Tag Archives: Franzia

Winebits 725: Franzia holiday outfits, sommelier scandal, Big Wine

franzia christmas
$50, and the sweater is yours — and it lights up!

This week’s wine news: More Franzia holiday outfits, plus six sommeliers could be be expelled and Big Wine is shopping a property

• Bring on the Franzia outfits – again: The WC can’t help himself – the idea of adults dressing up like wine boxes appeals to something in me that I can’t explain. This time, it’s a Franzia Christmas sweater that lights up (yes, the one in the picture). The sweater, in case anyone is interested, costs $50. The other thing I like about these Franzia promotions? The marketers call people who drink the wine and buy this stuff “Franz” (like friends – get it?) That’s so horribly awful that I can only shake my head in admiration. Wish I could get paid for writing puns like that. The bravest among you can check out anther Franzia costume promotions here.

• Sommelier scandal: The Court of Master Sommeliers has moved to revoke the certifications of six members who were accused of sexual misconduct about a year ago, including one of the group’s co-founders. Hearings will be held within 30 days to decide whether to revoke the memberships. They include Fred Dame, one of its co-founders; Robert Bath, a professor of wine at St. Helena’s Culinary Institute of America; Matt Stamp of Compline Restaurant and Wine Shop in Napa; Fred Dexheimer; Drew Hendricks; and Joseph Linder. The sex scandal is the second major scandal facing the group; three years ago, it had to cancel the results of an exam after one of the members gave part of the test to someone taking it.

• Stag’s Leap sale? Sycamore Partners, the hedge fund that bought Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, as already looking to break up the company. Which, of course, is what hedge funds do. It may be asking as much as $1 billion for Stag’s Leap, a Napa winery that isn’t this producer. Bloomberg reports that “Stag’s Leap is expected to attract interest from high-net worth family offices and other private equity firms, the people said. No final decision has been made and Sycamore could elect to keep the business.” Welcome to the 21st century, wine business.

Winebits 719: Grey Poupon, Halloween wine, wine growlers

halloween wine
Where’s the side pouch for the wine?

This week’s wine news: How about Grey Poupon wine? Plus, Franzia returns with Halloween costumes and California allows wine growlers

• The horror, the horror: How about white wine infused with mustard seeds? That’s the latest marketing ploy from Big Food’s Kraft Heinz, and it only set you back $30. Which, of course, also would buy three terrific $10 wines or a very, very nice French wine. But that’s what marketing geniuses do these days – find ways for us to waste our money so they can pat themselves on the back for another brilliant promotion. And I’m not the only who feels that way. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Esther Mobley, usually about as level-headed as wine writers get, called it terrible (and blamed Alison Roman).

• Bring on the Franzia costumes! Yes, this is silly (though not as silly as $30 Grey Poupon wine), but it appeals to all my cranky ex-newspaperman instincts. You can dress up like a box of Franzia wine for Halloween – and, given the cost of the Grey Poupon wine, it’s a deal at $40. I wrote about this last year, but it’s worth mentioning again because so many women of a certain age will show up at Halloween parties dressed like this. The costumes are made of soft material and fit from the shoulders to the thighs of a typical adult – and include a side pouch for wine.

• Wine growlers: One of the things that made craft beer so hip was the growler. Bring a bottle to the local craft producer and get it filled – no cans, no bottle tops, and great Instagram pictures. A new law in California will allow all wineries to do the same thing. In other words, bring an old wine bottle, fill it up, take it home, and repeat. Dare I say that that is not only sustainable, but cool? And doesn’t involve paying $30 for Grey Poupon wine.