Is Chamarré still trop francais?
Brands. They make the world go round. Or so the theory goes in a world of global competition.
Some may say that a failing of France, the land of tens of thousands of wine producers, is the lack of big brands. In an effort at consolidation, several cooperatives have come together to try to make and market a new line of wines under the name of Chamarré.
As I zoomed by the large Chamarré stand at Vinexpo, I had a chance to pick up a pamphlet and hear the two-minute story on the wines. The highlights include consolidation of the 13,000 growers under one winemaker, R. Rosari, and rapid growth since they have sold 100,000 cases as they approach their first anniversary of the brand. US launch/expansion will follow in the coming months following the initial push was in the UK (search for the wine).
Soon after leaving their stand, I bumped into two anglophone wine guys who are specialists in the global wine biz. I couldn’t help getting their reaction to this new wine.
Global Guy 1: “Chamarré? I can just see a guy in America ordering that at a bar! Sha-mar-ay. And what if you forget the accent? Then it is Sha-marre. Eww.”
Global Guy 2: “They just don’t have the label right. What’s up with the butterfly?”
Global Guy 1: “What’s this? Four lines of wines? Oh, now THAT’s easy! Wow, they really don’t get it do they. And look–a shiraz, grenache, merlot–the famous SGM blend!” [note: it’s usually GSM for grenache-syrah-mourvedre]
And so on…Unfortunately I wasn’t able to head back to the stand to get their opinions (and gather my own) on what the wines actually taste like. But overall presentation is a potentially large part of the buying experience, so the globetrotters’ reaction was interesting at one level.
What do you think? Will this butterfly take off in the US?
On June 27th, 2007 at 9:50 am ,JB wrote:
it will fly off the shelves of trader joe’s, cost plus, et al.
On June 27th, 2007 at 2:37 pm ,Brooklynguy wrote:
When I order it I say it with a hard “Ch,” like the word camera. That way I am not embarrassed, nor is my masculinity threatened by saying a feminine sounding word.
On June 28th, 2007 at 3:52 am ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Ha Brooklynguy – I’m not so sure it is the “sh” part that poses problems — otherwise Chicago would have to be pronounced kicago and Champagne, kampagne.
It’s more likely the “ay” at the end — after all, cabernet lost it’s “ay” to become “cab” as the Man’s Choice. It’s hard to imagine ordering this wine as a “cham.”
On June 29th, 2007 at 7:50 am ,Sean Sellers wrote:
Hi Dr. Vino,
How disappointing, and probably all to common it is that you can across global guys 1 and 2 at Vinexpo. Between them, their exclusivist wine snobbery demonstrates the very worst in the wine world.
As an ex-pat American living in Europe, I quite like it that France doesn’t have a Gallo or a Blossom Hill or Hardy’s. I like the smaller nature of many French operations, even if, as my friend at InterWined.com (sorry about the plug) points out and I have learned from trying to produce a wine documentary series in the UK, many European wines and French wines in particular remain shrouded in a mystery of appellation, cru, and wine region.
So while I am happy to see smaller producers work together and forgo traditional labelling for a New World-style list of wine grapes, (I think it will help their sales) I’m also a little worried that the winemakers have sold their individuality to the Mephistopheles of ubiquity for a chance at greater exposure – the bottle even looks a bit New World with its sleek black body and inoffensive butterfly. This is wine designed to look cute and approachable in contrast to most French wines, which seem to present themselves as regal and traditional.
On June 29th, 2007 at 10:21 pm ,AZ Salesman wrote:
Something like this is what most Americans need. It is a widely accepted premise by the casual wine drinker that the best wine in the world comes from France. Most of the casual wine buyers in this country are simply to offput buy the myriad of words they don’t understand on a French wine label. Wines like this serve as a great gateway product to better and more complex wines. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told by a customer that they love Charles Krug but they came to it by starting with Luna di Luna or Yellowtail. A wine like Chamarré will only serve the majority of French wineries by demystifying them a little.
On July 3rd, 2007 at 10:10 am ,jw wrote:
what is interesting here is that comparisons are drawn so quickly with wine that you start at yellow tail entry level and in no time at all you are drinking Krug. The world does not work that way otherwise we would all be driving italian sports cars having once started riding bikes! The French might not have a Blossom Hill (JP Chenet, Piat D’Or?)but they would like one and the reality is that at this level to get wines to fly off the shelf at trader joe’s you are talking about price, price and price followed by some appeal which might, if you are very lucky, gain some sort of brand loyalty. Where will it be in 12 months time – my view is that it will be the victim of the 3 R’s of marketing – redesign, relaunch and resign!
On July 5th, 2007 at 2:12 pm ,Dr Vino’s wine blog » Blog Archive » EU reforms, Lavaux preserved, perfection discovered, wine as Listerine — tasting sized pours wrote:
[…] reader comments: JW sez re: Chamarre: “Where will it be in 12 months time – my view is that it will be the victim of the 3 R’s […]
On July 9th, 2007 at 11:27 am ,Dr Vino’s wine blog » Blog Archive » After a seventy year hiatus, reintroducing a “Cuvee hermitagee” wrote:
[…] on French innovation: “Is Chamarré still trop francais?” “Yellow jersey, Beaujolais in tin – new products from Boisset“ Permalink | […]
On July 10th, 2007 at 2:09 pm ,Karen Landgraf - Mc Greal wrote:
This is a find, I bought my first bottle this week had a sip and another and another and I am in love with this wine and cannot beleive it is French, I have being looking for 4 years for a nice tasting red wine in France with this type of body and taste and such an after taste. oh la la like it love it… will be buying in the case loads.
Karen
On July 19th, 2007 at 7:41 am ,fruité catalan wrote:
Chamarré was launched 2 years after a french brand from languedoc roussillon called Fruité Catalan in order to surf on their real succes.
have a look to their web site and you will be estinish about the similarity.
not available for the time being within the usa market
On June 14th, 2008 at 11:08 am ,Chenin Blanc wrote:
I agree with Karen. Chamarré is a very good price/quality wine. I believe it is accessible in terms of taste, positioning and pricing.
They really stand for a constant quality. So far I checked out their bi-varietals and I had the occasion to taste their Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Chardonnay.
By the way, a Chamarré is a butterfly, as is their logo.
Just checked their website. They are doing a good job. The butterfly is laready present in 29 countries and they sold more than 3 million bottles in les than 2 years!
Curious to see how they will move in this competitive market! In any case, congratulations to build a brand in such a short time!
On July 22nd, 2011 at 8:04 pm ,Nicole wrote:
I tasted this wine for the first time at a restaurant in Paris a couple of years ago. I loved it. I manage to find it at only one wine shop in my area, but will go out of my way to get it. Great wine for the value.