August 1 2006
Several wine bloggers have observed the sale of two brandsfrom Bonny Doon iconoclast Randall Graham to a management owned company calledUnderdog Wine Merchants. Their twonewly acquired brands—Cardinal Zin and The Big House—join other labels likePinot Evil, Killer Juice and Herding Cats.
In a current Wine and Spirits magazine interview, Graham had a bit of foreshadowing going on when he said:
RG: IfI may jump in with a thought: I think that the biggest part of theproblem is a certain character of the American people. We want everyoneto love us and by extension, to love our wines. I think that it isdeeper than just commercial expediency, though that is certainly thelargest part of it. New World winemakers make confectionery winesbecause their customers seem to prefer them. We in the New Worldlargely make wines to please others rather than ourselves because wegenerally don’t have the self-confidence that comes from being rootedin a place, to know that we have vineyards that speak to us.
Not hard to read between the lines and consider that Randall Graham is shedding the albatross of expectations (and making some money along the way) to get back to pleasing himself. I wish this guy would write a book—he’d could be this generation’s Ben & Jerry if he wanted to.
By the same token, it’s not real hard to see that Underdog is building up abusiness full of labels that would/should/allegedly appeal to a members of Gen.Y. Afterall, a breeze through myindependent Arts & Entertainment Weekly in the burgeoning metropolis ofIndianapolis gives me similar edgy treatment for clubs and the like and so doesclub/bar/nightlife marketing in cities across the country.
Yet, still, … a part of me wants to say that these labelaggregators have the wrong strategy.
Over at Pinot Blogger, a blog on the process of starting-upCapozzi winery, Josh is taking votes on label design. And, of the four options, there’s nothing trendy of the sort. Just clean, crisp, classic design.
If you’ll set aside price point for a second, because Idon’t know how much the Capozzi will cost, I have to believe that if a rational23 year old were given a choice between two bottles—price being equal—and understandingthat wine is an aspirational product, that he would pick the Capozzi over the Pinot Evil.
Maybe I’m crazy, but I dig the “old school” look like A.Rafinelli and and Caparone—something that says “anti-trend, small, can’t findit everywhere” is cooler then an attempt at cleverness like Pinot Evil. I’m not 23, but I’m still in the 18 – 34 demo…
Call me crazy—andthen go vote at Pinotblogger.com
Hmmm ... Capozzi and Josh are in Sonoma, too. I think I need to bribe him into getting me a couple of bottles from Rafanelli, too.
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