the marketing is marketing again 🍷

Happy Wine Wednesday!

I’m Megumi, a corporate escapee turned entrepreneur and sommelier, here to bring you sharp wine tips, no-bullshit thoughts on life in (and beyond) corporate America, and a woman-made wine you’ll be excited to pour & share. 

Here’s what we’re drinking (and thinking) about this week:

Pour Decisions

Wine is already complicated. The last thing we need is for producers to add extra jargon just to confuse us, but here we are.

Today, we’re breaking down the wine label words that sound fancy but don’t actually mean much. I’m not saying these wines are bad or full of BS…but I am saying some of these terms are more about marketing than meaning.

Let’s dive in.

First up: “reserve.”

In Spain (reserva) or Italy (riserva), this does actually, legally mean something. There’s minimum aging requirements, stricter standards, the works.

In the U.S., though, it means whatever the winery wants it to mean. It could be their best barrels… or just the ones with the shiny label.

Next: “old vines” (of vielles vignes if we’re being really fancy). 

Yes, old vines can be a sign of a complex, quality wine. The longer the vine grows, the deeper their root systems penetrate, potentially reaching more minerals and nutrients and leading to more concentrated fruit. It’s also possible that grape growers purposely hold onto an older vine and take delicate care of it, rather than plant a new one, because the grapes are of quality. Either way, there’s no legal definition here. “Old” could mean 25 years. 50 years. More? Depends on the winemaker. And the marketing department.

“Estate bottled” is actually regulated, but often misunderstood. It doesn’t necessarily mean luxury. It just means the winery grew, produced, and bottled the wine on the same property within the designated AVA (American Viticultural Area). This could be amazing! Or…not. It’s not necessarily luxury. It just didn’t travel far.

Now, time for the fluff parade:

“Winemaker’s Selection.” “Barrel Select.” “Handcrafted.” “Special Cuvée.”
100% marketing. 0% meaning. Could it actually be the winemaker’s favorite wine? Maybe! Only the marketing peeps will know, because these terms mean nothing. Pure vibes.

Last but not least, “grand vin.” Sounds impressive, right? 

In Bordeaux, “Grand Vin de Bordeaux” is often used to distinguish a château’s top wine, but it’s not a protected, regulated term. This means it could be a bottling of the best grapes, or just a fancy sounding label for a mediocre Bordeaux. Don’t confuse this with “Grand Cru,” which is the very real, very regulated, highly regarded classification used in Burgundy and Champagne.

And no, I’m not even getting into “sustainable,” “natural,” or “award-winning” today. That’s a rant for another issue.

Marketing will always try to dazzle. But in wine, as in life, the flashiest words don’t always tell the full story.

Sip Happens

Remember when Bic launched a line of pens called “Bic for Her”?

The box boasted “a stylish pen designed just for her,” with “soft, contoured grip for all-day comfort” and “jeweled accents” for, you know, style. Just for her.

Okay, sure!

Or Victoria’s Secret. Anyone watch the Hulu documentary, “Angels and Demons”?
Spoiler alert: Victoria doesn’t exist, the company was rife with sexism and misogyny, and their billionaire CEO had close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Oh, and the company helped hardwire a generation of women (it me!) to believe that “sexy” meant skinny, white, and mostly silent.

Sometimes, the marketing misogyny is cartoonishly obvious.
Other times, it’s sneakier. 

In 2019, the Geena Davis Institute reported that Cannes Lions-nominated ads showed male characters working nearly twice as often as women.

In 2016, media consultancy Ebiquity reported that only 4% of aired ads featured women in leadership roles.

Four. Percent.

And here’s a personal favorite from my acting days:

At 26, I was still auditioning for heroine and love interest roles on TV.

But in the commercial world? I was “young mom,” laughing as I cleaned the kitchen in a spotless suburban dream house.

I’m not saying 26 year olds can’t be moms. But I was single, thriving, and very much not cleaning anyone’s kitchen. I definitely wasn’t happy about vacuuming (is anyone?!). 

I don’t need to tell you that social media has amplified this dissonance.

One minute, we’re all supposed to have BBLs. The next, “heroin chic” is back.

Because apparently, our bodies are trends now, and we’re expected to pivot on command. 

Look, I’m not anti-marketing. I’ve worked in marketing most of my career.

And yes, men are marketed to, too. But historically, they’ve also been the ones writing the rules:

What women should eat.
What women should wear.
How women should look.

And now, with Photoshop, AI, and filters in the mix, we’re editing ourselves out of our own humanity, all while pretending we’re being authentic.

…I don’t have a clean conclusion here.

As someone building a brand while showing more of myself online (hi, follow me on Instagram), I think about this constantly.

I want to be real. And I also want to edit the weird pimple on my chin and adjust my voice because do I really sound like that?

Not to sound like a boomer…but in the age of TikTok, what even counts as real anymore?

Some countries ban ads to kids because children can’t distinguish between entertainment and manipulation.

My question is: Can we?

How do we, especially as women, as consumers, navigate that line?

If you’ve got thoughts, rage, ideas, or just want to commiserate, please hit reply. 
Send help.

Cheers to Her
Spotlight on this week’s woman-owned or -made wine!

Meet Kerith Overstreet, former doctor-turned-winemaker and founder of Sonoma County’s Bruliam Wines.

When I asked how her medical background helped with winemaking, she said:
“I came to winemaking with a strong background in microbiology, basic science, and chemistry…
I often joke that harvest mornings are a lot like internal medicine rounds. You arrive at the winery, immediately pop the covers off your open top tanks, peer inside, and take a big sniff. Ask yourself, does everything look OK and smell OK? It’s not dissimilar from seeing your inpatients, checking wounds, bandages, and your patient’s demeanor.”

Check out Bruliam Wines here, and schedule a tasting the next time you’re in the area!

Here’s to unlearning, unfiltering, and maybe just…unsubscribing from the bullshit (but not this newsletter!!!),

P.S. If this made you scream “same,” forward it to a friend. Or your group chat. Or your therapist. I don’t judge.