Cosmic Questions for Galen Struwe of Sacre Bleu
What is Sacre Bleu?
Sacre Bleu is no more or no less than a clever name for our wine. Most people get that it is a bit of a gag or innocuous curse word. The fact is that the literal French translation is “Sacre Bleu” and is an old reference to the Virgin Mary in Renaissance paintings.
How is Sacre Bleu different from more traditional French wines?
Sacre Bleu still tips its hat to the French traditions in that our Meritage Cuvee Gustave Fayet tastes out like a classic Bordeaux and the Pinot Noir still bears an earthy presence with the new world wine nod to being fruit forward. Our Chardonnay is unoaked so I’m not sure that we could be defined as radically un-French.
Talk about the production process and vineyard sources for Sacre Bleu wines.
Gustave Viennet is our winemaker. His estate is Chateau de Raissac in Languedoc. It’s been in his family for six generations so all of Sacre Bleu wines are entirely estate bottled. We’re pretty damn lucky to have Gustave Viennet making this wine. He’s a young man connected firmly to French winemaking but spent a couple of years attending high school in New York. So he knows what the American consumer prefers in a wine. He’s actually merged two distinct styles of winemaking; kind of an old world meets new world presentation.
How does Sacre Bleu use new media to connect with its drinkers?
We are fully committed to Web 2.0 or as the wine industry has come to embrace it as Wine 2.0. Look, there is no question that the brands of tomorrow are going to emerge from these platforms. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Myspace and others have become the central conduits for the credible flow of information and entertainment content. ROI’s [Return On Investment] for big ads in Network television and major market newspapers are hard to rationalize anymore. The audience is not spending their time there anymore….big companies are slow to realize this.
Explain your unique partnership with the Fillmore.
The Fillmore Miami Beach is a Live Nation venue. Our promotional partnership with the Fillmore is a beautiful thing. We have been given great access to brand in the venue and to our credit we have done so quite tastefully. The Fillmore’s have great tradition so it was incumbent upon us as a corporate citizen to establish a presence there without seeming to intrude. Brand, be cool, be effective in getting your message out but do it with the same integrity found in the musical history of the Fillmore. I like what we have done there. So much of the credit for our presence there goes to our Jill Elliott and Matt McKenna from Live Nation.
Where are Sacre Bleu wines available?
Here’s the good news. The brand is expanding in 2009. We’ve made consumer impacts in Florida and the Mid West but plans for 2009 will enable us to be far more accessible.
Related Posts
- Wine Wednesday Blogger Buzz: August 18th Edition
Each week, wine lovers all over the Internet unite to celebrate “Wine Wednesday.” The concept is more viral than an official, sanctioned event. And it... - FTW: Hedges Family Estate Bucks the System!
There’s a winery in Washington State that’s trying to rock the boat so hard, you can damn near surf off the waves created by said... - Fine Beverage Roundup: Week of July 5th -9th
In addition to all the fine beverage news we posted on our blog this week, several other noteworthy things happened over the past few days.... - Social Media Takes Me Closer To Time Travel & Seppeltsfield Tawny
If I’m honest, at times I have what could be considered a “Han Solo” mentality about social media. Like, the first time I was hanging...
Comments
Leave a Comment
Request for photo removal.



Rachel | Thursday, December 18, 2008
I haven’t seen this wine before? Is it available online? Is it expensive?
Richard P. | Thursday, December 18, 2008
I’m really liking the interviews