ideology goes back to treating the earth, the vines and the fruit with the utmost respect. Considering he makes wine to that season and its conditions, his wines always reflect the profiles and flavours of that area rather than forcing wine to ‘morph’ into something it’s not.
For Justin, every ideology goes back to treating the earth, the vines and the fruit with the utmost respect.
Alpha Box & Dice // Australian Fashion Labels
Australian Fashion Labels are an Adelaide-born designer brand encompassing massive labels inclusive of C/MEO COLLECTIVE, Finders Keepers the Label, Keepsake the Label, Jaggar the Label, The Fifth Label, TY-LR and BNKR. Their success has sky-rocketed since the beginning in 2007, expanding nationally and globally, even expecting to open a store in Los Angeles incredibly soon.
Recently, Alpha Box & Dice partnered up with Australian Fashion Labels to launch the re-branding of former Cameo The Label to C/MEO COLLECTIVE. The launch event was strictly VIP and, to honour the occasion, AB&D made the exclusive Cameo Collective wine which has only been available at the event and not through cellar door, online or elsewhere.
AB&D Wine Barrels
The wine was a Riesling, with a label design emulating a similar design to that of the C/MEO clothing range, designed by the label themselves – sleek and sophisticated with clean cut lines. C/MEO gifted their special edition, money-can’t-buy wine to a large number of selected people at the event and continued to use the wine throughout Melbourne Fashion Week and other design previews.
The first time AB&D collaborated with Australian Fashion Labels was for the launch of their very first flagship store, FSHN BNKR. Of course, BNKR was the first flagship store they’ve launched here in Adelaide and this became exposed to a lot of fanfare, bringing in amazing models such as Bambi and exclusive other guests. As the first concept store Adelaide has had, BNKR’s stylistic drive was very similar to that of Alpha Box’s own unique style, which is how the two unified so successfully. We certainly can’t think of anything better than celebrating a gorgeous, new designer line or store with a glass of amazing, limited edition Alpha Box wine!
Inside the Fashion Bunker Flagship Store. Image sourced: http://australianfashionlabels.com.au/
Telling A Story Through Wine
When collaborating with other brands for their events, Alpha Box likes to tailor their wines towards the particular event, as they did in the case of the Cameo Collective Riesling. Previously, they’ve collaborated with popular Australian magazine, Monster Children, to create a red Barbera wine, a type of wine known for its higher level of acidity and alcohol content which was rather suited to the magazine’s ‘edgy’ vibe.
The guys behind Monster Children also designed the wine label themselves, with some beautifully sketched skulls encompassing a somewhat darker kind of label, completely different to that of the sleek Australian Fashion Labels wine. The Alpha Box tailored wines depend completely on the personal style of that company or person which can be considered the fun part of doing those kinds of special projects – creating something together with other entities as one whole team.
The AB&D Tarot and Apostle Wines
Each of the cellar door wines are all so different to one another – like their own stand alone characters. Keeping this in mind, the whole concept of Alpha Box & Dice is to develop an ‘alphabet’ of wine. Each batch release is consequently given a name corresponding to the letter of the alphabet and then the story behind that wine as well.
Looking at the current ‘S’ wine for example, the name is ‘Siren‘ correlating to ‘Siren of the Sea‘ and the idea behind that beautiful story of the temptress from the ocean who draws people into their doom. The fruit for this wine was, in fact, from the closest vineyard to the ocean within the McLaren Vale area, linking back to the idea of the ocean and seas. Furthermore, the beautiful, hand-drawn sketch of the mermaid on the label was done by none other than former Mambo artist, Gerry Wedd, who is quite high up there in the Australian surf culture scene.
The ‘Siren’ wine alongside ‘Dead Wine-makers Society’ wine
‘Siren’. Image sourced: https://www.facebook.com/alphaboxdice taken by Kane Overall
From that example alone, you can just tell how much intricacy and thought goes into producing any single wine at Alpha Box & Dice. Quite the South Australian pride; we just can’t wait to see more from Alpha Box and their collaborative projects!
Want to know more or looking to buy some of these fantastic, local wines? Check out the official website at: https://www.alphaboxdice.com/
Or alternatively, visit the Alpha Box & Dice winery:
Address: LOT 8 Olivers Road, McLaren Vale SA 5171
Phone: (08) 8323 7750
Hours:
Monday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Tuesday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wednesday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Thursday: 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Friday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
