Wine and art are not new acquaintances. The long-standing relationship exists both in the form of weedy plonk in Paris goblets at gallery openings, and as one-off pieces by famous artists for Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. And then there are all sorts of collaborations in between.
Art, with all its grand and lofty suggestion, is of course considered fertile ground for hopeful wine marketers. The blending of various components into an ideally balanced wine is often referred to as an art, for this is the expression of human creative skill over the components that nature presents, and it is a subjective expression. But then I suppose viticulture should also have its place in the gallery, for this is an interpretation of nature and a creative modelling in its own right. Yet this is considered a science.
Comparing your wine to art is of course pretty high-brow, you’re suggesting it’s something more than a casual beverage. A gallery at the wine cellar, rather than a cheesery, strikes a very different, more grandiose, chord. The Cape has a few galleries at the cellar; the newest is at Glen Carlou, part of their make-over since changing ownership. It currently exhibits some pretty big names like Deryck Healy and Andy Goldsworthy, and the winery decided to launch two new wines to coincide with its renaissance.
Comparing these wines to art, you could not help but notice the frame. Called Quartz Stone Chardonnay 2005 and Gravel Quarry Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, the wines come in some of the heaviest bottles Cape wines have ever had the privilege of being cosseted in. You can imagine what this means for the price tag. As you can further imagine, these wines are styled to impress, with serious oaking and generous extraction. There should not be any doubt that you are in for a lavish drink.
It’s certainly not fair to peg wines like these instantly (especially from a winery with a notable track record like Glen Carlou). Since these wines are made to age, and priced to be collected, it would be best to let them rest. Suffice to say that they are huge mouthfuls at this point. I do think the red holds more promise, since the chardonnay is very unctuous, without the austerity of the best examples.
Another winery that’s going all out to be associated with art is Spier. Their last wine launch was held as Bell-Roberts with the bottles grandly perched on plinths. Their 2004 Pinotage is a fine wine in its pompous way, but not good enough for the ABSA Top 10 Pinotage judges who chose a medley of curious winners; including wines with green tannins, hard wooding and the rubber hints that most people consider faulty pinotage characteristics. As a remedy, try the Tukulu 2004, one deserving winner.
I love the fact that wine can be succefully assocaited with just about anything – be it art, music, scenery, food, chocolate…and the list goes on.
Another winery that has associated itself with art, and ineed has a gallery in the cellar, is Saronsberg. It is fantastic to visit the winery and stroll thorugh the uber modern cellar and gaze at some weird and wonderful art – indeed it adds to the experience of their wines. t
The disappointing thing is that none of this association is carried through into the branding of their wine – as everyone who visits there knows, the statue outside is hard to forgot, features in their pamphlets etc but is not on their wine labels – it would serve as a brilliant reference point for wine buyers who are faced with a multitude of choice – and perhaps carrying that symbolism through would create a more consistent message?
Another thing i think wineries need to be careful with, in terms of building association, eg. wine and art, wine and chocolate – is that the association with whatever it may be, does not dilute or detract interest away from your wine and the quality thereof. For example, when people talk of going to Waterford Estate, many mention the chocolate aspect way before mentioning their wines -perhaps the same can eb said of Fairview with its cheese?. It is an interesting topic to discuss!!
Cru Master, I agree that omitting a powerful symbol to tie the wine to the place seems a grave omission. People really need simple and eye-catching icons in the clutter of the shelf.
As for the chocolate/cheese, I believe Fairview’s cheese operation is a R10 million plus business, so it may be hard to say whether the wine leads the cheese or vice versa in the brand identity…
And few people would argue with a business that enjoy’s those types of returns.
In addition to that, the Fairview experience and the Waterford experience, are extremely enjoyable too!
I guess it depends on who their target market is and what their objective is. I think what I’m trying to say, is that when you have and build a brand that combines say cheese and wine, you have to be careful that the two compliment eachother well (and that the association is neccessary), becuase as soon as the standard of one drops, perhaps you may bring down the appeal of the other too – A balancing act so to speak.
Would you for example, as a marketer, suggest to winery that is struggling sales wise, that they build a complimentary association, such as chocolate/wine, to lift/enhance their brand?
Apologies for the tardy reply; but I would answer that wine and cheese are very complementary and therefore a valuable team. You simply have to make sure that both are of a good and consistent quality. Then there is the reality that more people eat cheese than drink wine, so you pull more feet through the door. Brand awareness is first prize, a perception of quality is then easier to instill.
This answer works for chocolate too (less effectively), but I don’t think Waterford offer chocolate as Fairview offer cheese. The one is a taste novelty, the other is a food offering.
Thanks for posting this, lifted my day.