Thursday, March 28, 2024 Mar 28, 2024
73° F Dallas, TX
Advertisement
Publications

WINE Wine Sellers

A rosé by any other name: Big labels can be big disappointments.
By ELMER RAY SPURR |

For the record, the biggest-selling imported wine in this country is an effervescent Italian red called Lam-brusco, the top brands being Ri-unite, Giacobazzi, and Cella. Lambrusco’s popularity is mysterious – not only is it sweet and red (contrary to the current trend toward dry whites), but the alcohol content is barely high enough to qualify it as wine. All that can be said is that it’s the latest in a progression of “pop” wines that began in the late Sixties with such fruit blends as Boone’s Farm and Sangria.

Most intriguing to me among the popular imports are the crossovers, bought by real people venturing cautiously into the world of the wine snob. These neatly packaged, highly advertised versions of legitimate European wines purport to provide the average consumer access to an authentic wine experience without the risk of choosing an unknown label. The best example of these “grocery store wines” is probably Sichel’s Blue Nun, a German white wine legendary in the advertising world. Though the product has been around for some 60 years, it didn’t really take off as a brand name until the Sixties, when Peter Sichel began promoting it as being “correct with any dish.” The ad campaign was brilliant: Buy Blue Nun and you can’t go wrong.

Since the success of Blue Nun, other brands have come up with some fascinating approaches to the marketing of wine. Many are downright ridiculous, particularly those made for television. The Italians try to imply that their wine will somehow enhance your love life, the classic being the ad by Giacobazzi: A desperate fellow on horseback is spurned by his glamorous prey until he pulls some cheap Lambrusco from his saddlebag, instantly changing her mood.

The latest trend in advertising is to have some important-looking connoisseur endorse a particular wine. The Taylor Wine Company of New York, rich in ad money since being acquired by Coca-Cola, has the most blasphemous promo drive to date. In order to publicize its new line of very ordinary California wines, Taylor hired several noted wine authorities to extol their virtues in an impressive media blitz. When a credible wine expert like Stephen Spurrier (who’s probably drunk three roses in his life) waxes eloquently about the “nose” and “color” of the innocuous Taylor pink wine, it’s rather like Craig Claiborne finding great complexity in a Big Mac. Then there are the ads in which Orson Welles pontificates about Paul Masson’s “selling no wine before its time” – whatever that means. My favorite wine personality, though, is Peter Ustinov, who did some commercials for Gallo varietals several years ago, claiming, in seeming seriousness, “These could be the finest wines you will ever taste.” An out-take, however, reportedly caught him quipping, “I, on the other hand, drink only Mon-trachet.” Incidentally, Gallo has returned with a new line of varietals this year, so brace yourself for a barrage of meaningless slogans. Already we’ve been treated to “. . . Because the Wine Remembers.”

Granted, there’s too much mystique surrounding wines, and name brands make genuine wines more accessible to the public. But the hyped mediocre wine is a bad buy, since the cost of all this advertising is passed on to the purchaser. It’s worthwhile, then, to analyze a few of the highly promoted imports to see if their popularity is justified: Blue Nun. Peter Sichel is a splendid fellow, and he’s done a lot for the business by diverting us from fruit wines to the real thing. Still, the aura that surrounds his most famous product is undeserved. Blue Nun is no more than a simple Liebfraumilch, an awkward title for blended Rhine wines that are made from less-than-superior grape varieties grown on terrain incapable of producing wines under a vineyard name. Moreover, it is always a sugared wine, since the grapes are picked before they can achieve the natural ripeness found in higher quality wines. Blue Nun is made specifically for the American market; the advertising claims it to be “imported,” failing to mention from where. Like other blends of its type, Blue Nun is pleasant but undistinguished. It becomes even less distinguished when one considers the price, nearly $5 on the shelf, and the fact that other Liebfraumilchs are available for half that.

Even more remarkable is the abundance of estate-bottled German Rieslings that cost the same or less than Blue Nun. The Centennial stores in Dallas, for example, carry excellent Rheingaus (the best area of the Rhine) from noble producers like Von Sim-mern and Schloss Rheinhartshausen, as well as superb Mosels, all for under $5.

Bolla Soave. This dry Italian white is agreeable enough, but at $4 a bottle, its immense popularity is mystifying. It would be difficult to find a blander, more tasteless wine than Soave, and Bolla’s version is particularly boring; you might as well settle for Folonari’s at under $3. (With little more than word-of-mouth advertising, Folonari now edges out Bolla for fifth place in the Top 40 of imported wines.)

Moulon-Cadet. Baron Philippe de Rothschild is fast becoming the Pierre Cardin of wine, attaching his name to products with abandon. (He recently lent his name to an obscure champagne called Henriot, whichis marketed, no kidding, as “The World’sMost Expensive Champagne.” Call this theMark IV strategy.) The resourceful baron,as proprietor of the legendary ChateauMouton-Rothschild, decided to promote aline of Bordeaux wines by alluding to thename of his most famous property. As a result, many think Mouton-Cadet is the “second wine” of the Chateau. Actually it’s anordinary blend with the broadest appellation allowed: Bordeaux. (That’s like sayingit’s made from grapes.) With hundreds ofthousands of cases sold at a $6 retail price,Baron Philippe won’t be going broke anytime soon. What’s really preposterous isthat the white and rosé cost the same as thered, even though they cost much less tomake. With many petits chateaux bottlingsfrom the excellent ’75 and ’76 vintages onthe shelves at competitive prices, the current ’77 Mouton-Cadet is pure hype. The realtest came last year when the Bercut-Vander-voort company successfully challenged themajor name brands in Bordeaux, pittingtheir red and white Verdillac against B&G’s Pontet-Latour and Gilbey’s LaCour Pavilion, among others. The last place finisher inboth categories? Mouton-Cadet.

Related Articles

Image
Arts & Entertainment

Here’s Who Is Coming to Dallas This Weekend: March 28-31

It's going to be a gorgeous weekend. Pencil in some live music in between those egg hunts and brunches.
Image
Arts & Entertainment

Arlington Museum of Art Debuts Two Must-See Nature-Inspired Additions

The chill of the Arctic Circle and a futuristic digital archive mark the grand opening of the Arlington Museum of Art’s new location.
By Brett Grega
Image
Arts & Entertainment

An Award-Winning SXSW Short Gave a Dallas Filmmaker an Outlet for Her Grief

Sara Nimeh balances humor and poignancy in a coming-of-age drama inspired by her childhood memories.
By Todd Jorgenson
Advertisement