Serpent will grace next FLCC wine bottles

MPNnow
·3 min read

HOPEWELL - Wines that Finger Lakes Community College students will bottle next spring will bear the image of a serpent designed by Matthew Neininger, of Canandaigua, a second-year graphic design student.

The serpent is a riff on FLCC’s lake monster mascot, Flick. His wrap-around label is designed to look like a faded historic drawing with a hand-drawn serpent about to bite down on a cluster of grapes an unwitting fisherman is using for bait.

Neininger’s drawing was one of 16 entries in the annual contest, in which graphic design students use suggestions from viticulture and wine technology students to develop label concepts. The students present their work and their decisions for using certain colors, fonts and images at the end of the fall semester. The viticulture students then meet to discuss the entries and select a winner.

FLCC graphic design student Matthew Neininger's serpent design will grace student-produced bottles of wine next spring.
FLCC graphic design student Matthew Neininger's serpent design will grace student-produced bottles of wine next spring.

“I couldn’t believe it. The competition was tough, and I knew if I was a judge the selection would be a difficult one,” Neininger said.

The viticulture students provided 10 to 12 possible ideas for a label, yielding a wide variety of designs. Madison Hobbs of Penn Yan took second place with her “Alley Cat” design, inspired by a request for a lighthearted take.

Madison Hobbs' “Alley Cat” design took second place in FLCC's annual wine bottle design contest.
Madison Hobbs' “Alley Cat” design took second place in FLCC's annual wine bottle design contest.

Victor resident Audrey Brown’s third-place entry, “Luminous,” was inspired by a suggestion to mimic vintage botanical drawings of grapes and vine.

Audrey Brown’s entry, “Luminous,” took third place.
Audrey Brown’s entry, “Luminous,” took third place.

“The hardest part was just allowing myself time to hash out a bunch of dueling ideas,” Neininger said. “I received the initial, overarching concept from one of the viticulture students and then started the brainstorming process, which resulted in a variety of design paths. I ended up choosing this label because it was the most attractive to me and fit well with what the student was asking for.”

Neininger, a Canandaigua Academy graduate, did not begin to explore art as a career path until starting at FLCC.

“I always was a doodler,” he said. “I love creating and expressing myself and interests through art and design. It just seems like I’m not even doing work. When I did the wine label, it wasn’t really like homework.”

In less than a year, his wine label will begin showing up on two local store shelves.

Students in the viticulture and wine technology two-year degree and one-year certificate programs produce commercial wines that are available at Ryan’s Wine and Spirits in Canandaigua and Pedulla’s Wine and Liquor in Geneva. Orders can also be arranged via online form on the FLCC website at flcc.edu/viticulture-center.

Wine appreciation classes offered at FLCC

Finger Lakes Community College will begin offering wine appreciation classes, starting with Wines of the World on Jan. 26 and Wines of Europe the following fall.

Wines of the World is a 15-week, one-credit classrunning 4:30 to 6:20 p.m. Thursdays at the FLCC Viticulture and Wine Center off Pre-emption Road in Geneva.

The course will survey the geographic, cultural and historical context of the wine regions of America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Students will taste four to eight wines per class and learn an analytical framework and methodology to evaluate, describe, record, and communicate the wine quality and character to their classmates.

Michael Penn, instructor of viticulture and wine technology, developed and will teach the courses. Costs are $213 for tuition and $100 for fees. Both spring and fall classes will have an enrollment cap of 15. The general public can sign up for most FLCC classes without enrolling in a degree or certificate program. Information on taking individual courses is available at flcc.edu/takeaclass or by calling 585-785-1000.

More information about the fall class, Wines of Europe, will be available in April 2023.

FLCC offers a 64 credit-hour degree program in viticulture and wine technology and a 29 credit-hour certificate program. More information is available at flcc.edu/viticulture.

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Serpent will grace next Finger Lakes Community College wine bottles