What’s on the wine bottle counts

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, November 30, 2003

PROSSER — Sometimes it’s not what’s inside that counts. As Hogue Cellars of Prosser has shown, a change in name and label color can make a big difference. Since making those changes, the winery has sold about 2,000 more cases in one-third of the time.

"We sold 10,000 cases in four months, when we had been selling 8,000 cases in 12 months," said Wade Wolfe, Hogue’s general manager.

Hogue decided to change the name of its pinot gris wine to pinot grigio. Both are considered the same variety of wine, but the first is the French name and the other Italian.

"I know a lot of consumers are confused that pinot gris and grigio are the same grape. It’s like syrah and shiraz," said Stacie Jacob, spokeswoman for the Washington Wine Commission. "Syrah is the old world name, and shiraz is the Australian name."

The change in name helped consumers who were accustomed to the famous Italian import to readily identify the well-known variety, Wolfe said.

"It’s the No. 1 imported white wine in the United States right now," Jacob said about pinot grigio.

" (There is) a building interest in that type of varietal and we are just capitalizing on it," Wolfe said. "It’s sort of like being at the right place at the right time, with the right price and the right product."

Hogue also changed the variety’s muted olive-colored label to a tangy red so it would stand out from competitors.

"You have to be colorful and well-designed," Wolfe said, explaining the importance of the label.

Customers often have hundreds of choices facing them on grocery store shelves, he said.

"People go down the wine aisle and they are trying to make decisions," Jacob said. "If it’s a sexier package and more appealing to the eye, they are going to pick that wine, even though the wine could taste the same in the bottle."

Many wineries have put fanciful characters or distinctive symbols on their bottles to help consumers remember a particular wine, Wolfe said.

"There are so many competitors out there that you do have to have some sort of symbol or icon that the customer can remember," he said.

Some vintners also are trying to protect wine names particular to a historical wine-making region.

For instance, Champagne, Chablis and Bordeaux were all originally names that described wines from different regions, not the grape varieties they are made from.

Wine names are important and valuable because they often evoke customers’ memories. Jacob said wine is "different than other products because it’s an experience type of product and a sense of place type of product."

Even the same variety of grapes can taste different depending on where the fruit is grown. "Wine is all about a sense of place," Jacob said. "Wine that you will taste in the Yakima Valley will be different than wine you taste in Walla Walla."

That sense of place instills loyalty in consumers when they visit wineries and can translate to future profits, she added.

Many Washington wine makers are phasing out controversial names in exchange for locally inspired ones, Wolfe said. Most wineries belong to the Washington Wine Quality Alliance, and one of the criteria for membership is to advocate truthful labeling, Jacob said.

For example, Hogue now uses the name Johannisberg Riesling, but plans to change the name to something such as Columbia Valley Riesling or Washington Riesling by 2006, Wolfe said.