The wines of Randall Grahm are so good,you may wonder why he feels the needs to funny them up with eye-catching iconic images and puns. To sell them, of course, is the answer. Any wine producer will tell you how hard it is to get the attention of the wine-buying general public, and they'll tell you this with lots of hand-wringing and brow-mopping included.
Grahm - Bonny Doon Vineyard's winemaker and President For Life - gets written up a lot as the rodeo clown of the wine world, and that is unfair. What he is, is a world-class winemaker who happens to know a little about marketing that product. To hear him tell it, a little is all he knows. He's a quiet and reserved guy when it comes to self-promotion - but when it comes to extolling the virtues of his wines, and presenting them in an appealing, attention-getting manner, he is Barnum and Bailey rolled into one wine-soaked ball of "Step right up!" He's the Mad Men of the grape world. He knows how to get it out there.
He also knows that no matter how good the wine is, if it doesn't catch the eye of the casual shopper, it won't jump off the shelf on its own.
So, we get great label art, we get great notes - he's an acclaimed writer - and we get puns. Now, I'm not sure how well puns sell anything. I remember a Halloween party I attended, dressed in a full black cape with a plastic fish head strapped over my nose. All night long I got, "What the hell are you supposed to be?" My answer - "Cape Cod!" - didn't exactly win me any new friends. It may have even cost me some old ones. Never dress as a pun for Halloween - it simply isn't appreciated.
On the wine bottle, things may be different. If kittens, toilet plungers and a bear in a rowboat sell wine, why not a pun - and a pretty good one, at that - with some great label art and a cool back-label paragraph thrown in for good measure.
The Heart Has Its Rieslings gets it out there. It's a name that pulls in the wine shopper, and is paired with art that is good to look at as well. Will it sell? We'll see. If it doesn't, it's a shame - but Grahm will have a cellar full of great Riesling aging away doon under the house.
This Riesling is a 2013 cuvèe of grapes from two spots - Ventana Vineyard in Monterey County and Wirz Vineyard in San Benito County. It comes in at a super-low 9.5% abv and has residual sugar measuring three percent.
The nose is just about dead-on perfect, with slightly honeyed pear graced with an earthy measure and just a little touch of petrol. It's really a beautiful sniff. On the palate, just a hint of sweetness lies on the beautiful peach, pear and apple flavors with a strident streak of acidity running through it. The wine finishes earthy, sweet and luscious.
The nose is just about dead-on perfect, with slightly honeyed pear graced with an earthy measure and just a little touch of petrol. It's really a beautiful sniff. On the palate, just a hint of sweetness lies on the beautiful peach, pear and apple flavors with a strident streak of acidity running through it. The wine finishes earthy, sweet and luscious.
Fans of Riesling that pushes the needle to the sweet side of the meter will love this. Grahm states on the label the wine is made from "every so botrytised grapes" and should "reward a long-term commitment to cellaring." Good luck making that commitment. Buy extra bottles.
Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment