Momento Mori treats its labels as art.

Momento Mori is a lesson in the label as a piece of art. Founded in 2015 by Dane and Hannah Johns and based in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, it is an independent, family-run natural-wine producer sourcing organic fruit across Victoria — its debut wine was “Staring at the Sun.”

Its brand identity is art-forward and expressive — striking, illustrated, graphic labels that treat each wine like an artwork. A genuinely citable proof point: its limited-edition “Momento Mori × TINA × William Blake” release for the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial in 2024, tying the wine to a major art-institution collaboration.

(Honest notes: the spelling is “Momento,” not “Memento.” It’s effectively a multi-region producer sourcing across Victoria, not a single Gippsland estate. And while the labels are clearly a point of pride, it isn’t confirmed that the founder illustrates them all himself, so we frame it as art-forward with artist collaborations. There’s no official brand hex, so the tones here are an unofficial interpretation.)

Momento Mori lives in a plum-and-gold palette. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Momento Mori’s identity is artful, rich and expressive — an ink, an art plum, a gold leaf, a slate, and a bone. The palette pairs a deep art plum with a gold-leaf accent — the register of a gallery and a memento-mori richness. It signals art, depth and expression rather than convention. The honest caveat: with no published brand hex, these tones are an original, unofficial interpretation, not first-party values.

The lesson is plum plus gold signals an art-forward identity. Momento Mori’s world is a bottle that behaves like a canvas. For designers, it is a reminder that a deep plum with gold reads as artful and rich — right for a label treated as artwork. The takeaways: go rich and deep; add a gold accent; and treat any single hex as unofficial — using ink for small text so the palette stays artful.

The register is an artful serif — expressive and gallery-like.

Momento Mori’s identity carries an artful, expressive, gallery spirit — labels as artworks. An artful serif captures the mood: it is expressive and elegant, the register of an art-forward brand. Set in a plum-and-gold palette, the artful serif feels expressive and gallery-like — exactly the personality Momento Mori carries. It is artistic rather than commercial, mirroring a label treated as art. (Momento Mori’s real label artworks are works we describe but do not reproduce, and the exact lettering is not ours to use.) Because the labels are not ours to use, the honest description is “an artful serif spirit,” shown here in a stand-in. The type behaves like the brand: artful, expressive and gallery-like.

Momento Mori stands for wine treated as artwork.

Momento Mori is a lesson in making art the identity. A plum-and-gold palette, illustrated labels and artist collaborations make art the whole brand — expressive, rich, gallery-like. The art is the differentiator. The differentiator is an art-forward, expressive, collaborative identity.

For designers and brand-builders, Momento Mori offers a clear takeaway: treating the label as art can be the brand. The lessons: commission real art (the NGV Triennial edition with William Blake); make each release distinct (a rotating canvas); and let the artwork carry the story. It is also a reminder to stay accurate: the spelling is “Momento,” it sources across Victoria (not a single estate), and it isn’t confirmed the founder draws every label — so frame it as art-forward with collaborations, and treat the palette here as an unofficial interpretation. Momento Mori made art the brand — proof that a label-as-artwork can be the difference.

Keep Momento Mori’s identity on hand — save it to a board in the Made Good inspiration library.