The stunning work of Rui Sanches graces the new releases of Esporão wines

We’ve all been told (many times, probably) that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

And while that’s certainly true (see, you were right, Mom!), it’s can also be argued that an exceptional book deserves an exceptional cover to match it. It doesn’t change what’s between those covers, of course, but there’s no doubt that the right wrapping can compliment and even enhance the pleasure you get out of the entire experience of what’s inside.

It’s in that spirit that Esporão has, since their first vintage in 1985, commissioned over 24 artists to design one-of-a-kind works to be displayed on the labels of their Reserva and Private Selection wines. The contributors have including many notable artists: António Ole, Armando Alves, Artur Bual, Costa Pinheiro, Dórdio Gomes, Gabriel e Gilberto Colaço, Graça Morais, Guilherme Parente, Joana Vasconcelos (who was profiled here in July), João Hogan, José de Guimarães, José Manuel Rodrigues, José Pedro Croft, Julião Sarmento, Júlio Pomar, Júlio Resende, Luís Pinto Coelho, Manuel Cargaleiro, Mestre Isabelino, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Pedro Calapez, Pedro Proença, and Rubens Gerschman.

You can now add Lisbon-born, award-winning sculpture and drawing artist Rui Sanches to that list.

Sanches lives and works in Lisbon, and has studied in Goldsmith’s College in the UK, and Yale University, in the U.S. His works have been exhibited since 1984, and his works can now be found in galleries worldwide, including Spain and Belgium.

His work for Esporão can now be found on the labels for the new vintages of Esporão’s wines, including Esporão Reserva White 2010, Reserva Red 2009, Esporão Private Selection White 2010 and Private Selection Red 2008. The works are stunning; but you don’t need to take my word for it – have a look at them yourself in the bottle shots (click each to get a closer look)!

The idea behind the commissioned labels is to capture the emotions of the world of wine, and Sanches’ work for the current Esporão releases visually evoke the landscape of farms and fields in Alentejo, where the Esporão wines originate. The color schemes go for your emotional side, as they are reminiscent of the colors and flavors of the wines themselves.

Like wine itself, the works make an emotional connection rather than a literal visual one, but once you taste the wines those connections will seem much more obvious and direct than abstract. All in all, they’re fitting covers for the wonderful stories inside those bottles.

You’ll be able to take in your share of those stories when the wines hit the shelves in the U.S. in 2012 (until then, you’ll just have to look at the stunning art on the bottle shots, and try not to drool on your keyboard). And then you’ll be able to appreciate when a cover can make a story better (just don’t tell Mom, okay?).