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Jealous Bitches and Smoking Loons
Go for the Anti- Wine Snob Market
by John Mariani
http://www.johnmariani.com/current-issue

by John Mariani

Wine labels have a long tradition of illustrious family names like Rothschild and Mondavi, while others like Far Niente and Cloudy Bay evoke the romance of wine. But in the last few years wineries aiming at those who wouldn’t dream of spending more than $12 on a bottle have been giving their labels odd, funny, even ridiculous names like Fat Bastard, Woop Woop, and Red Bicyclette that sell oceans of cheap wine.

One of the biggest success stories of the decade has been Australia’s seven-dollar Yellowtail—named after a yellow-footed rock wallaby--which launched in 2001 and within three years became the most popular imported wine in the U.S., now with about 8 million cases sold annually.

There is, of course, a reverse snob factor in all this, aimed at what has been called the “Joe Corkscrew” segment of the market. So, the less pretentious the name, and the better the price …

To read the full story log on to
http://www.johnmariani.com/archive/2009/090802/index.html
Mariani's Virtual Gourmet Newsletter, August 2, 2009

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