Ed Hardy wines? Christian Audigier's branding machine grinds on

[RicRios]

The Ed Hardy label helps address a specific problem in the wine business, according to Nicolas Vice President Gene Schaeffer.
"There's nothing really new and exciting in the wine business," Schaeffer says.

WTF???

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi...

[orlwine]

A sucker and his money are soon parted.

[Aaron]

I saw this yesterday lining the checkout stands at Whole Foods, and the twenty-something in front of me bought a bottle!!!! I almost died.
Has anyone's curiosity and/or disgust spurred them to pick up a bottle?

[rtmonty]

I work at a small boutique wine shop on Amelia Island in Florida. We carry the Ed Hardy Rose'. Actually, it's not a bad rose' at all, crisp, dry, drinkable. However, I would say 80% of all bottles we sell are simply because it's "Ed Hardy" and has that label. I'm guessing most of that wine will never be opened. I've had people who've never even drank wine buy a bottle. A guy the other day was wearing Ed Hardy sneakers and just HAD to have a bottle of it.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

So my question is: is the wine not half bad because of the branding or would it be better if it wasn't branded? FWIW, I am almost 50 and really like some of Ed Hardy's work. He has a real interesting background. I find branding more fascinating than repellent. Maybe Sanrio will follow suit with a Hello Kitty wine or spirits line.

[wineguy63]

What Schaeffer quite astutely recognizes is that what's new in the wine business is that new young drinkers are enjoying wine. Cool bottles and popular brands paired with quality wine and affordable prices help grow the market and create a fun environment where young people who are new to the experience aren't afraid of picking up a bottle, not understanding what the "bleep" they're seeing on the back label and grabbing a bottle of something familiar like vodka. So, all the haters of popular brands and popular culture can rant and rave about what's cool and what's not, but like it or not, Ed Hardy is doing a great service to the wine industry and guess what? The wine's not half bad. And for $9.99, that's good.

Cheers,
wineguy63

[orlwine]

What's next, Von Dutch wines, also by Christian Audigier? The point is, fine wine is an agricultural product that needs to be marketed, not a marketing product that needs to be grown. To say that these wines expand the market for fine wine is like saying Hyundai is getting people in to the car culture who will eventually buy Bugatti's or Bentley's. These wines only expand the market for cheap, mass-produced wines, and only a limited number of these types of buyers/drinkers will ever consider something that was hand-crafted in small quantities by true artisans who are passionate about their wines, and uncompromising in their vision, in the way no branding machine could ever be.