We were recently pitched a concept from one of our wine distributors. A wine importer/distributor has teamed up with the “For Dummies” publisher to come out with a line of wines with descriptions written out in basic English with the task of making wine buying easier. The wines are not made by the Dummies group, but by smaller regional wineries, with their own labels (No Wine for Dummies labels on the bottles!) Here is the list of the first wave of these we are trying at the store:
- Reis and Luff Reisling, Germany
- Sylvester Sangiovese, California
- Sylvester Pinot Noir, California
- Quattrocchi Torrentes, Chile
- Arauco Reserva Carmenere, Argentina
Here is a the shelf talker for the Sangiovese:
Characteristics include:
- Red Grape that originates from Italy
- Served at or above 55 degrees F
- Strawberry and cherry aromas
- Slight cinnamon flavor
- Enjoyable with sausage, grilled meats, and pastas
I sampled all of these before coming into the store, and while none are mind blowing, I would describe all of them as being dead in the middle to the styles. Nothing cheap about the flavor or quality, and they all retail from $9.99 to $14.99. They had over 20 different styles of wine in their portfolio and claimed a ton of success in the 5 states that they have launched this venture in.
Here is a link to a good picture of the rack and the shelf talkers: http://karadeci.com/news3609.html
So, what do you all think of this?