When I first started researching this topic about three weeks ago, I thought I was on to something unique, something that no one else had covered. But, turns out, I was very wrong. I've seen it discussed on at least half a dozen blogs and even in an article in the LATimes. Good for Christian Audigier and his crew over at Ed Hardy creating a brand that garners attention...bad for Whole Foods.Dan Neil from the LATimes agrees, at least in theory: There are no rules in branding, save for the law of the jungle. We live in a world where it's possible to buy Nascar brand meat snacks, Burger King-themed underwear, Harley-Davidson cake-decorating kits. Money is no respecter of decency and logic. Personally, I love beer-flavored frosting.
But perhaps no brand hookup makes less sense to me than Ed Hardy -- a tattoo-themed street wear imprint of fashion megalomaniac Christian Audigier -- and wine. Yet there it was at my local Whole Foods, stacked in orderly end-cap pyramids...
...Wine is a cultivated taste of a delicately cultivated product, a source of savored satisfaction and nuance, a living liquid that rewards reflection and restraint. The haute-trash Ed Hardy brand -- as near as I can parse it -- represents getting wasted in Las Vegas and leaving your $50 trucker hat in the cab on the way to the airport.
Which is why I was so surprised and intrigued to see Ed Hardy in the Whole Foods wine department. I don't own any Ed Hardy t-shirts, trucker caps, bikinis, hoodies or anything else made by Christian Audigier, but I did buy a bottle of this wine - the Cabernet Sauvignon - just to see what it tasted like. Maybe that's the point in carrying it at Whole Foods - the shock of it alone probably moves product.
That said, I went in with a completely open mind, not knowing what I was going to get with this wine. I expected something at least decent coming from Whole Foods, but wasn't sure. Once I tasted it, though, I knew the LATimes and I were parting ways. The author of the LATimes article thought it was "really not half bad."
[pause...]
Huh?
I honestly thought this was one of the worst wines I've tasted this year. My rating might make it into the mid-high 70's if I had given it a chance past the first glass, maybe letting it sit for a day or two and open up. But, this one wasn't worth the wait. Everything was wrong with it - the fruit was incredibly overripe, the balance was way off, it was incredibly over-oaked and very hot on the finish. I tried it several times over the course of an hour or so to see if it changed and it didn't - literally, it didn't change at all. I found this a bit odd - usually, all wines change over time, even bad ones, but, on my last taste, this was the same wine I opened an hour earlier.
I am going to file this in my "Wines to avoid" file and will not be buying another bottle.
What you should do: Like the category says...avoid this wine.
My rating: puzzled
If you've had the Ed Hardy, any varietal, let's chat - would love to know what you think.
I've had all three Ed Hardy wines, and can say that they're all pretty vile.
The rose is probably the best (using the term loosely) out of the three, but it is still fairly sweet and really just a step up from white zin.
The chard is awful. A cavalcade of fake-tasting oak, cheap fruit, and sugar.
All in all, the sale of this wine is a great example of proof that people will buy whatever the dominant culture tells them to buy.
good to know on the rose and chard. i hadn't planned on trying either one of them after the experience i had with the cabernet, but now i definitely will not.
it is an interesting study in consumer behavior what people will buy. i also find it fascinating that ed hardy wine is in whole foods. that still seems like a very disjointed fit, especially since most of the whole foods wine buyers pride themselves on stocking good wine at a relatively good value.
in the l.a. times article, nicolas wines' vp says "There's nothing really new and exciting in the wine business," Schaeffer says. "When this idea came along I thought we could develop new wine drinkers."
if this is the best we can come up to let the broad masses find wine interesting, we're going about this all wrong...
Well, I am relieved that some one has had some luck with the "value priced" wines at Whole Foods. Almost took a chance on the Ed Hardy at the Arroyo Parkway store. 3 for $10 was almost too good to pass up. But I have had very, very poor luck with the wines Whole Foods Stocks. Can't think of an everyday I wine I purchased there which was anything other than just passable. Glad I looked on the net and found your comments. Had no idea that Hardy was a clothing brand for idiots. Wouldn't have spent the time writing down the name. Thanks again!
wow, 3 for $10 - sets off all kinds of alarm bells for me. and, to be honest, the only wine that is consistently drinkable in that price range ($2 - $3) is charles shaw. not the best wine in the world to be sure, but it is a reasonably safe bet if you want to stay in the low price range. actually held up pretty well in a blind tasting i did a year or so ago.
glad the notes helped. whole foods is relatively consistent in my opinion, but, their best wines are also wines i can pick up somewhere else. i will say that the wines they pick for their top ten lists are usually good - no rock stars, but good. i'm currently reviewing the summer top ten list on the site, if you want to check it out.
thanks for the comment.
rj
I just had this Teribal wine and found this post. I am actual suprised that whole foods sells this crap and it isn't cheap either.
couldn't agree more, anonymous...
I've just tried the Ed Hardy Rosé. You were so right. It's terrible. I wish I would've read this before buying.
Ugh! "Vile, chemical, disgusting, undrinkable" are some of the nicer words I can use to describe the cabernet.
My sister recently brought the "champagne" to a barbecue, and the reception for that was the same.
How does anyone choose this wine to put their label on?