Label Me This

In the middle of getting my whole life organized before heading to New Orleans tomorrow, I had a glass of wine slash new iPhone tutorial with my friend Rebekah. We both knew we shouldn't-we were swamped with work-but she needed some quick info on how to use her new phone, and who am I to say no? I mean, I was either going to have a glass of wine at home, over loads of laundry, or allow R to pour me an ample glass while showing her how to make her phone stop ringing? Easy choice, obviously!

She pulled out a bottle of Valley of the Moon Zinfandel, from Sonoma. With this statement, "Want to taste that awesome inexpensive wine we told you about with the worst label?" And seriously? She wasn't kidding.

You have to love the "frosty" effect on the bottle!

The wine was phenomenal! Around $10 (from Wine Discount Center in Chicago, I'm guessing) it was earthy and full, without being to "jammy"--something both R and I tend to dislike in California reds. It was really wonderful. But it got us talking about those other REALLY good bottles with terrible labels...and then, of course, the NOT so good bottles with the really bad labels. 

I'm definitely not a label-buyer--obviously, I rarely see labels until I'm tasting the wines, which is a bonus of being in my business. A lot of my customers are label purchasers, though, and it makes total sense! There are times when it's great, and I'd be lying if I didn't purchase certain stock because I KNOW people will buy for the label. 

At the end of the day, great label or not, if the wine isn't good, you're not going to repurchase. And vice versa, I'll buy a great bottle with a horrible label (above) again and again.

But to quote a very wise man, "I'd never bring that bottle to a BYO restaurant!"

What about you? Are you a label buyer? Share your stories, good and bad! 

Some of my favorites?

I've written about this wine before--it's fantastic and retails for around $9. 

But the label is like the decor from the tv show "Too Close for Comfort!"

A lovely Sauvignon Blanc I just started carrying. Retails for about $13. 

But for label buyers? It's terrible!

This is one of those not so great wines with an even worse label. Don't even get me started!