Grapevine: Provocative Wine Labels Focused on Luring Men
Wine has long been referred to as “the drink of the gods.” Thought to confer ethereal powers and often thought to be mystical in nature, its image has gone through a radical transformation in modern history. For centuries, winemakers took pride in emblazoning their names and their locales on each wine bottle label.
In the latter part of the 20th century, Madison Avenue, and its worldwide progeny, emerged with its mind-control influence, and the wine industry was changed forever. In the last dozen years, wine names have succumbed to point-of-sale promotions rather than focused on the traditional trinity of producer, region and vintage.
Whether your God(s) is spiritual or more corporal, he or she is surely aghast at the nomenclature being created for a number of today’s wines.
Of course marketers and advertisers have honed their skills to focus on numerous subsets within the wine category, with specific focus directed to gender. Wines marketed to men are unique and distinct from wines marketed to women. Last week I presented the premise and a few labels focused on women. This week, I’m offering equal time to wines focused on male preferences.
For decades, Scotch and mixed drinks were considered the alcoholic beverage of choice for sophisticated men (no execs drink wine in Mad Men). In the 1990s the perspective of many men changed. First, fine wine became another enviable collectible and trophy for those men bent on impressing everyone they encountered in their lives. Second, the health benefits of wine became increasingly attractive. Resveratrol, the health component of red wine, became a topic of conversation at bars; wine came to be viewed as the new elixir for a long, healthy life.
The campaign on Madison Avenue and beyond sought to woo more men to wine, just as they continued to be wooed to beer and spirits. Marketers appealed to their basic instincts, their adolescent humor or their sex drive. The current offering of wines being marketed to men is long and provocative. They focus on “buddy” wines that break the barrier of wine as a more feminine alcoholic beverage. They focus on frivolous names to create an aura of a bunch of guys having fun.
I should note that unlike women, who overwhelmingly prefer wine over beer, men still prefer beer. The preponderance of men still drink beer. While 52 percent of women prefer wine as their alcoholic beverage of choice, only 20 percent of men have the same preference.
Last week I presented a number of wine labels marketed to a feminine sensibility. This week I present a brief list of wines geared to attract men. Let me know if you know of others or if I’ve included one of your favorites:
California leads the field in provocative. Leading the list with the most entries is Zinfandel with labels such as Sin Zin, Poizin, Cardinal Zin, Seven Deadly Zins, Zen of Zin and Zin Your Face, to name a few.
After that, California is a mishmash of impish connotations and barroom crudeness: Dirty Laundry, Predator, Bouteille Call (Pronounce it in French: Boo-tay Call), Cheap Red Wine and Cheap White Wine, Ménage a Trois, Monogamy, Sofa King, Plungerhead, Her Fault (also available: His Fault), Horse’s Ass, Big Pecker (sporting a picture of two parrots), Running with Scissors, Red Truck, Full House and, of course, Marilyn Merlot.
Not to be outdone, the French have weighed in, learning well from their American marketing counterparts: Elephant on a Tightrope, Arrogant Frog, Frog’s Piss, Le Vin de Merde (Google the translation), Old Fart and the perennial best seller, Fat Bastard.
The Aussies and Kiwis win the contest for conjuring juvenile references: Ass Kisser, Naked on Roller Skates and the oddest name I’ve ever seen: Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush.
Zany wine labels? Irreverent references? Appealing to a teenage mentality? Yes on all counts. And selling a lot of wine in the process.
Nick Antonaccio is a 35-year Pleasantville resident. For over 15 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. He is co-host of “Glass Up, Glass Down,” a local cable television series on wine and food; he also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
