Black Island Winery is a new winery in the village Smokvica on the island of Korčula that produces white wine from the Pošip grape called Merga Victa, and for which we created a brand strategy, name and brand slogan.

Our task was to uniquely position the brand in a highly saturated domestic market, to tell the story of Smokvica, which is known as the birthplace of the indigenous Pošip variety of grape, and to further differentiate Merga Victa’s wine from the numerous other Pošip brands that also come from Korčula and other wine growing regions of Croatia.

Pošip is a wild grape from Korčula, discovered by a local, Marin Tomašić, nicknamed Caparin, not far from the winery’s location. He loved the taste of the grape so much that he decided to plant it in his vineyard and share it with his friends and neighbors. The news about this marvelous wine quickly spread, and in 1967 it became the first Croatian white wine with a protected geographical origin.

Extensive research on the site and conversations with oenologists have revealed that natural sources of fresh water, which are abundant in the area, are most likely responsible for creating such a natural phenomenon as the Pošip grape. Right where Merga Victa’s vineyards are located, you can find these pools of water, along with the brown-red soil and 2880 hours of insolation per year, making this place perfect for growing grapes.

Merga Victa is a gifted wine from a gifted island. Nature has granted the island of Korčula with a source of fresh water that nourishes the vineyards surrounding the village of Smokvica, while the talented oenologists Igor Radovanović and Nikola Mirošević have taken the gift of the Pošip grape and created this enjoyable wine. Merga Victa’s brand celebrates Korčula’s rich nature and rewards the taste of its wine with an unexpected experience that can only be felt when the locals have the opportunity to share their secret with the world.

This locality, where the winery’s vineyards are located, was called by the native population Merga Victa, from which the name of the brand is derived. Merga Victa literally means the “path for water” in old-Dalmatic.

Art director Tonka Lujanac designed the logo on the wine’s label. This creative solution is based on the key distinctive elements of the brand, and also provides a visible link to the old labels from Smokvica’s earlier wineries. The logo is hand-drawn so that it is visually linked to the design of the label. The line below the building represents water and is printed in blue foil whenever possible. The very design of the label shows a hand-drawn Pošip grape vine that gives birth to a golden bunch of grapes. The link to the brand story was created in such a way that the illustration depicts the deep roots that draw the island’s divine water from the soil.

Brand Strategy & Creative Director: Anja Bauer

Naming Consultant / Copywriter: Anja Bauer

Brand Consultant: Stipan Rimac

Senior Brand Implementor: Jelena Mezga

Art Director / Designer: Tonka Lujanac