I a. Grower Champagne, b. Marketing
I hate marquee Champagne. It’s about as special as an Isaac Mizrahi…from Target. In my plea for the little guys who make mind-blowing bubbles:
A Decadent Proposal in the Seattle Weekly
Last night I stopped by the Siroco Twister Port party at the Capital Club, thrown by the Taylor Fladgate people (also makers of Fonseca and Croft). They wanted to bring Port to a younger audience, and they did–complete with DJ, mass food, a 31 year old member of the Taylor clan, and a tasty signature cocktail of white port, soda and mint.
It’s so nice to have a company get it and step outside of the wine marketing box. It’s not that younger people don’t want to drink wine; it’s that no one is talking to us. At us, sure. But we don’t treat wine the way older Baby Boomers do; and Boomer wine marketing turns us off. Just like a Sustacal ad, we think, “Gross, that’s not for me.” But that doesn’t mean you have to talk down to us, like we haven’t gained some secret knowledge yet and wine is something we have to earn, so here’s a bottle with a (verb+ing+animal) in the mean time.
What it means is that you can talk to our parents, but you have to speak with us differently–words, images, and ideas. Oh, and without faking it.
And that’s the rub. But as last night’s party showed, it can be done.
February 10th, 2007 at 5:19 am
Jesus lord, Maggie,
That was an excellent article about the grower champagnes. Can you imagine if Jay-Z started rapping about ‘my man Pierre Peters’, or ‘tripping like I’m on Saves’?
Somebody needs to send that man a sample or eight.
JJ
February 10th, 2007 at 9:35 am
You know why we love you so much? Because you say the shit those of us who still have to deal with the Cliquots and the Paternos rep cannot say. RM Champagne, fuck yeah. Anyone with a palate knows there is nothing better. And JJ - Saves rhymes with a lot: auras, high rez, the prez, simon says, pez, Cortez. But I prefer Gimmonet.
February 10th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I just had a bottle of Camille Saves for under $40. It was awesome. I thought it was worth way more than white star, which I usually drink. I’m not good with wine descriptions, but it was creamy, and fruity, and yeasty, and many more -ys. I get it now. Do you have any favorites?
February 10th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
I wonder if you’re going to get press and emails from the big brands now? I always feel like a snake oil salesman charging people $100 for Veuve in our restaurant.
February 18th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I hate having to sell Veuve. We all know it’s inferior, but it’s the only Champagne most people know. I’m so jealous of the things you say. I only think them popping corks in my corporate hell. I hope to have my own wine shop one day. And I won’t let any of that crap in.