Wine Label Marketing, Flip Flop Wines

Wine Label Marketing, Flip Flop Wines

I recently joined in on a lively debate on Alder Yarrow’s blog Vinography about the “purpose of tasting notes” that are written by wine critics and wine marketers when describing a wine. These descriptions can go from the most ambiguous to the most audacious and back again, all on the same label or critique sometimes!

My opinion on the matter is really of no importance to this post but the conversation is surely one worth following in the comment section should you care to do so  http://www.vinography.com/archives/2011/02/the_purpose_of_tasting_notes.html

What is of importance is that a particular set of ideas are presented throughout the dialogue that I do agree with:

1. Wine labels and critical statements should reflect a sense of understanding on the part of the writer and provide contextual reference for the viewer.

2. When information about food and wine pairing is provided on either the label or the critics statement it does seem to foster a better understanding on the part of the reader so that they may compare that to other wines they’ve had and even use the advice given to prepare such pairings. One caveat to this is that the food suggested isn’t just some vague reference to generic pairings.

In believing these scenarios to be true, as a wine consumer I must say, I was struck at how adept and helpful the labels were on a set of wines I received this past week. The wines were from a new brand in the market place called Flip Flop.

I’ll withstand from making any in-depth branding comments for now but as you can see the labels are sort of fun and light-hearted as well as somewhat similar in appeal to other brands in the market. They immediately speak of an easy-going lifestyle.

But for this blog it’s the back labels that got my proverbial juices flowing!

First off the color contrast is super easy on the eyes and the imagery used to suggest the context of the words is about as good as any I’ve seen on a wine label. The descriptors used convey a sense of understanding on the part of the writer and convey contextual reference for the viewer. The creator of these labels hit the nail on the head with regard to point #1 above.

As for point #2 above I’d like to give some serious kudos to the company in general for tackling the pairing of food and their wines with such recommendations as, “…bacon wrapped shrimp or chocolate cookies” for the Pinot Noir and, “…tofu stir-fry, shredded pork tacos…” for the Riesling.

Thank you Flip Flop for making my mouth water and for helping me round out my dinner options for this week! This is exactly the type of thing that drives a consumer to buy a wine and pick out some food to go with it.

Not the case with labels that say something to the effect of, “serve this wine with light dishes, mild cheeses or pasta”. Seriously, how often have you seen this on a wine label and thought to yourself, “Really? Just plain pasta without anything on it?!”

I also really like how the Flip Flop wine labels have a dry-to-sweet scale on each label. Not that I think every wine label needs one of these, or even should have a similar scale on them, but if your wine is destined for any store with a front door and a cash register this type of scale can’t hurt. A small store with a knowledgeable staff will benefit from this scale as will the grocery store shopper who happens to pick up the bottle and turn it around to read the back label.

In a final effort to connect the dots for the consumer the Flip Flop motto, “to each, their own” screams of a wine marketer who has his or her ear to the ground. Just click on this link for the Top 100 wine blogs as posted by @Alawine and you’ll be sure to read a host of great wine minds eschewing this very thought process.

In essence they, and myself, are saying to wine consumers: wine drinking is about drinking what you like, eating what you like with it and doing it in a way that is wholly your own.

Thanks again Flip Flop for listening to the masses and if I may say so, producing some pretty tasty juice to compliment your helpful wine labels.

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