Trust, plastic bottles, BYOB, Operation Mixed Wine – sipped and spit
SIPPED: money back wine
The NYT reports on a new ad campaign from Blackstone, a Constellation wine brand, that is emphasizing “trust.” “We’re so sure you’ll enjoy the taste of Blackstone wines that if you don’t, we’ll pay you back,†the ads declare and even include a “money back guarantee“! Yes, the wine is $9.99 excluding shipping and handling charges. Call now! Operators are standing by! Actually, not all consumers can “relax, unwind, and uncork a flavor bomb,” as the Blackstone Winery web site suggests since the offer is not available in states such as California and New York. And it expires nationally on 8/31/2009.
SIPPED: Chateau Plastique
The LA Times reports on the rise of plastic wine bottles. While PET bottles are lighter and therefore welcome from a carbon reduction perspective, it bears mentioning that plastic can’t effectively be recycled (from plastic bottles to plastic bottles), only “downcycled” (from plastic bottles to park benches). [See comments for update]
SIPPED: rise of byob
A piece on theatlantic.com praises Philadelphia’s culture of BYOBs. But then adds this kicker: “For serious BYOBers, the only problem with this arrangement is that they’re better off purchasing their wine in another state.”
SIPPED: responding to critics
After Jeremy Parzen called reporting about Brunello on decanter.com “egregiously disinformational,” Decanter handed the their most recent update over to Parzen and his co-blogger Franco Zilliani. Check out the latest on “Operation Mixed Wine.”
On August 11th, 2009 at 2:59 pm ,Dylan wrote:
That’s highly unfortunate for the brand. It’s equivalent to the poor planning between Oprah and KFC while they launched their Grilled Chicken a few months ago. Franchises were overwhelmed and forced to turn back thousands of customers buying into the excitement of the free offer. Be you a bottle of wine or a bucket of chicken, the lesson remains the same–when you set expectations, abide by them.
On August 11th, 2009 at 5:53 pm ,Sasha wrote:
I am curious about your comment regarding plastic not being able to be effectively recycled into more bottles. From the brief amount that I have read on the subject, plastics #1(PET) and #2(PE) can be recycled, but take a large amount of energy to do so (due to not only the molecular structure of the plastics but also because of the importance of correctly sorting the bottles prior to re-mixing). But even though the process is a hassle, if sorted and processed correctly, it is my impression that recycled bottles CAN be made into new bottles. Could you please clarify, and if possible point me to some of your resources regarding this subject?
Thanks
Sasha
On August 11th, 2009 at 7:37 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Hi Sasha,
For a start, please check out this article from the New Yorker: “Message in a Bottle” about the making of Plastiki, a raft made from plastic soda and water bottles.
Also see how the FTC is cracking down on producers claims that products are biodegradable.
If others have more links, feel free to add them.
Best,
On August 12th, 2009 at 6:21 pm ,Laurie wrote:
Frankly, Pennsylvania’s wine laws are sad. Seemly unchanged since the days of William Penn, the tight fist of the Sate Liquor Control Board makes finding a decent bottle of wine in a State store virtually impossible. I would love to consider a move to PA, but with thoughts of opening a wine store… it is off the list.
On August 13th, 2009 at 12:26 am ,Paul Starr wrote:
Dr Vino, it is possible to recycle PET as food-grade to food-grade. This has been happening for some years here in Australia, more recently spreading to places such as the UK. For example:
http://www.visyclosedloop.com/media.php?id=10
Please correct your article.
On August 13th, 2009 at 1:11 am ,Paul Starr wrote:
Or for a USA-specific closed loop food grade PET recycling process:
http://www.powderandbulk.com/pb_services/news_center/publish/article_001943.shtml
On August 13th, 2009 at 8:20 am ,Jack O'C wrote:
With regard to BYOBs, I think they are great. I live in Chicago and there are a number of great restaurants in my area that are BYOB.
I have to admit though, that I have issues with this concept: Yes, I’m arguably saving money, but if I want my wine to pair well with my meal I have to have a good idea of what I will order for dinner before I get to the restaurant! Maybe I’m just too uptight, but this always bothers me.
On August 13th, 2009 at 8:23 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Interesting, Paul: I stand corrected.
Here’s a BBC News story announcing the new facility last year. And I did find a domestic provider of the service as well.
Admittedly, this is but a tiny fraction of all PET bottles with the majority ending up in landfills.
Have you seen the art of Chris Jordan, specifically “Running the Numbers“? Impressive stuff.
On August 13th, 2009 at 8:25 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Jack O’C –
Let us know if you have any updates for the Chicago BYOB map!
Many of the Chicago BYOBs are restaurants with a theme, e.g. Tango Sur for steaks or any number of Thai restaurants. So you can often have a pretty good idea going in, no?
On August 13th, 2009 at 8:37 am ,kevin wrote:
I learned about BYOB while visiting some friends in Chicago about 4 years ago. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. 4x mark-ups over retail are hard to swallow.
Imagine this…an afternoon of shopping at Sam’s Liquors (if you haven’t been, check it out), Rose’ on the rooftop deck, pinot noir with salmon, followed by bubbly with dessert. I reached nirvana…
Now that I’m done salivating, I’ll get back to BYOB…Love it, love it, love it! In short you get to save money and drink better wine. Who doesn’t like that!
Salute!
-Kevin
On August 13th, 2009 at 10:36 pm ,Paul Starr wrote:
Thanks, DrV. I hadn’t seen the Chris Jordan art before, but really like it.