Behind the project: Peachy illustrations for Minuty
My design for the wine, featuring illustrations of summer fruit and market inspired mark-making
In today’s blog post, I’m going to deep dive into my illustration work for Provencal wine brand Minuty. Each year, Minuty collaborate with an artist to produce a Limited Edition bottle, centring around a different theme, and I was asked to be their 2026 artist. I was so pleased, and even more excited when I saw their mood boards and plans for the bottle and marketing content surrounding it.
The brief
The bottle design needed to highlight the tasting notes of the rosé, and also the idea of food and wine pairing. We wanted to invoke the feeling of a relaxing dinner in the Mediterranean sunshine with friends and family. The design isn’t just a wine label, but a full wrap around design that needs to work both on an empty bottle and against the tasty pink tone of the rosé inside.
A look at my mood board for the project
My approach and the importance of personal projects
I created illustrations of peaches, raspberries and redcurrants and used abstract shapes and marks to represent foliage and tablecloths.
One thing that was really special about this project is that it was directly informed by a piece of personal work I had created - a repeat pattern design of peaches and nectarines.
This was a slight shift in process for me - I worked very intuitively with a big focus on texture - trying to capture the true essence and flavour of the ingredients I was illustrating. It’s exciting that the art director saw this piece and wanted me to create something similar.
Usually with my illustrations, I create sketches first and then trace them using a lightbox to create the full colour versions. However with this way of illustrating I just go straight in with colour.
I draw each element multiple times using different mediums and techniques - testing out what would happen if I dunk my crayon into water before I draw with it, or if I did a version in paint, or felt tip pen, or colouring pencil. I find it a fun, instinctive and exploratory way of working. When I’ve got a selection of illustrations (in this case fruits) and mark-making that me and the client are both happy with, I scan them in and put together a composition.
Raspberry illustrations in different mediums
Hand drawn peach illustration experiments
The very glamorous out of the ordinary bit
As part of the collabortaion, I was asked to complete the design and take part in a photoshoot at Chateau Minuty. I hopped on the train to Paris, then to Provence and finally arrived at my destination of Saint-Tropez, where Chateau Minuty is located. Did I feel like i was in a Netflix romcom where I was about to leave my city life behind to fall in love with a handsome winemaker? Yes.
Painting a bottle in the vineyard!
I met the lovely team and photographer, and was shown around the market, vineyards and nearby villages (and the beach of course). It was funny to be in front of the camera for this part and definitely out of my comfort zone, but I was so pleased when I started to see the photographs and videos come together (by brilliant Lisa Raio) . A surreal experience in beautiful surroundings!
What now?
Now that the wine bottle is out in the world, it’s been so exciting seeing it on shelves. Especially exciting that the bottle has my name on it! I’ve obviously shared a few bottles of it over the summer with my friends and family.
I’d love to work on more packaging projects like this one for the food and drink industry. If you’re looking for a food and drink illustrator, who specialises in hand drawn and textural mark making, then check out more of my food & drink illustration work here.
