I am so far from a wine purist that it’s not even funny. I mean, I’d prefer it doesn’t come from a box, but 90% of the time, my choice is based on the attractiveness of the label. (Yes, I’m one of those people.) So this article from one of last week’s issues of the New York Times caught my eye almost as much as the labels it discusses.
There’s apparently a trend in the wine-naming world toward sassy, obnoxious titles. From an advertising standpoint, the appeal is clear: the name stands out, and that’s the first step toward getting a customer to buy. There’s a wide variety of rudely named wines on the market now—Sassy Bitch, Happy Bitch, Royal Bitch—and according to the article, they’re starting to compete in sales with some of the major sellers out there. (It’s not restricted to lady-oriented slang—an Australian wine called Ball Buster is another popular brand.)
The article mentions that young women, in particular, liked a wine called Jealous Bitch when distributors shopped it around in 2005. (We’re assuming they liked the wine, too, because a catchy name is not enough to redeem a crappy product.) But I’m curious: does naming a wine some variant of “Bitch” grab your interest, or make you less likely to buy?
Image credit: girlwithanewlife.com
