The Optimist is one of only 200 wine bottle designs chosen worldwide to represent the visual culture of wine in an exhibition presented by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

Greg Bennett, principal of Cut Once, designed The Optimist, a lovely and sophisticated play on “Is the glass half-full or half-empty?” with a sparing design that has an empty glass when the bottle is upright, but as one pours the wine into a glass, the graphic becomes a full glass — and if you look at the opening image above, you might notice that the full glass is not rendered in black ink, but it’s a tiny die-cut that reveals the bottle and its delicious content. Clearly, Greg has an eye for detail, and perhaps a little (healthy!) obsessiveness. — ARMIN VIT

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
How Wine Became Modern, Design + Wine 1976 to Now explored the visual culture of wine and its stunning transformation over the last three decades. Designed in collaboration with renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the exhibition combines historical artifacts, architectural models, design objects, newly commissioned artworks, and enticing installations, including a "smell wall," to probe many aspects of wine culture, among them the globalization of wine, concepts of terroir, wine in popular media, and new strategies in label, glassware, and winery design.

Exhibition photos courtesy of Matthew Millman

For further information about How Wine Became Modern, please visit: SFMOMA