wine

Long Trout Winery has quite a few eccentric labels. Some of them are eccentric due to the unusual blend of ingredients. But quite a few of them are eccentric in referring to the panoply of human sexual organs. Featured above are the trusty Swollen Member, the good old German Helmet, and Old One Eye. The latter is made with tomatoes, raisins, onions, sweet peppers, celery, string beans, carrots, hot peppers, parsley, horseradish, garlic and soy sauce. Would you drink it? Long Trout is in Auburn, Pennsylvania. Before we depart the topic of Long Trout and their risque labels we’d be derelict if we did not mention this label about everyone’s favorite garden implement.

This Bear Flag label looks to be a big departure from the staid Gallo labels of decades past. The design of this “dark red wine” label does not seem to have a whole lot in common with, for example, this Carlo Rossi label from a few years back. The newer, more whimsical labels are apparently designed by Eduardo Bertone. There is not a lot of information about this designer or this brand on the web. Even at Bertone’s site, there seems to be a whole lot of whimsy and not much information. To the extent the Bear Flag labels raise a good legal issue, it is fun to imagine Mr. Bertone poring over the CFR to make sure the Warning is perfect. Or, TTB evaluating each and every image and suggestion and flight of fancy (what is the bear drinking, does it contain tomatoes, please explain why a bear would have a cow bell). As of last week, Gallo had about 11 Bear Flag COLAs, from May 2009 to April 2010.

It is tough to say what’s obscene. Judging from the past several labels on this blog, it will be tough to say any new label is too obscene to be approved. The above label is from OC Custom Wine of Anaheim, California.