Separated at Birth?

Remember the food-pairing wine brand released about a year ago, Wine That Loves (fill in the blank)? It was widely criticized (or, in my case, mocked) by the wine press for its no-brainer approach: "No need to trouble yourselves with details like grape variety or appellation! All you need to know it that it goes with chicken/pizza/pasta/yak/squirrel terrine!"

I never got a chance to taste the wine (what a waste of a perfectly good yak), but they did do a nice job with the packaging--and who knows, maybe some consumers out there welcomed the Garanimals approach to wine-pairing. Frankly, I haven't heard much about it since its release.

Well, there's a new food-pairing wine in town: Goes With (fill in the blank) wines. The concept with this one is exactly the same as for Wine That Loves, including the lack of varietal/origin on the label. The only difference seems to be that Goes With includes a recipe on its back labels so you can cook the dish that goes with the wine. The brands are so similar in concept, packaging and story that when I received the GW sample last week, I was sure it had a be a re-launch of the WTL brand. Apparently not, which makes me wonder: Were the GW people blatantly copying the WTL concept, or were they totally oblivious? Not a great endorsement either way.

The GW brand is still in prototype stage, so the Sonoma-based company is looking for feedback: Is this something consumers want?

Well, readers, I'll leave it to you to answer that. What do you think about the concept (assuming the pairings actually work): Clever or crap?

 

Comments

[Rusty Eddy]

I've been writing back labels and wine info sheets since the 1980s. I'm pleased to report that I never once had the time to test any of the wine and food pairings that I've recommended over the years, and I'm absolutely positive all of them were perfect.

Ten years ago I might have said this concept was a good idea because we were making things easier for wine-intimidated consumers. Now, I have the feeling consumers are much more comfortable with wine and might actually take offense at being told what they're supposed to drink or eat.

Rusty

[Mark V Marino]

I think this is another way to cheat the consumer by shirting all of the laws on what is in the bottle. No varietal, AVA, valley or Vineyard. Leaves it open for them to put whatever from wherever in the bottle and have no reprecussions. I place this is the two buck chuck category no guarantee of consistentcy one bottle to the next as the grapes could come from anywhere.

[Bob Avo]

Take a visit to your local Whole Foods and in between the meat and seafood sections are wines seperated by what they go with. Not a bad idea for the uninclined, but I pass right by.

[Alastair Bathgate]

When you tried Squirrel terrine was it British Red squirrel, or American Grey? I found the former much more tender...
Before I get any complaints can I just make it clear I am joking.