People who are new at buying wine generally have very little knowledge when they first walk into a wine store. Sometimes these rookies are too shy to reveal their inexperience by asking for help so the only way they can pick a bottle is to judge based on the label alone.

Here are some labels that have helped vineyards to sell their wines. Suggest your favourites in the comments!

10. SEPP

The label of SEPP hugs around the bottle with the very center being the only place where the label is missing. This creative idea may have potential buyers grabbing the bottle to check if they are actually viewing it at the correct angle.

9. Ganymed

Ganymed's label displays a hand-drawn picture of Zeus and his beloved Ganymed. It is drawn to give a feeling of authenticity and a picture of a naked man can be very effective at grabbing attention.

8. Bitch

Here is a wine that sells for its label alone. Using a typeface that is very frilly and lady-like to simply put the word "Bitch" in a large size is a clever idea and it guarantees quick sales.

7. Mas Elena

The simple label of Mas Elena uses its typeface brilliantly and it has a very clean look. Anyone trying to look sophisticated would do a good job by bringing this wine to the dinner party.

6. Mad Housewife

This wine has the exact opposite effect from Mas Elena. Mad Housewife is not sophisticated at all but it carries its unique message very effectively - who wouldn't want a bottle of wine with a picture of a woman holding a large fork?

5. Boxhead

The colourful label of Boxhead gives almost a comic-book feeling to it. With so many different typefaces and drawings, it is definitely a neat label to look at.

4. Lost Angel

Although it's probably not the biggest label to ever appear on a wine bottle, it certainly looks like it. Lost Angel's image and large capital lettering gives this wine a feeling of epic-ness that would go well with a shark you killed bare-handed.

3. Le Chronique Grenache

Le Chronique Grenache is a wine by Betts & Scholl and it features the art of Liam Gillick. The poetic lines in tight typeface that fades in and then back out gives this wine a beautiful design.

2. Encyclopedia

Coppola's Encyclopedia wine is packaged in a bottle that almost looks like a beaker and the label is a small stamp. This wine looks very out of place on the shelf with all the others and it will surely grab everyone's attention.

1. Innocent Bystander

Innocent Bystander's fascinating label could easily be enlarged and hung on a wall. With an incredible mix of contemporary art and historic accent, this label will make anyone love the wine inside the bottle before they even taste it.

About the author

Eli Penner has roughly a year's worth of experience of buying wine based solely on the label. He enjoys writing, web developing, and designing. He currently runs a humourous blog at raidandpillage.com

Images taken from:

• http://www.frugalmacdoogal.com
• http://www.top100wines.com
• http://www.toastwines.com/
• http://www.lingenfelder.com
• http://www.winelog.net
• http://www.missionwines.com/