Most brands these days are a clever name and good looking label that an advertising department can run a campaign around and a distributor can push down the pipe. Nobody really thinks about the idea of building a brand by changing the way you actually market and sell the wine. If you could approach these tactics differently and appeal to the consumer and trade in a way that makes their lives easier, this new vehicle would become the brand in itself more so than the pretty label and tasty juice. Stormhoek, Twisted Oak, Pinot Blogger, and Sacre Bleu have pioneered direct marketing for a wine brand and have found some success doing it this way. However, the next generation of wine brands will learn how to break down the barriers of the industry and start actually selling the product in a unique way.

Here are a few steps that we plan to follow: Read the rest of this entry »

Malbec is the Eva Peron of Argentinian wine varieties and its presence on a label has done much for the category of the premium wine production nation on the South American continent. Whilst Chile often delivers incredibly on value, Argentina packs in value with value added by diversity - especially in its ownership and complete creative license with the Malbec grape.

Insofar as Southern hemisphere sport is concerned - Argentina certainly holds its own on the Rugby field, but in the field of Malbec Argentina writes the rules.

The de Carodilla Malbec 2005 has a Medoc characteristic to it, with a rustic smokiness and distinct taste veins of strawberry and currents that course through the wine-dark juice. I’m reminded of the profile of certain Central Otago Pinot Noirs - except it delivers at a fraction of the price and much wider availability.

In an Argentinian wine-rugby club, anything with Malbec makes the side.

Admittedly, its largely to the work of dedicated bloggers like Lenn Thompson that I owe my continued fascination with New York State wines. New York’s white wines, from the fertile Long Island soils and the Germanic climate, have a unique and distinctive character that quite frankly, puts Californian whites to shame. This Chard shows off tropicality with mineral structure, making it a perfect aperitif or a between courses palate cleanser. Along with the rounded touch of malolactic fermentation there’s a perfectly balanced element of wood that integrates well on the palate, leaving a hint of tinned-pears on the finish.

Seeing as the United States is playing against South African on the 30th of September, in the white wine department I will have to concede a handful of points the America for this fine Estate.

This article is ridiculous… Wall Street Journal (requires a subscription, so I put a clipping at the end) the WSJ has the most interesting articles on wine. Anyhow… check out the bottom article ‘man buys $700,000.00 of wine in one shot’, basically for anyone in today’s society, if they save a little bit of money or live close to China-Town, almost anyone can get their hands on designer labels. In fact you can get lookalikes that are as good aesthetically as the real thing… from Rolex to Tag Heuer, Diesel to Armani, designer labels don’t command the respect they used to. My friend who works for a Hedge Fund in New York (he’s the one I drank Zinfandel with in Central Park) says that most of the hedge fund managers (these guys are like 26, they worked for Goldman Sachs or Lehman Group for 4 years after going to Wharton, and then started managing their own funds, they’re all , intelligent, self-made and loaded and 3 years away from being 30) don’t use any brands. Its all about going back to the roots, they purchase antique solid gold watches and get their furniture at Sotheby’s.Capitalism has made luxury brands so accessible, that the only thing left for people to do if they want to stand above is to go backwards. These guys are looking for unique and rare… and they’re not a minority. Practically any male or female over 25 with a graduate degree in commerce (usually capped by an MBA) that works in LA, New York, San Francisco, Atlanta or Boston fit into the group. You don’t need any knowledge to purchase a label, you just need to be a sucker for advertising on the front pages of any glossy. Designer brands are passé. Wine is the new bling. Read the rest of this entry »