French Wine Copy Yellow Tail Trend

Filed in archive French Wines on July 31, 2006

I'm not going to lie and say that interesting especially bright or funny looking lables don't catch my eye when I go wine shopping.

Now, of course, then I read the label before deciding to purchase the wine. It's not like I base my entire purchase on whether there is a cute animal on the label or not, but still, doesn't it usually start with the label? Isn't that how winemakers get our attention to begin with?

It looks like French winemakers are figuring this out and copying wine label trends like that of Yellow Tail wine.

From a UPI article:

The French are coming up with some odd label names to boost international wine sales, The Sunday Times of London says.

Names like elephant on a Tightrope and Arrogant Frog, with bottles featuring the comic animals, are designed to lift the French wine industry out of a consumption slump. Increasing competition from abroad is also prompting wine marketers to be creative with names and labels, the newspaper said.

At the top of the market, things appear to be going well. The 2005 Bordeaux vintage, The Sunday Times reported, is fetching record prices in the futures market. Further down the scale, however, producers are under more pressure.

The name Elephant on a Tightrope is meant to emphasize "balance" in the wine, the newspaper said. Balance is a popular term among wine makers.

The animal fad seems to be particularly effective among younger consumers. Wine makers cite the soaring sales of Yellow Tail, an Australian wine that features a wallaby on the bottle.

I think it's interesting that they picked Yellow Tail to compare this to. Yes, cute label, cute animal, but I've heard a lot more bad than good concerning this particular brand of wine. Also, one reason it may be so popular, other than price, is that (at least where I shop) I see the wine all over the place. It dominates the shelves, so how can you not see it and consider it?