We can debate whether marketers
are getting more creative or merely being
practical, but the fact is that concept
wines are more sensible than radical;
they speak the language of mainstream
consumer brands.
Concept wines are everywhere, but
they are tricky to define—and analyze.
Some marketers call them lifestyle wines.
Some prefer thematic wines. Maybe per-
sonality wines work? There may be no
one-term-fits-all moniker—and that’s one
reason why this trend is unfolding outside
the usual sales-tracking channels. An-
other reason is sheer breadth; the trend
is cutting across countries, grapes, wine
types and prices. But by any name, these
wines are linked by their purposefully en-
gaging consumers on a thoroughly mod-
ern level—with a quick idea and/or image
that grabs attention.
Terry Wheatley—whose Canopy
Management developed a series of Cali-
fornia brands under the aegis of “Wine
Sisterhood,” including the labels Middle
Sister, Purple Cowboy, Monogamy and
promisQous, among others—prefers to
talk of a “story in the bottle.” Wheatley
notes that the goal with the Sisterhood
wines is to have shoppers “see, smile and
purchase” in a three-second time frame.
One of the keys to the Wine Sisterhood
marketing is what Canopy does to reward
and retain customers after the initial
three-second sale: the multiple labels are
supported by an active website and social
media. The online conversation goes well
beyond the individual wines, incorporat-
ing video, contests, articles, advice, etc.
Roots of a Trend
While the proliferation of concept
wines is relatively recent, hindsight re-
veals some of the trend’s roots. Con-
sider California Chablis and California
Burgundy; these names were coined to
project an image (European) beyond the
grapes and places they sprang from. Ditto
the simple use of the words Château and
Domaine adopted by American wineries
last century. Speaking of chateaus, Châ-
teau Mouton-Rothschild, while arguably
not in need of a concept, nonetheless
added the dimension of fine art to its wine
starting back in the 1945 vintage (and
inspired plenty of imitators). Beaujolais
Nouveau—the first wine of the vintage,
unnaturally rushed from France to Amer-
ica in time for Thanksgiving—represents
perhaps the most successful concept wine
of the 20
th
century.
Affordable “reserves” (Glen Ellen,
Kendall-Jackson, et al) that cropped up
in the 1980s and ’90s qualified as concept
wines, labeled as such to stand out from
the plain-jane varietal crowd. Meritage
began as a concept, too: the conscious
effort to get Americans to recognize
Bordeaux-style wines not from Bordeaux.
Around the turn of the century, led by
Yellow Tail, a veritable herd of colorful,
kinda kooky brands came to be united
as “critter wines.” Fun-poking wines, à
la Cheap White/Red Wine, which have
proliferated as America’s wine culture
has blossomed, fit the concept bill, too.
One might even frame 3L bag-in-box
wines as representing a concept; while
diverse, they share a conscious effort to
project their value, convenience and eco-
friendliness.
Concept wines were/are all over the
map, so to speak. The common thread—
inviting consumers to think about wine
on a level that transcends (or bypasses)
just how a wine is made and tastes—is
perfectly in tune with modern American
consumer society. It should come as no
surprise that some of the biggest players
in the industry are tapping concepts to
create new brands. Megan Kilbride, di-
rector of marketing innovation at Diageo,
whose recent launches include Butter-
fly Kiss, Stark Raving and Rose‘N’Blum,
explains, “There is a growing segment
of wine consumers who tend to think of
wine as a beverage not as a hobby. For
some of these consumers, especially mil-
lennials who have started consuming
wine earlier in their adult lives than their
Genderlicious.
Is the
route to a woman’s
wine-buying decisions
through her funny
bone, her psyche or
her ironic sense of
fashion? Maybe all of
the above.
The world is their
vineyard.
Umbrella
brands like Layer Cake,
The Seeker and Tussock
Jumper collect wines
from diverse iconic
wine regions under
one concept.
Concept wines are linked by their
engaging of consumers on a thoroughly
modern level—with a quick idea or
image that grabs attention.