Good Morning Gentle Readers,
The demand for wine continues unabated and the newest exploitable demographic are those who dash into the local 7-11 convenience store for a Slim Jim and a cup of coffee or a suitcase of Bud after a long day on the job.
In its first foray into global merchandising, 7-Eleven, Inc. (SEI) in the U.S. and Seven-Eleven Japan (SEJ) are jointly introducing two proprietary wines -- a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon -- today under the Yosemite Road label. These are California wines produced by The Wine Group exclusively for 7-Eleven(R) stores and its parent company, Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. of Tokyo.
Experienced, award-winning wine-makers John Willumson and Jim McDonald were tapped for the task. The winning vintners created a Chardonnay, described as fresh and zesty with notes of apricot, peach and honey, and a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with juicy plum overtones. Both are well balanced, offered at an affordable price and can be enjoyed anytime of the year.
7-11 is the largest convenience store chain in the world with more than 36,000 stores and 53 billion in annual revenue. With that kind of economies of scale and marketing experience we might accidentally see a half decent wine at a more than decent price. Let's hope for the latter. Stay tuned.
Note: There was a Yosemite Road Vineyards but this ain't it.
Bonus:
Take a good look at the clock through the window, and then the date on the photo. You can click to enlarge the picture. Only one person on the planet would have ever noticed this in a billion years and he made the immediate connection. Yelping and scrambling, he sprinted to the rental car, popped the trunk, and grabbed the camera. All before the time changed to 7:12.
That's right. It's 7:11 at 7-11 on 7 November (7-11) 2001
As Always,
TWC
Tip of the glass to Raphael Knapp.
