Have you ever wondered what is really in the wine you drink? If you’ve done a little research on the subject you know that is more than just grapes (a great round table discussion on Wine Business details the types of bacteria, yeasts and other additives used). Bonny Doon Vineyard is about to make it a little easier to find out what is in your wine with labels that will disclose all wine ingredients beginning with the 2007 vintage white and 2006 vintage red wines.
The ingredients are listed in two sections on the back label of each bottle of Bonny Doon wine. The first section highlights the wine’s basic ingredients such as grapes and sulfur dioxide, a preservative, found in the wine. The second section will point out ingredients used in the production of the wine such as bentonite, (a type of clay used to clarify wine prior to bottling) that no longer remain in the wine.
In a press release the company said that they are doing this both to educate the consumer but also to reduce their own dependence on standard wine additions. It’s all part of the company’s restructuring process which has included an increased focus on biodynamic practice in their own vineyard and encouragement of the same with their contract growers to produce wines that are less technically manipulated.
“I can’t afford it”
That’s not true.
At least it’s not true almost all the time. Very few of your prospects literally can’t afford it. What they are really trying to say is, “it’s not worth it.” As in, it’s not worth reprioritizing my life, not worth the risk, not worth what I’ll have to give up to get this, not worth being in debt for.
One response to repeated cries of “I can’t afford it” is to lower your prices. A better response is to tell a better, more accurate story, and to tell it to the right people. The best response is to make something worth paying for.
Brit’s leaving their pints?
According to a commissioned report on behalf of French wine-makers, more than half of British men (54%) said one pint at the beginning of an evening was enough to quench the thirst before moving on to wine. The report also reveals that 72% of British men consider wine to be a more sociable drink than beer, with 68% preferring to share a bottle between friends rather than taking it in turns to buy rounds of beer.
While the decor of the British pub has changed to accommodate drinkers’ evolving tastes, more than half (52%) conceded that the range of wines on offer in British pubs often outshone the beer choices, and slightly more (54%) admit they are likely to drink less beer than wine in the future. Also 75% of British men admitting that they would rather choose from a menu of lighter options, particularly European-style dishes to share, such as mezze and tapas, which sit better with wine.
“The news that Britain is increasingly a nation of wine drinkers may seem surprising, but in reality it’s been gathering pace for some time” said Wine expert Olly Smith, of the BBC TV programme Saturday Kitchen. Smith continued to comment that wine is a “journey of discovery, adventure and good fun that’s rapidly capturing the British imagination”.
So it looks like that by 2039, a generation from now, the British male will more likely to be enjoying a Bordeaux instead of a Bitter at the local pub. Glass of dry white Calvin please!
Source: consumerscorner
Mamietage Wine Brings New Meaning to the Word Full-Bodied
For certain winemakers, what is on the label rather than what is inside is the main selling feature. We’ve seen it recently with the wines that put Jesus and infamous dictators on the bottles and we are seeing it again in the new 2005 Mamietage wine which features images of aging bombshell Mamie Van Doren. Like the Marilyn Monroe wines we have seen before, this wine features nude pictures that are covered by peel-away stickers. There are three 1.5 liter bottles, two images of Mamie today (heavily Photoshopped, we hope, although for someone born in 1931 according to IMDB she looks fabulous) and one of Mamie at age 21. Should you choose to partake of the wine you will find a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Verdot, Syrah and Malbec from the Alexander Valley bottled by the Armida winery which is located in Healdsburg, CA. A set of all three bottles sells for $300.
Source: www.luxist.com
Focus on Avontuur (2)
Graphic Designer Patrick Humphreys comments on the re-design of the Klein Avontuur label.
“The Klein Avontuur range already had a graphic property that the client wanted used for the update – a full colour linework depiction of homestead, mountain and vineyard. To modernise the look of the
illustration, I converted it to a single buff colour line graphic and used this, combined with a 50% tint of the buff as a background as the graphic link between the varietals in the range. The range is demarcated by strong colour panels on a clean, white background”.
By Mike Carter.
