It had to happen. Wine consultants survey the country and find that 21- to 35-year-olds prefer wine to beer. And, while they like wine, they know little about it, and have no strong brand loyalties.
In other words, they're tabula rasa, empty pallets with willing palates. Fair game for advertisers. So, given their age and affinities, what could work better than viral advertising?.
Viral advertising, the opinion-building method of the 21st century, is defined as ad techniques that use existing social networks to create brand awareness and sales. No billboards, TV or print ads here. Rather, video clips, video games, e-mail blasts and on-the-scene advertising at music events and other gatherings.
One of the first new wines to grasp this opportunity is Sacre Bleu, a 45,000-bottle-a-year operation with a Minneapolis-based president, Galen Struwe, and a French winemaker, Gustave Viennet.
''Until now, wine has been seen as too elite for young people,'' says Struwe. ``We want to integrate it into the lifestyle of 21-to-35-year-olds, the Millennials. We don't do TV. We go where young people spend their time -- websites, podcasts, MySpace pages.
``We avoid college campuses because so many students aren't 21 yet. We don't want college parents getting the wrong message.''
Sacre Bleu's MySpace page (myspace.com/sacrebleuwine) is filled with tasting notes, photos of attractive young people holding wine bottles and links to music, art and video clips. The company worked on word-of-mouth among music fans as the official wine of the Langerado Music Festival earlier this month at the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation.
Two Sacre Bleu wines -- the $13 chardonnay and pinot noir -- are available at Florida Target stores. The other two -- a $16 white blend and a $19 red blend -- are aiming for upscale restaurants, retail shops and wine bars, including W Wine Bistro in Miami and Libation in Weston.
''Wine bars are a huge focus for us,'' Struwe says.
He hopes to counter the French concept, which has been growing in the United States, that wine is food, to be consumed at dinner.
``We're trying to separate it from food. The most important thing about wine is the pleasure. That's how to sell it to young people.''
Viennet, a sixth-generation winemaker, makes Sacre Bleu wines at Chateau de Raissac in the Languedoc region of southwestern France.
''We're trying to make it as natural as possible,'' he says. ``We don't add sugar or acid.''
RECOMMENDED
• 2006 Sacre Bleu Unoaked Chardonnay, Vin de Pays d'Oc: vanilla and pear flavors; soft, tart finish; $13.
• 2006 Sacre Bleu White Blend (chardonnay, viognier, muscat), Vin de Pays d'Oc: hint of oak; crisp orange and apricot flavors; tart finish; $16.
• 2006 Sacre Bleu Pinot Noir, Vin de Pays d'Oc: soft, sweet black cherry aromas and flavors; $13.
• 2004 Sacre Bleu Cuvée Gustave Fayet (cabernet sauvignon and merlot), Vin de Pays d'Oc: hint of oak; soft, full-bodied cassis and black plum flavors; tart finish; $19.
