New Deal x HammerSky Vineyards announce
New Deal Skateboard Products announces the launch of the New Deal 1990 and Susie Switchblade labels, a genre-bending collaboration with premium winemaker HammerSky Vineyards…
…to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the iconic skate brand’s indelible influence on skateboarding culture. The artist-meets-artist project combines re-imagined classic skate graphics with best-in-class California vineyards to produce a unique and limited release red blend for wine and skateboarding enthusiasts worldwide.
As part of the recent New Deal 1990 Exhibition in Los Angeles, infamous skate artist Marc McKee remixed a classic early ‘90s character, Susie Switchblade, originally created as part of a New Deal pro model graphic by company co-Founder and Creative Director, Andy Howell. Marc’s re-creation of Susie Switchblade was a standout at the exhibition, catching the eye of another New Deal co-Founder, Steve Douglas, as well as that of HammerSky Vineyards Proprietor, Douglas Hauck.
The resulting New Deal 1990 and Susie Switchblade Label project breaks convention in the industry, highlighting New Deal’s commitment to redefine heritage brand experiences through innovative collaborations and free expression.
Velvet finish red blends comprise this limited release of HammerSky’s allocated estate wines from 2017. The style of creation is dry-farmed and hand-picked in small clusters with punch downs every three hours. The hand-crafted and estate-driven wines are made with purpose and passion at the HammerSky Estate Vineyard and Inn, located in a picturesque corner of the famed Vineyard Drive on the Central Coast of California. HammerSky wines echo in their flavor and structure the Estate’s unique terroir, combining 152 Linne Calodo Soils that originated under the oceans millions of years ago. The location of the Vineyard near the ocean creates a microclimate in the hot summer months, where the small production techniques may produce vintages of quality and distinction.
New Deal Skateboards co-Founder Steve Douglas describes the collaboration as an innovative way for New Deal to redefine the heritage skate brand experience, “I have been going to Hammersky in Paso Robles since 2008 with my family, and I love their wines. I invited the vineyard’s owner, Doug Hauck, to the New Deal 1990 Exhibition, and he was thoroughly impressed with the artwork and culture. Thirty years after Susie Switchblade was created for a New Deal skateboard, famed skate artist Marc McKee reimagined her as an incredible full color painting, my favorite piece in the show.
“Doug and I found common ground in our love for the artwork and the wines, offering us the unexpected opportunity to collaborate on a product which would be anticipated with interest by the heritage skater audience. My co-Founder, Andy Howell, decided to change Susie’s switchblade to a corkscrew for the wine label… just classic.”
Featured New Deal 1990 artist, Marc McKee, a maverick within skateboard culture with over three decades of iconic skate art under his belt, had this to say about the collaboration, “I was stoked when Andy (Howell) asked me to be part of the ‘New Deal 30 Years’ art show back in September 2019, and felt much the same months later when he hit me up about having the artwork I did for it on a label for one the reds from his friend’s winery. We both began doing skate graphics around the same time way back in the 90s working for various separate companies, and it’s great to be able to do something together after all these years—especially something that can really be enjoyed during this whole ‘shelter in place’ experience we’re all going through.”
HammerSky Vineyards Proprietor Douglas Hauck found skate art and wine to be a natural fit, “The New Deal 1990 wine is very much a collaboration between friends, built over glasses of wine and cold pints of beer with Steve Douglas. It reflects a time when musicians, artists, and independent thinkers built non-traditional collaborations around wine. I have sourced the best from the central coast of California, often blending from different vineyards at HammerSky Winery in the Paso robles area of California. The Susie Switchblade label is more rebellious, as she speaks her own mind, yet she’s always rich and sassy with a velvet finish.
“The winemaking is in collaboration with our friend, Orion, who is a free-thinking artist himself. We were very fortunate in our first private release to have the wine sell out within hours, so we expect a similar reaction with these labels.”
Release and Distribution
The New Deal x HammerSky – “Susie Switchblade” and “New Deal 1990” Wines are available for pre-order through direct subscription of special releases at HammerSky.com or by calling 805-230-0930.
Pre-order now to reserve your bottles. Orders ship end of June 2020.
Limited Release / Allocated Estate Wines
Fog: 19 Days
Soil: 152 Linne Calodo
Slope: North West
Harvest: 2017
Yield by design: 2.5 tons/acre
Gently hand-picked
Eco-Friendly
Bottled by HammerSky Vineyards, Paso Robles, California. Taking orders now before it’s gone… again.
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