The first ballot the club ever ran had nothing to do with winemaking. Before there was a logo, members voted on what it should say about them, and wine democracy won.
Members have named six wines since. Soul Hero beat Open Sauce for the first release. The Chile wine became S.O.C.K.S., short for eso sí que es. A Livermore Pinot Noir became Live More, a Swartland Chenin Blanc became Chenin from the Blok, an Adelaide Hills Nebbiolo became NebbiYolo, and the Piedmont wine took Su Misura.
When the field of names is wide, the vote runs twice: an open shortlist first, then a final between the leaders. Sixty-two members turned out for the Live More final, across four names.
Labels, painted to order
For Soul Hero, members decided what would go on the label. They chose their own names. Chenin from the Blok carried the club's first painted label: members picked between two periods of Tom Fry's work, and voted on what the photograph beside it should show. For Su Misura, Liv Elson took a palette vote and a composition vote, and wrote to members in between.
Smaller things get voted on when members care about them. A corkscrew beat a t-shirt as one vintage's merchandise. The colour of the Soul Hero t-shirt had a ballot of its own.
Names, labels and logos are usually the last things a brand would hand over. Here they draw some of the biggest turnouts the club has seen: 64 members voted on the Live More label alone.