Dan Neil, for the La Times, looks at the ins and outs of the newest, douchiest wine going: Ed Hardy.
The wine is yet another notch in the lifestyle brand belt for Christian Audigier. The Ed Hardy line is a tattoo-themed street wear imprint of the French fashion megalomaniac.
(The actual Ed Hardy is a bay-area tattoo artist. Hope he’s getting paid well to have his name sullied.)
Since Audigier has slapped the lameness of “Ed Hardy” onto just about everything and anything from toothbrushes to clothing, why not wine sold exclusively at your local Whole Paycheck?
The Ed Hardy label helps address a specific problem in the wine business, according to Nicolas Vice President Gene Schaeffer.
“There’s nothing really new and exciting in the wine business,” Schaeffer says. “When this idea came along I thought we could develop new wine drinkers.”
Claude Ruau-Choate, the wine buyer for Whole Foods in California, says the same. “In the long term, we’re trying to build an audience,” Ruau-Choate says. “This is the perfect introduction. It’s fun. Wine doesn’t have to be difficult.”
As for the wine itself, Neil describes it as “not half bad,” which is really saying it’s not that good. It’s probably a good starter wine, the kind you drink when you’re also drinking Natty Light. In other words, when you have no taste or discerning sensibilities.
No wine doesn’t have to be difficult. But does it have to be douchy either? [via Buzzfeed]
