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4 Wine Labels That Take The Cake

Written by Madeline Puckette

4 Wine Labels That Take The Cake

It’s hard not to resist a wine label that eludes to the satisfaction of cake. The 4 wine labels below show how using the word cake has become a wine brand naming strategy. Wineries should take branding seriously without any information about a wine, price and label design are often the deciding factors in a wine purchase.
sweet red wine and sweet chardonnay... all in the name of cake

Temptation is Everywhere

I stood there in the store seeking out a bottle of Guy Saget Vouvray. Staring back at me were the cutest looking bottles of wine:

  • Sweet Symphony Sweet Red Wine
  • Angel Cake Sweet Chardonnay

I learned last month about how deceptive wine labels can be in The Wine & Chocolate Video. Who knows, maybe Angel Cake Sweet Chardonnay is a revelation. No doubt, Precept Wines is clever because the whole package communicates a single message: drinking this wine is like eating cake. Below are more examples of the “Cake Wine” craze that is taking the bulk wine industry by storm!

Cake Wines. Create Culture.

cake sauvignon blanc is named after a delicious thing
Cake sauvignon blanc from Australia is named after dessert for a reason

Cupcake Vineyards Chardonnay

Cupcake Chardonnay is a captivating name
The Cupcake Vineyards brand started in 2008 but in fact is part of a larger premium bulk wine company called Golden State Vintners. With a long history in bulk wine since 1934, Golden State Vintners is one of seven companies in California who make up 75% percent of California’s entire production. To put that into perspective, that’s about 2 trillion bottles of wine annually.


Layer Cake

Layer Cake Primitivo
Layer Cake achieves a drunk on chocolate cake

Layer Cake is a popular wine label. They are owned by One True Vine, who has a portfolio of many fine boutique wineries such as Hundred Acre and Cherry Pie (pinot noir). The idea behind Layer Cake is to source wines from around the world and have no limits of where a tasty good value wine can be from.


Cakebread Cellars

Cakebread Cellars is known rich wines
Cakebread Cellars makes creamy chardonnay and peachy sauvignon blanc

Cakebread is a family name of a winery that released their first vintage in 1973. This I believe to be the first “cake wine” which became popular for their chardonnay; known to be creamy and vanilla-like in texture. I believe Cakebread Cellars stumbled into the cake wine fad by luck. Cakebread produces wines that higher in quality and price than the former cake wine examples.

Why Are You Buying That Wine?

Pay attention to your buying habits when you pick up a bottle of wine for Tuesday night at the grocery store. Many of the most attractive wine labels in front of you are part of much larger wine brands who control the marketplace. Look for wines that clearly indicate on the label that they are independent wineries and producers.

Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly


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