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11:25 AM

Writing is something that has to be enjoyed. And with Wine Dictionary , we have indeed enjoyed writing all that we know about it. We wish you also enjoyed yourself.

Another Great Article on Wine Dictionary

Direct Mail Marketing and Wine Labels - What's Your Big Idea?



Not long ago, I read that well-known California winemaker Rodney Strong had passed away. While recounting his professional career, the article cited Strong's innovative direct mail marketing tactics.


An excerpt:


"Strong developed a marketing strategy that involved direct mail in which he offered to sell wine with a buyer's individual information on the label - 'From the wine cellar of so-and-so,' or 'A gift from such-and-such corporation'."




The program continues to this day, as living testament to its effectiveness.


That story got me thinking about the way we market our products and services in relation to their uniqueness.


For instance:


Why do so many companies today waste time and money marketing average products and services to hard-to-impress consumers? Why don't more companies follow the Rodney Strong model (remarkable product / service idea first; marketing second)?


Marketing the Remarkable

Rodney Strong took something simple but interesting -- personalized wine labels -- and made it available to his audience. Why was it so popular? Because nobody else was doing it at the time. Rodney gambled on an idea, and it worked. He made something that was remarkable to his customers. Then, all he had left to do was tell them about it (in this case through direct mail), and they asked for it by the thousands!


Here's the idea again:


Come up with a remarkable product or service, and then start telling people about it. Word-of-mouth will take it from there.


How Do You Measure Up?

If you struggle when creating your direct mail message, it might indicate that your product or service could use a shot of "the old remarkable."


Or think of it this way...


If you stripped away all the marketing glitz and set your product on a shelf by itself (or described your service on a plain piece of paper) -- would it seem remarkable? Would it impress members of your target audience? Or, are you relying on your marketing to add the pizzazz?


Instead of struggling to promote something average, dig deep to find the above-average aspect of what you're selling. If there isn't such an aspect ... go back to the drawing board and make one.


* You may republish this article in its entirety as long as you include the byline and author's note. If publishing online, please leave the hyperlinks active.

About the Author


About the Author

Brandon Cornett is the editor of PostcardSmart.com, the Internet's largest website dedicated entirely to direct mail marketing with postcards. For more expert articles on postcard marketing, visit http://www.PostcardSmart.com. For daily direct mail tips, visit http://www.directmailtips.blogspot.com

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9:52 AM

Writing all this on Gold Book can be considered an obligation to us. This is because we felt obligated on imparting all this knowledge we knew about Gold Book .

Today's Gold Book Article

The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia


Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

But Shiraz has not always held such a hold over the market. Until the mid nineties Cabernet Sauvignon was regarded as the superior variety and this was reflected in the prices paid at the cellar door. But the demand for exports has been mainly for Australian Shiraz and Cabernet has lost ground in the battle for consumer preference in Australia as well.

Shiraz's reign at the top of the tree really started in the middle of the 1950s when it replaced Grenache as the most popular red winegrape variety. In those days a much larger proportion of the wine market was devoted to fortified wine, what we used to call Port.

Looking into the future the role of Shiraz seems unassailable, but there are a few challengers on the horizon. The wine consumer is a fickle creature and fashions can change fairly quickly.

Merlot is the third most popular red winegrape variety in Australia. Much of the production goes into blends with Cabernet Sauvignon, reflecting its major role in Bordeaux. There are quite a few varietal merlots also produced. There are two reasons for thinking that Merlot won't displace Shiraz as our major tipple. Firstly there are viticultural problems relating to poor clones and it performs poorly in cooler regions. Secondly at the consumer end the wine often lacks a distinctive varietal character. There seems to be no consensus among winemakers about what a good merlot should be like. Meanwhile consumers think of Merlot as meaning mellow. It is hard to find any passion, for or against, this variety.

Another contender is Grenache. This variety is widely planted in South Australia, particularly in the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions. In the 1980s it was subject to government sponsored vine pull schemes in the belief that its days were over. Its star is on the rise again both as a varietal and as the key to blends with Shiraz and Morvedre. Notwithstanding this recent return to favour, Grenache will not seriously challenge Shiraz because of its need for a relatively warm climate.

Sangiovese is a variety with a large and growing fan club. There are now over a hundred winemakers using this variety. One factor which has held the variety back in the past has been clonal variation, this has been overcome by careful selection by vine nurseries. Over the past few years a significant number of producers have been able to show just what the variety is capable of. The wines show plum and cherry flavours and to my mind these flavours as well as the Italian wine textures will mean that the bandwagon for this variety will keep rolling for quite a while. The number of winemakers and consumers in Australia with an Italian background continues to provide plenty of champions for the variety.

Spain's answer to Sangiovese is Tempranillo. It is growing in popularity in many Australian wine regions. To a large extent the jury is still as many of the plantings are still quite new. Among the champions of the variety are James Halliday and Mark Walpole of Brown Brothers. Tempranillo matures a little earlier than Shiraz or Sangiovese so it can be grown in slightly cooler regions, Indeed Manton Creek Vineyard in the Mornington Peninsula is one of the more highly regarded producers.

The Durif variety is regarded as a warm climate variety, indeed it seemed as though Rutherglen held a monopoly on the variety. But in fact is relatively early ripening, as demonstrated by John Vale at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula. The outstanding feature of Durif is the high level of tannins, but if these can be mastered then

There are a few other varieties attracting attention which will figure in the mix over the next decade or so. Petit verdot is becoming much more popular in the warmer areas. It was pioneered in Australia by Pirramirra in McLaren Vale but it is now grown extensively in the Murray Darling and Riverina.

Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two other Italian varieties which are highly regarded in Australia. Lagrein is a little known Italian variety, in fact it is from the North East of Italy. It is an early ripening variety and as such can be grown in the cooler climates. Cobaw Ridge in the Macedon Ranges region has a wonderful Lagrein.

So what is the verdict? Which red winegrape variety will be the next Shiraz? It seems to be a contest between Sangiovese and Tempranillo, with both camps having some firm adherents. My money at this stage goes with Sangiovese, it has the runs on the board.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Darby Higgs is an expert on varietal wines made from less common grape varieties. He is founder and editor of vinodiversity, an information resource. See http://www.vinodiversity.com



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