Focus on Avontuur (1)
Avontuur Estate is a visitor-friendly Helderberg wine and equine stud farm. I asked graphic designer Patrick Humphreys, what influenced the new Avontuur “wrap around” label design.
“Avontuur needed their retail range re-designed to give them
more presence on shelf and to get the message ‘not expensive, but still
good, tasty wine’ across. Realising that they also breed racehorses on
the Estate, I felt that the horse iconography could be a worthy vehicle
to add excitement to the range and at the same time tie the range
together”.
“I developed a simple, ‘outline’ style to depict the horses
and incorporated them into a range of simple wrap-around labels
(combining front and back labels) to give a very ‘reachable’,
unpretentious feel”.
By Mike Carter.
Thorntree
The acacias, or thorn trees, are one of the most typical sights of the African veld, with umbrella crowns providing welcome shade to humans and animals alike. Their defensive thorns were even used as needles by some African tribes. Rugged and tough, they are a symbol of the undoubtable spirit of Africa herself.
Owner/winemaker Andre Badenhorst has been immersed in the Cape wine tradition all his life, spending his childhood at Groot Constantia, South Africa’s oldest wine farm. Comments Andre “I was involved in the production of only expensive wines, but it became a passion of mine to produce a wine without all the glitter and fanfare, that people could not only enjoy, but also marvel at the affordable price”.
12 days of Christmas in a Web 2.0 World
On the first day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
A tip to expand my business globally!
On the second day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the third day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the fifth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the sixth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the seventh day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Seven Facebook pokes,
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Eight Wiki entries,
Seven Facebook pokes,
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the ninth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Nine ladies blogging,
Eight Wiki entries,
Seven Facebook pokes,
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the tenth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Ten lords IM’ng,
Nine ladies blogging,
Eight Wiki entries,
Seven Facebook pokes,
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Eleven podcasters podcasting,
Ten lords IM’ng,
Nine ladies blogging,
Eight Wiki entries,
Seven Facebook pokes,
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my cool colleague sent to me
Twelve Stumblers stumbling,
Eleven podcasters podcasting,
Ten lords IM’ng,
Nine ladies blogging,
Eight Wiki entries,
Seven Facebook pokes,
Six Twitter nudges,
Five Second Lives,
Four YouTube videos,
Three Del.icio.us bookmarks,
Two social networks,
And a tip to expand my business globally!
By Laurel Delaney.
Lagerfeld’s Dom Perignon Case
It is Christmas at Harrods and the shopping is divine. From fashion and food to gadgets and toys, Harrods Christmas World is all about indulgence. Topping the list of pricey must-haves is this made-to-order guitar case from Karl Lagerfield. Covered in perch skin and lined with lambskin, the case is filled with some of the rarest Dom Pérignon Rosé vintages: one bottle of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 1966, two bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 1986 and three bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 1996.
You’ll need something special from which to sip, and that is included as well in the form of three Dom Pérignon flutes. Still need more to justify the £70,000 price tag? Buyers will also receive a private tasting with a Dom Pérignon oenologist at the buyer’s home or at Hautvillers Abbey in France, the birthplace of wine. If you just want to have a look at this rare beauty, stop by Harrods’ Room of Luxury after November 1, where the case will be on display.
Source: www.luxist.com
American McGee Series
This is the first of a series of labels designed by video-gaming God American McGee and award-winning artist Ken Wong. When we approached McGee in the summer of 2006 to embark on creating a unique series of wine labels for a specific selection of fine French red and white wines, he said, “Sure, what goal do you have in mind?”
At the onset, our main goal had something to do with juxtaposing passion for art with passion for wine, in the hope that, somehow, we would stumble onto something unique and intriguing that could be adorned and admired by both the entertainment and wine industries.
As the recent success of our first release, the Rapunzel-inspired L’Engarran, has demonstrated to us, we have now come to realize that our main goal is to exploit American McGee and Ken Wong through the creation of a disgustingly exorbant amount of labels until the McGee label series becomes nothing more than a synonym for that “it” song that is overplayed more than two-dozen times a day on the radio.
For images of the label design and more on McGee and Wong, click here.
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