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Rude wine label causing trouble in US
A wine from Hundred Acre owner Jayson Woodbridge is causing problems in the US state of New Hampshire due to its controversial name.
If You See Kay
The wine, If You See Kay 2010, a Cabernet-based red blend from the Italian region of Lazio, when said aloud sounds like the spelling of a four-letter expletive.
At least two executive councilors have questioned the State Liquor Commission’s judgment in allowing the wine to be sold at state stores in New Hampshire.
“This isn’t the welcome mat New Hampshire should display for tourists,” councillor David Wheeler told local newspaper The Union Leader.
“We need to set a higher standard for sales and marketing – the label violates community standards,” he added.
Bolstered by the controversy, the wine, priced at $19.99, is selling very well.
“We sold 10 cases last week,” Joseph Mollica, chairman of the State Liquor Commission told The Union Leader.
“We don’t want to offend anyone, but we also don’t want to miss an opportunity,” he added.
Jayson Woodbridge
Officials have agreed to move the wine to the back of the stores to appease opponents’ complaints that children may be exposed to the labels.
If You See Kay’s owner Jayson Woodbridge is best known for producing cult California wine Hundred Acre, which sells on release for around $250 a bottle.
Wine critic Robert Parker has described his wines as “among the most individualistic in California.”
He also owns the mid-level Layer Cake and Cherry Pie wine brands.
“Jayson doesn’t care what anybody thinks. He searches out the best vineyards and makes uncompromised wine,” says a quote on boutique wines website VantagePoint.com, which sells If You See Kay, Layer Cake and Cherry Pie.
A wine called Ménage à Trois is among the 10 best selling wines in New Hampshire.
Hardly the rudest thing in the world! I remember an Irish racehorse that was named ‘whale oil beef hooked’ just to catch out the TV commentators!
…and who can forget that horse named “Hoof Hearted”? LOL… say that one fast.
Strange that someone would want to copy Brtiney Spears
I kind of like it…, its definitely catchy! it seems a trend in the wine industry these days to be able to relax a little and not take themselves so seriously, plus I think the branding looks fab, similar to ‘Some Young Punks’ and obviously the wine is good too so really whats the issue…. good for you Jason, cant wait to try a bottle.
How about if you don’t bring kids to a liquor store?? Cheers to creative and fun marketing.
Many states, like, uh, California, sell beer-wine-spirits in groceries. i work in very busy stores where hubbies and wives shop and have the kids in tow. I help watch th kids while explaining that Malbec started in Bordeaux. I avoid showing Promiscuous, and now Cherry On Top too, when kids are present. And I do not like candy named vodkas where kids can see them. It is bad enough that high schoolers steal Jack Daniels. Now Whipped Cream vodka? Cotton Candy vodka? Adult Chocolate Milk???? Not good. I make my daily bread selling alcohol. A little respect for the product, please??? And respect for waiting til legal age to buy/steal some? (Not same for consumption in the home. That is the parent’s choice.)
This is overpriced 2 buck Chuck that has no soul. This new brand speaks exactly of the owner’s attitude toward the consumer. Here is some wine chump, give me money. FU.
-MODERATED
Sorry Scott, this comment has been moderated because it had lots of filthy references. Please keep it clean(ish)! – Admin
Stu Pedasso was kinda cute, but marketign to minors seems to be on the upswing. Visit your vodka aisle. Promiscuous wine. cherry on top. I am not Mr. Prude but I do not like the lax or absent of any brain review at TTB. And 2 mo points. Sulfites affect a tiny few, histamines are the real bugaboo in red wine allergies. Let’s drop the useless sulfite warning and add a useful bit of science about histamines. And make the typesize and contrast on prinitng the abv% larger so the consumer can actually see it. Like on Ridge wines. They are the gold standard for truth in labeling. I sorely grieve that so many bottles that I sell daily totally miss an opportunity to talk honestly and truthfully to the public and the consumer. More education is better. All the time. And we don’t need foul language in a public store shelf. The quality of the product is what counts in the long run.
