17 of the “Best” Halloween Wine Accessories.
October 9, 2012Why only 17? Well, I’d originally intended to do 30, but then I got just-over halfway through and started losing the will to live (no pun intended).
My reason for this post was that I don’t want people thinking Christmas is the only holiday that can inspire tacky wine-themed accessories. After a little research, I found that this DEFINITELY wasn’t the case.
FYI: I’ll provide links for all these Halloween wine accessories, should you wish to purchase some of this tat, but as they start breaking (which they inevitably will after Halloween is over) I’ll remove them.
Skeleton wine bottle covers: Terrifying….for all the wrong reasons! What’s even scarier is the price: $90 for the pair!
Skull and cross bone wine glasses are appropriate for one day out of every year. The rest of the time they just make you look like a weirdo.
Zombie hand wine stoppers: for when you truly want to scare your wine aficionado friends!
I wrote about this last Halloween, but I figured it was worth revisiting!
Yes, just in case you were wondering, this is a real thing! You can actually buy a wine rack that doubles as your coffin!
Posted in Funny |
Tagged Halloween, Halloween wine, Halloween wine accessories, Halloween wine bottle, Halloween wine charms, Halloween wine party, wine accessories |
Leave a comment //
San Marco Square Goes Pink.
October 9, 2012Shop or dine at the participating merchants on October 19-20 a percentage of all sales will be donated to the Donna Foundation.
Participating merchants include, 1st Place Sport, All Spiced Up, b.b’s, Bistro Aix, Dance Trance, Kimberly Clark Salon, Matthew’s, Mimi’s, My Best Friend’s Closet, Olive, Pulp, PeterBrooke, Reve, Rosie True, Salon on the Square, San Marco Deli, San Marco Bookstore, Square One, Taverna, The Grotto, The Snob and Therapie.
The Wine Spectator FINALLY Discovers the Secret to a Successful Facebook Post.
October 7, 2012This made me smile when I saw it yesterday! Let me explain what we’re looking at…
The below image shows a screenshot taken from the Wine Spectator Facebook Page from this September. The range of likes they received (at least when you look at this particular month), ranges from 11-40, the number of comments is from 0-20 and the number of shares is from 0-13.
I would be quite happy with those numbers, but then again, I’m not running a Facebook Page with almost 69,000 fans! That’s right! The Wine Spectator has nearly 69,000 fans and below is the level of engagement they’re getting! I hate to judge, but that would be a poor show for a Facebook page with a quarter of those fans!
So what does the world’s most well-respected wine magazine do?
The same thing that any company/brand does in order to increase brand awareness, boost reader interaction and strengthen their number of readers/subscribers….(see further down this post).
Yup! I think they’ve finally cracked it with this one! I can’t wait to see next month’s hard copy issue of Wine Spectator! If the popularity of this post is anything to go by, they will probably run a centerfold article on “Sommeliers in Swimsuits!”
Bravo, Wine Spectator! Bravo!
Bonny Doon Labeling Efforts go Unnoticed by Consumers and Wineries.
October 6, 2012
It been five years since Randall Grahm took the some would say “suicidal” step of listing every single ingredient that goes into his wine on his back labels. The lists include ingredients such as: oak chips, bentonite clay, indigenous yeasts and sulfur dioxide, to name but a few.
The backlash from consumers and winemakers alike could have been severe for Grahm, since the mere mention of sulfites on a wine label has been known to cause hysteria amongst the uninitiated.
Interestingly enough, a strange thing happened. Nothing.
“I imagined it would have an impact,” he said in a telephone call to New York Times writer Eric Asimov. “I wasn’t sure if there would be a backlash, or they would be freaked out, but most people haven’t really noticed. In a perfect outcome, I would have liked to see interest, and gradually the start of a drumbeat about transparency.”
Sadly, barely a handful of other wine producers have followed Grahm’s example.
One of the few was David Page, owner of Shinn Estate Vineyards. “I had read about what he was doing and realized that if full disclosure, transparency and honesty were important, we should be labeling our wine,” he stated.
“I do think consumers would understand the price differences in wine if they saw the ingredients that went into an $8 bottle with a kangaroo on the label,” said Page.
Click here for the full article from the New York Times.
My Thoughts…
Obviously I applaud the efforts of Randall Grahm, but I’m surprised that he’s surprised that few other wineries have followed suit!
The wine industry is always slow to react to change, whether it be technology or what we’re discussing here. “What’s the ROI on me labeling my wines with the ingredients I’m using!?!?” I can hear winemakers collectively yelling in unison.
On the other-hand: Why would wineries, who are adding such freaky-deaky ingredients as Mega Purple, want to tell people all about it? In the same way, what could possibly come out of a winery using isinglass (a harmless protein obtained from fish bladders which is used to clarify a wine) telling consumers on their label? There would be panic in the streets!!! MASS HYSTERIA I TELL YOU!!!
Not all of the ingredients used by wineries to achieve their desired color, clarity, tannin/acid level and sweetness level etc. are all bad. My personal stance on the listing of ingredients on the back label of a wine is that, for the most part, it’s more information than your average consumer needs. Certainly I’d like to see more transparency on wine labels, but until it’s mandated by law, I don’t see it happening anytime soon; that is, unless some of those ingredients have ties to allergic reactions etc. The wineries who have chosen to label their ingredients should be commended. The others need to give it some serious consideration…that is…unless they have something to hide…
Posted in News | Tagged Bonny Doon, California, Randall Grahm, wine label design, wine labels | Leave a comment //Syrah the Biggest Loser, Red Blends Occupy #1 Spot.
October 6, 2012
According to a recent by the Symphony IRI Group, red wine blends have emerged as the clear winner in terms of retail growth in 2012, showing a 26% increase in year to date sales.
In a fairly-distant second place was Sauv Blanc, with New Zealand leading the group (which isn’t too big of a surprise).
Cab is in third with a 7% growth, but still leads overall U.S. wine sales with $507 million.
“The Cabernet story is about premium, premium, premium. Cabernet is up more than 27% in the $20-plus category,” said Curtis Mann, the director of client insights for wine for the Symphony IRI Group, the Chicago-based market firm which conducted the research.
And then there’s Syrah…
Syrah/Shiraz, as a category, was easily the biggest loser by percentage of sales, dropping by 16% in year to date sale. Even Aussie brand Yellow Tail wasn’t left unharmed, with its Shiraz sales also dropping. One common criticism of Syrah is that styles of the wine vary so widely that consumers don’t know what to expect when they buy a bottle.
Click here for the full article from Wines & Vines.
My Thoughts…
Poor old Syrah! Everyone had such high hopes for you, at least, those who knew what you’re capable of…and also those who just like to pretend they can predict future wine trends. You know who you are!
So what’s the explanation for the sudden increase in red blend/Meritage sales? I’m not too sure. The only two reasons I can think of are:
– As “un-academic” of a reason as it may be, new wine drinkers seem to like asking for “a blend” when ordering/buying wine – something I know because I ran a wine bar for 7 years. It helps newbie drinkers sound like they know what they’re talking about, in that they have gone one step beyond asking for a wine simply by grape type, and instead have started entering into the world of “wine lingo.”
– My second reason is that the vast majority of red blends on the market (under $15 retail)seem to have been blended in such as way that makes them…..well…sweeter. It’s no secret that new wine drinkers tend to skew sweeter, especially if they’re trying to make the transition from white to red.
Posted in News | Tagged California | Leave a comment //Good News for Those in a Hurry!
October 6, 2012
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