The National Wine
UnClub
Newsletter
WISE WINE WORDS?
A recent television commercial put out by the Mondavi people has a young, apparently 'upward-mobile' fellow touting that all one needs to know about good wine is the name 'Woodbridge' (a rather nondescript volume brand being marketed by Mondavi to the masses). What is surprising about this is not the crass commerciality of this 30-second TV ad, but that Robert Mondavi, who prides himself as America's foremost educator of people about fine wine, would stoop so low just to sell his least expensive 'vin ordinaire'.
We all understand that without sales a winery goes out of business, just as this holds true in any other area of the wholesale/retail business world. I wouldn't take umbrage with anyone seeking to increase their profitability by advertising their product in any acceptable manner. But when the ad man in the commercial says "All you need to know about fine wine is the name Woodbridge", I believe a glaring disservice is being perpetrated on the viewing public.
Is he trying to make wine appreciation less complicated and mystifying for us with this assertion? Or is this part of the 'dumbing down of America' we're seeing more and more of these days? People can't be expected to know the complexities of any particular subject so those of us 'in the know' are obliged to spoon-feed the unwashed masses with a revised version of the 'truth'. It's like a math professor saying that all you need to know about higher math is how to add 1 + 1. It's just not that simple!
I've been working as a wine consultant for 20 years and have found the educational process to be quite delightful for most people when it comes to learning more about this rather mysterious drink. I have tried to simplify the subject in many ways (The Home Wine Course is my supreme effort in this regard) but I always tell my customers that a lifetime (of tasting primarily) will be required to just begin to know the fullness of this rich subject. I myself feel that I still have much to learn about wine.
Had Mondavi stepped up to the plate and said that Woodbridge is a very good every day wine and that it is very affordable, I believe the commercial would be just as effective. But he didn't even state which grape varietals are used to make the range of Woodbridge wines (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel) in the television spot. The wine was apparently white but that was all we could tell without a closer look at the label. Even 'Turning Leaf' commercials tell the viewer which varietal they're advertising.
What sets Mondavi's brand apart from say Turning Leaf, Beringer, or Kendall-Jackson? Isn't it the quality of fruit grown in particular vineyard sites and the expert winemaking skill employed in the production of the wine? Encouraging potential customers to identify with Mondavi's Woodbridge label using this type of commercial harkens back to the jingoistic phraseology employed during the "Riunite on ice, that's nice" ad campaign of the '70s.
I am not suggesting that Mondavi should 'get technical' during these very expensive half-minute TV ads. People aren't interested in dates of harvest, brix levels (grape sugar content) or degrees of malolactic fermentation employed while making his wines. A seminar on winemaking isn't required or desirable. However, a brief discussion of what makes their wine unique would definitely hold viewer interest. Perhaps Mondavi himself should appear on camera and, Orson Wells-like, state that "we will sell no wine unless it's fine"!
In the final analysis we believe that informing new people about the pleasures of fine wine should be undertaken as an overall effort to share with all who care to know the fascinating and endless wonder of the world of the culinary arts, which of course includes wine. No one professes to know all about this vast area of interest, but we can all have great fun educating ourselves along the way!
Donald W. White