Of course, real wine connoisseurs have walked the earth for many years — as have nonconnoisseurs who find such people to be annoying snobs and who find today's megamart selection to be a big, bewildering taunt. It's one thing to sense that there's a huge spectrum of quality represented on that shelf, but it's something else to make a decision. Perhaps, in light of this, it's no surprise that a new factor has emerged that apparently helps many of us parse the options: the "critter label."

Kangaroos, penguins and crocodiles are just some of our animal friends taking a good run at the wine industry. With the introduction of hundreds of new wine brands every year, wine marketers realize the need for attention-grabbing "fun" labels that make an impression on consumers. Many are utilizing what is affectionately known as the "critter label."

Perhaps trying to mimic the success of the Yellow Tail brand, this new wine segment has become increasingly important. Of the 438 new Table Wine brands with sustained consumer sales introduced in the past three years, 77 — or 18 percent — featured a "critter" on the label. Combined with existing critter labels, sales of critter-branded wine have reached more than $600 million.

The popularity of critter labels, those with some sort of animal on them, has hit Germany with Rainer Lingenfelder, a winemaker who has visited Nova Scotia numerous times, leading the way with his 'vineyard creatures' collection.