The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Whimsical wine labels attract holiday shoppers

Dutch-chocolate wine shakes things up this year

Chris Stewart/Chris Stewart No wrapping paper required when you give the gift of wine with such unique artsy labels.

Europa ChocoVine looks more like a milkshake than a wine and has been flying off of store shelves faster than any other this December.

Chris Stewart/Chris Stewart Europa ChocoVine looks more like a milkshake than a wine and has been flying off of store shelves faster than any other this December.

Photos: Unique holiday wine labels

By Mark Fisher, Staff Writer Updated 2:47 AM Tuesday, December 22, 2009

When it comes to buying wine, it’s what’s inside the bottle that counts, right?

Oh heck no.

Wine marketers have discovered the near-magical powers that bottle labels — whimsical, humorous, risque, seasonal and sometimes, a blend of all four of those attributes — can have on wine sales. The result? Wine shop shelves stocked with images that titillate, entertain, amuse and, in many cases, sell. Briskly.

“I’m a whimsical label person,” said Traci Ryan, who oversees the wine department at the Kroger Marketplace in Englewood and who has amassed quite possibly the largest collection of offbeat labels of any retail shop the Miami Valley. “I don’t buy wines based solely on the label anymore, but a lot of people do, and it’s fun getting to know the stories behind the labels.”

John C. Feltz, manager at Bella Vino bar and retail wine shop in Springboro, reserves a “special shelf” for the offbeat labels, including a “Redneck Red” and a couple of other offerings whose names were deemed a tad too risque for newspaper readers.

“I like to have a selection of wines that are simply funny, for people who want to buy something along those lines for a gift, and for those who shop based on label alone,” Feltz said.

Arrow Wine & Spirits’ Kettering store has embraced the holiday spirit with special seasonal labels, including a German riesling packaged in a Christmas-tree-shaped bottle. Or you can purchase a “Dasher & Dancer Merlot,” “Comet & Cupid Cabernet” or “Donner & Blitzen Chardonnay” that all come with the slogan, “Yule love it.”

Here’s a modest little “Top 10” selection of some of the more offbeat labels we gathered, some seasonal, some decidedly not, that would make fine or slightly mischievous holiday gifts. Check with your local wine retailer for availability. Prices listed are for standard-sized 750 ml bottles unless otherwise noted.

Slideshow: 10 labels you'll have a hard time missing on the shelves this season.

Dutch-chocolate wine shakes things up this year

The one wine that is flying off of store shelves faster than any other this December looks more like a milkshake than a wine.

That’s because it is a milkshake of sorts — an adult version.

Europa ChocoVine ($9.99) from Holland blends “the taste of Dutch chocolate and fine red wine” (actually, “fine French cabernet,” according to its Web site, www.chocovine.com). Denny Freyvogel of Arrow Wine & Spirits’ Centerville-area store and Traci Ryan from the Englewood Kroger store said the relatively new product is selling briskly.

Ryan said some of her customers refer to ChocoVine as “Bailey’s Light,” as in a less-alcoholic version of Bailey’s Irish Cream. It’s listed at 14 percent alcohol, and consists of “grape wine with artificial flavor, cream and artificial colors.”

The taste is quite sweet, with a bit of maraschino cherry peeking through the creamy chocolate.

The back label warns against mixing ChocoVine with acidic drinks. Ryan explained why: “It curdles.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Share this article

ADD COMMENT

Comments feed

I purchased a bottle of "B*tch" down in Kentucky awhile back. Pure black bottle with pink silkscreened "label" directly on the glass. I've not cracked the screw-top on it yet, but rumor has it from others that the wine inside isn't bad, either. And the back of the label is priceless - if you can find some, you should give it a read. :)

Kerri
2:00 PM, 12/22/2009

REPORT ABUSE

I have to admit that I picked up a bottle of Mad Housewife a few months ago for the novelty of it, and have been buying it ever since because it's actually a decent wine. We like the Cabernet and the Merlot. They sell it at the Dorothy Lane/Woodman Kroger in Kettering.

TS
9:16 AM, 12/22/2009

REPORT ABUSE

We welcome your comments. Please remember this is a public forum and behave appropriately. Your comments must conform to our visitor's agreement.