Just another marketing stunt trying to generate sales. And who can blame them? There are thousands of wine selections available to consumers, and some never even hit our liquor store’s shelves. This is already the most offensive name I’ve seen. Anyone remember the success B*tch wines had just a few short years ago?
All those worrying about children reading the label and somehow being corrupted, allow me to point out the obvious. What the f*** are they doing in a liquor store? And besides, most of them can read well enough to get the joke.
FCUK – French Connection UK has huge stores around the world – really New Hamphshire
I guess the private label I just had made for my furniture store should become very popular. Sofa King Great Furniture
Wow, and to think that just 5 years ago, my Effen Good wine label was being banned by the prudes.
Just send me a bottle. Its okay
Down here in Australia there is a Cellar called D’arenberg in McLaren Vale, and they have released a Botrytis Sauvignon Blanc called “The Noble Botryotinia Fuckeliana”.
B.fuckeliana is the teleomorph of the fungi Botrytis cinerea, which causes “Noble rot”, and is named after Karl Wilhelm Gottlieb Leopold Fuckel.
I’m a NH resident who just bought 2 bottles. I don’t know much about wine, but compared to what I have tried, it is very smooth. For those who live outside of NH, please ignore the comments made by councillor David Wheeler. He is not a fair representation of the people here. Most of us are free thinking adults who do not need our hands held by government busybodies.
How about the 2 wonderful wines made by Chronic Cellars in California: I love them! … Dead Nuts and Sofa King Bueno. This last requires you to know or understand some limited Spanish, just so you get it’s English meaning.
Excuse me? This label is supposed to be offensive? Has everyone forgotten April Wine’s 1982 song “If You See Kay?” They weren’t just spelling it out on a label, they were spelling it out on radio 30 years ago. I don’t civilization is going to collapse because of this.
I’d be more worried about updating Jayson’s Doobie Brothers-esque photo. He looks like a Geico Caveman in this shot. The “shock” labels are just schtick. It’s all marketing.
I’m loving this label. People get bent out of shape more about wine labels than other labels. I don’t know what I think about it in general but I like this one.
What about the trend of pictures and designs on wine labels? I feel as though this trend more than the others is pushing wine labels in the direction beer labels went years ago. I don’t know what I think about it.
Craft beer labels a lot of times have graphic designers involved and can do a really good job but then other times, they are just trying to make you buy the beer because of the label. This obviously works for low end wines as well for those who do not normally buy wine.
It will be interesting to see where this all leads ten years down the road.
I would say that if there are young kids who get the “If you see Kay” joke, the problem is WAY beyond the wine label. Good grief, New Hampshire, you’ve gotta be kidding. Focus on a real problem.
This wine is delicious! Jason Woodbridge is kicking a** again! He puts is heart and soul into his wine, and you can taste it. The Cherry Pie label was a homage to American Culture, which struck him as he was at an Art Gallery in New York. Yes, many of us all love our little four letter words, but it was a long time before he found the piece that called out to him as “Kay”. Here you have a winemaker who makes 100 pt. wines, who comes across a some great Italian fruit, and wants to make some good wine that everyone can enjoy, and have fun with it. Cheers to Kay!
I just picked this up at my restaurant. If I carry Merkin Vineyards’ stuff, I may as well carry If You See Kay. Fuck the people that take them selves too seriously. Delicious Italian blend!
I seen a bottle of this at my recycling job,,and thought the label looked cool,,and then showed it to a co-worker and he got the words on the label to spell out the cuss word that never came to my mind, and i was amazed that it was such a play on words. Then i went to a store and bought a $20 bottle of it. I just got it, so i haven’t tried it yet,,so i hope it’s good!
The wine is delicious. Lighten up everybody. I bought it because I loved the label artwork (which I NEVER do) and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the wine.
If you see Kay…just tried it and love it…I didn’t realize when you read the label it sounds like we’ll you know. There are worse things in the world then a wine label..
My wife and I saw this wine on our holiday to Vegas and loved it, we have a good friend named Kay. We didn’t even see the rude interpretation of it, we are very British. So it just shows the state of mind of the councillors involved!!
We will be buying some!! Even better that it has a rude interpretation too!!