I had read with some sadness of the dissolution of a wine venture called Sauvignon Republic, a noble effort of good intentions by a group of former co-workers and Sauvignon Blanc lovers, apparently derailed by the exigencies of the current wine business.
Thus, I was not pleased, but also not surprised, when I saw the results of that demise show up in my local Trader Joe store.
It's an oft-told tale in the wine biz. Someone has a great idea for a brand, has enough talent and energy to do a damn fine job of realizing that concept and making it a reality, turns out an excellent product with all Ts crossed and Is dotted, goes to market with initial great acclaim, continues to receive attention and accolade for quality and style...and then the announcement comes some years later that it is quietly folding.
What happened? Well, it might be that the four partners, each with numerous other business interests to maintain, simply couldn't devote enough time to this side-venture. It might be that the project simply lost steam as the partners got more involved in other pursuits, and the interest waned. It might be that the concept simply didn't have enough staying power to maintain sales and volume and profit. It might be that the model was flawed, and cost of goods/costs of sales was too expensive considering the profit margin (fancy talk for "can't sell enough, and even if we do, we can't make enough money off of it to stay in business and make a profit.)
It might be any, or all, of those, to some degree or another. I suspect, though, that the villain here is ye olde market forces: with the consolidation at all levels of the wine biz, wholesaler/distributors have become so focused on the powerful mega-companies that represent the vast majority of their business that they care little, and work less, for the small brands. Which leaves them on the margins, of course, and makes it that much more difficult to get attention, and that much more costly to distribute and promote.
Ah well. Post-mortems are dull anyway. Best to just ring the bell and bring out your dead.
Enter Trader Joe.
The chain has always done an excellent job of seizing opportunities. And here was one of the opportunities they specialized in: take the corpses of a failed venture, buy it on fire-sale close-out prices, and shovel it through the system at minimal profit until it's gone. It's called "flushing", and no one does it better than Trader Joe does. And, naturally, the consumer benefits. In this case, big time, albeit briefly.
Not loathe to seize opportunities myself, and perfectly willing to pick my teeth over the bones of old friends---wine geeks are inveterate scavengers, after all, hovering in metaphorical glee for the chance to swoop down on a carcass in order to get a bargain---I snatched up several bottles for me and my Sauvignon Blanc-loving wife.
After all, summer would come eventually, even to Portland this year, although we were beginning to wonder. And when it did, we would be needing Sauvignon Blanc to celebrate it and note its day to day passage. And, hey: $6.99!!!
Summer did come. And we were ready.
The soon-to-be-late and already lamented Sauvignon Republic Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough New Zealand 2009 was, in a word, wonderful. If ever there were a case for mourning the demise of a perfectly good wine brand, this was it. But rather than think it a mourning, we thought it a wake, a celebration of what had been in joyous remembrance. (Hey, I'm Irish, and I'm drinking. *shrug*)
Gooseberry to the full, crisp and green and shivery acidity at first, with succulent tropical fruit lushing up from underneath, this was what revived the fortunes of Sauvignon Blanc on the world stage and vaulted the Kiwi Wine Republic into prominence 'overnight'.
Now that I've purchased all I can currently afford, the rest of you should go out and scavenge a few bones yourselves. Chortle.
So thank you Paul, and Tom, and John and John. And thank you, Kristin, for some lovely label designs. Well done. Well done indeed.