This bottle of sauvignon blanc's from Uproot, an innovative winery in Napa Valley that takes a daring approach to branding in the age of wine glut, with a label that tells you... nothing.
The back label reveals a bit more about Uproot's 2011 Gray Edition, but what you really need is the accompanying card:"Ever taste a wine where the label says it has cassisnotes, and you go, 'Uh, yeah, not tasting that, whatever it is.' Fact is, tasting notes are subjective. So, there's a reason you see three black bars on the label.
"We wanted to have some fun with this one, so you could, too. Sauv Blanc isn't usually aged. So that makes it somewhat surprising. And it's aged in oak, so that should tell you a little more.
"Pairing suggestions. Yes. But we'll never tell. Let's just say it's not seafood. Isn't that what they always say?"
I don't know what they always say but, no, it sure isn't seafood. The wine has better acidity than I expected. There is some grass in there but mostly I found citrus and peach, whereas the yellow-green stripe's supposed to denote key lime.
Here's another Uproot label - the 2011 unoaked sauvignon blanc - that's pure informational overload by uproot's standards. According to the accompanying card the colors denote, in descending order: melon, fresh cut grass, citrus, grapefruit, and passion fruit. "This wine finishes seriously as dry as laundry on a summer clothesline."But not as dry as the wit covering what must be a whiff of desperation. The challenges in today's wine marketing jungle are formidable for almost everybody. It's a dog-drink-dog world out there and Uproot's found a unique way to at least make people take a second look.
And what do these well-made wines cost? I'll never tell.
To see my bio, click on: http://cjonwine.blogspot.com/2013/02/heres-concise-bio-for-those-who-have.html
To order my novel, Nose, click on:
No comments:
Post a Comment