2026

Back Label Contest

Enter by April 14th

Submit Your Label Entry

Every year we offer you the chance to get published on a 750mL bottle of Rocket Science. Submit as many entries as you’d like—from the creative to the academic to the totally out there, anything goes in 80 words or less. Finalists receive 12 bottles of Rocket Science with their winning label, and bragging rights as an honorary rocket scientist… at least in our eyes.

Last call for submissions: April 14th, 2026

Find Inspiration

The prize is generally awarded to those who can most imaginatively hone their intellect to offer other wine drinkers intrigue or inspiration as they quaff this fine wine. 

Previous contenders for the Rocket Science prize have submitted intergalactic romance poetry, provided solutions to critical problems such as how much wine would be needed to propel a bottle into space, offered descriptions of interplanetary voyages inspired by imbibing, explained the detection of dark matter - in wine, explored the bottle depletion theory, as well as a host of other enlightening prose.

Previous Victors

1 13

The Catalyst

Did you know it takes 1.5 million cases of Rocket Science wine to lift a one-ton payload into low earth orbit? Neither did we... until Eric Beaser came for a tasting at the winery and got so fired up about our Rocket Science wine that he spent 20 hours in the lab modeling simulated rocket launches on a multimillion dollar, CRAY supercomputer to find out. As he put it, “I know it's dorky, but I was inspired to do it for fun.” ...and it gets us thinking... maybe there’s more of you WinEstein types out there with an excess of creativity and knowledge to share….

The Big Bang

In our case, it was Big Bang Communications, a company we hired in 2002 to write the back label story for Rocket Science, our new Proprietary Red wine project. The stories were great – entertaining and just enough over your head to make you think. Over the next few years the excitement for the wine and the stories took on a life of their own, and everyone from rocket scientists to us more earthbound types came into the fold wanting to share in the fun. Then in 2006, Eric Beaser, Aeronautical Engineer, paid us a visit and inspiration was born.

Behind the Name

Rocket Science is a wine that rethinks what’s possible. The name salutes co-founder Joy Caldwell’s father, a man who went from mechanical to aerospace engineering, and from test pilot to candidate for the original moon landing. His fearless pursuit of his dreams instilled in Joy the drive to take on the impossible. Our wine’s Mission is to honor that spirit of adventure and boundless curiosity and share the incredible things humans are dreaming, inventing, and building every day… because the search for knowledge is cause for celebration, and that celebration needs wine.