Brand Wars - The Princes of Napa Vs the Pirating Knave

Behind the scenes of the wine phenom nick-named inCalifornia. But the catch is that he trucks the juice
a Internet chat room raged an epic battle over thefrom his grape crush and processing operations in
value of brand, and California's quintessential spiritCeres to be bottled and distributed, also by his own
exclaimed by its own state motto: Eureka!companies, in Napa. Portly Franzia says he is a Robin
Down to our DNA we Californians hold triumphalHood Crusader bringing good cheap wine to the
belief in Gold Rush riches from supernatural pluck: Aovereducated, underpaid Gen Xs and their aging
guy comes to LA with two Jefferson's in his pocketYuppie folks, and to the aforementioned Millennials,
and immortalizes his name on dream machine Disneytoo.
studios. A billionaire-in-training collects bottles to eat,The Princes of Napa have sued him for being a
and starts Apple computers in a garage. California'spirating knave.
governor was an immigrant weight-builder turnedHere in California, the inborn archetype of fables like
Hollywood action hero. Even the sporting event ofZoro and the Lone Ranger emotionally resonate.
the 20th century happened right here when 'milk-cartThey're our life-blood and we crave the fix of a
pony' Seabiscuit obliterated every record and leftfresh infusion. So when a strategic renegade snickers
Eastern aristocratic champ, War Admiral, in his dust.as he cleverly defeats his foes to benefit the
And even though California is a relatively new entrantoppressed people--we get a little misty in the eye.
to the 8,000 year old craft of winemaking in just theBut the Napa winemakers say, hold the phone,
last 31-years California vintners have caused thekiddies, let's review Ethics 102.
three most spectacular upsets in all of wine'sIt was we who built this dream, and made Napa into
illustrious, long history:that glistening Eden that's California's second tourist
At the legendary 1976 Judgment of Paris blinddestination after Disneyland. And by slapping the
taste-testing then upstart Napa winemakersNapa appellation on his cheap grapes carted in from
challenged the presumed superior--and slightlyCeres, Franzia is like Time's Square street hawkers
amused--French vintners. Noble France was handedpeddling knock-off bags. He's diminishing our
its head on a plate and Napa was elevated as leworld-class brand.
monde de vin's shimmering Camelot. Then in 2006, onHmm. Oh, yeah. There's that, too.
the 30-year anniversary of France's stunning rout, theAfter a six-year legal battle that went all the way to
Gauls expected to slap-down the Americans in athe Supreme Court corks popped in Napa's palatial
rematch to select the Big Ten Wines. They receivedshowcases. The Napanistas finally beat the guy who
a second beret-twirling shock when Napa won 1st,they regard as a philistine at their verdant, glammy
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 10th places which cementedchateaux gates. But hey, my only horse in this race is
California vintners' collective derriere firmly to theCalifornia wines. I send spiritual bouquets to them all.
world's wine throne.By herself, California is the 4th largest wine producer
But in July 2007 it was the Napa winemakers whoin the world. Bottom line is that winemaking is
felt a stinging blow when $1.99 a bottle bargaincivilizing, it's ancient, it's hip, it's cool, it changes culture
vintage, Charles Shaw Chardonnay, affectionately orand it heightens life and the spirit and the romance of
derisively known as Two-Buck Chuck depending onCalifornia. And for that we owe all vintners a debt of
your point of view, won the double Gold Medal atthanks for adding luster to California's fame.
the prestigious California State Fair Commercial WineFranzia, a third-generation Italian-American from an
competition. Two-Buck bested 350 labels many fromillustrious winemaking family, sits in his Ceres shack of
Napa's premier wineries.a trailer office at the center of his 30-label domain.
Ouch.He's no frills kind of guy, who drives a dusty jeep,
A bit of extra sea-salt in the wounds was that Fredeats at low-end diners, is a hell of a businessman and
Franzia, Two-Buck's Dad, and owner of Bronco Winesphilosophical about his court loss.
headquartered in Ceres, in California's Central Valley,But just remember, folks. Ceres was the Goddess of
spent not a dime marketing his value-priced brew. Itagriculture and fertility. And Horace, the greatest of
sold itself in the Internet firestorm ignited by itsLatin poets from the Augustan times who wrote
nickname. Seems the Millennial Generation bite onphrases like carpe diem-seize the day--said that he
snappy wine labels. And though it sells only throughwould not abide sailing in this fragile skiff of life with
one vendor, California's Trader Joe's stores, it is theany man who'd divulge the secrets of Ceres.
fastest growing wine brand in U.S. history and theWhatever next surprise is coming from Fred Franzia,
hottest seller ever out of Napa.is bound to have 'Eureka!' at the end and the blood's
Oh, and there's the rub. "Out of Napa."rushing to my head right now imagining it.
Franzia's Bronco Wines' empire stretches over 35,000© 2008-2012 Suzanne de Cornelia-All copyrights
acres from Sacramento to an hour above LA alongapply. This article may be reprinted on websites as
the Tehachapi range. He owns more of thoselong as the entire article, including the website link and
pristinely neat, green running rows than anyone inresource box below are included and unchanged.