France is deep in the doggy doo-doo. The president (below) is the Mr. Bean of Casanovas – his nickname is M. Pudding – and “Rosé Pamplemousse is at the forefront of the flavoured wine craze in the French market, which was recently classified as the fastest growing beverage category in off-trade sales. In March 2013, flavoured wines/sangria sales had grown +45.2% compared to the same period in 2012, beating rum, specialty beers, cognac and iced teas” according to Wine Intelligence.
What the brain boxes at Wine Intelligence don’t report is that most of the rosé comes from the Olifants River. SA exports of rosé to France are up from 2 million litres in 2012 to 19 million last year.
The most impressive brand at the Gugulethu Wine Festival last year was Carioca from Distell. Advertising was by Matt Ad (above) which could explain the slickness and pneumaticity of the models (below).
But did Distell miss a trick? Carioca is a suitably cheesy brand name but how about Rolezinho, which adds a powerful political dimension? A rolezinho is a flashmob of mainly poor, black youth who party in a space usually occupied by the rich, according to the Guardian. Perfect for SA in an election year.
Organization is by social media and they strike terror into the black heart of capitalist retailers. It attracts fans of Funk Ostentação, a music style popular in favelas that celebrates ostentatious displays of wealth, such as flashy cars and expensive drinks. Sounds like Camps Bay to me if you exclude the dirty black hole of the Whale Cottage!
Yesterday, more than 9,000 had signed up to attend Sunday’s rolezinho in Leblon Shopping in Rio, according to the Facebook page set up by the organisers. Imagine a rolezino in Hyde Park Corner! Alas, the owners of Leblon were Facebook Friends and they closed the place down and left notices on the doors of the mall in Portuguese and English declaring: “To ensure the safety and well being of all customers, tenants and employees, Shopping Leblon informs that the centre wi”ll (sic) be exceptionally closed today, 19 January.”
A small flashmob turned up anyway and the Guardian reported “a few had face masks and one wore a horse’s head. Banners called for an end to ‘Brazilian apartheid.’ Echoing the chants heard during last summer’s mass protests, people called out: ‘We don’t want the World Cup!’ ” Sounds like an excellent gig for the EFF of Julius Malema.
