Perhaps it is because most elitist wine drinkers prefer Obama, but the announcement by John McCain of Sarah Palin as his running mate led to a sharp decline in sales of Palin Syra wine. Serious Eats reports:
Republican vice presidential pick Sarah Palin might not be fond of San Francisco, but one San Francisco wine bar is fond of Palin Syrah. Or rather, it was.
“It was our best selling wine before (the V.P. announcement),” said Chris Tavelli, owner of Yield Wine Bar, which has offered Palin Syrah, a certified organic wine from Chile, by the glass since July. But after Sen. John McCain tagged Sarah Palin as his running mate, sales of the wine with the conservative’s inverted name plummeted—not surprising in famously liberal San Francisco.
As with the GOP ticket, the Palin falls second in the lineup. The wine’s tasting note reads as it did when Tavelli wrote it months ago: white pepper, madrone, dry. Incidentally, a madrone is an evergreen found primarily in the Pacific Northwest that bears red berries in the fall. When the berries dry up, they are replaced by hooked barbs that latch onto large animals for migration.
Even though sales are down, the wine—like Palin the politician—draws lots of attention and comments. One Yield regular suggested that Tavelli amend the wine’s tasting note to read: moosemeat, salmon, hint of gunpowder.
Great wine, I’d buy 10 (ten) cases if I could!
This story is incredible and coming out of Frisco of all places is hard to believe.
I cannot phathom Americans being so uneducated and shallow as to protest a wine from my country just because it resembles Palin’s name.I am for Senator Obama all the way and those playing this silly game that could ruin a vineyard’ hard working owners just because……. should be ashamed of themselves.
The hatred “Ugly American” hard at work against the grain of the rest of the world again.Salud!
If someone knows a wine and previously bought it, then it would be absurd to stop buying based upon its name.
Often wine is purchased without any good reason by people who have never tasted it. The vineyards know this as they often try to compete with eye catching labels or unusual names. In a case such as this, it is understandable that a name with a bad connotation will suffer even if it is not fair.
Well..prety soon no one will be able to afford to drink Palin wine except John McCain and his campaign manager —what a bunch of losers..
where can i buy syrah wine??
Karen,
You can order the wine from shop.appellationnyc.com
It is best to buy more than one so you can save lots of money on shipping and handling fees.
Good luck and SALUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patricia.
Although wine sales initially fell because of the name, I wonder if ultimately they will receive increased sales due to the publicity. Perhaps the name will even help in the future as passions of this campaign fade but the wine name still seems familiar.
Patricia, the wine’s national origin has nothing to do with it. If it were a Napa Valley wine, the same thing would happen.
…and I agree with Ron Chusid–you’re more likely to gain sales than lose them. As they say, you can’t buy that kind of publicity. Even now, Palin supporters are probably rushing to their local wine shops to ask for it.
Not much of a drinker but do enjoy a livation once in awhile. Now intrigued with Palin Syrah wine and have to try some. Couldn’t find it locally. But will keep on trying.
Go Sareh and John!