This much can be said for the label on Cleavage Creek Cellars wine: It does catch the eye, showing an attractive young woman–and cleavage, as inspired by wine country geology.
New in the business, Sonoma County, Calif., vintner/retired fighter pilot Jeff Conners said he and partner/wife Barbara were looking for a marketing approach that would make their Cleavage label leap out “from a sea of labels” on store shelves, with a name people would remember. We’re guessing they’ve succeeded.
While in Chicago to work out a distribution deal, he explained, “Life’s too short not to have some fun along the way. We’ve been making wine for seven years, and we’ve been sharing it with our friends at get-togethers.” Then nearly a year ago they decided to go commercial.
“It’s a fun concept, and we’re giving back to a great cause,” Conners said, the cause being breast-cancer research, for which 10 percent of net proceeds is earmarked. The charity element stems from a family member who survived breast cancer.
Already selling on the Internet (www.cleavagecreek.com), the Connerses are working on distribution deals.
California’s Wine Institute trade organization isn’t all that amused. Its strict but voluntary code of advertising standards proscribes ads or labels that “exploit the human form.”
But then, this is the day of Marilyn Merlot, a wine whose label shows equal cleavage, plus other wines with artistically drawn nudes. Too, some wines exploit the faces of craggy old men. And there’s St. Pauli Girl beer and its barmaid.
“I’ve never been contacted by the Wine Institute,” Conners said, “and the fact of the matter is, the label’s been approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.”
The current label woman is not a professional model but a friend of a friend.
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Two experienced tasters tried the cabernet ($21.99): “a good wine with ribs or burgers,” “with a little time, maybe a steak.” One said he’d prefer it priced a bit cheaper, and the other said, “I wouldn’t kick it out of the dining room.”