Hello all.  There has been an item on the list of wines available out there in the world that has been bugging me – specifically, a wine whose marketers have been trying to promote it as something that relates to Brooklyn.

It’s a line of wines called Green Point.  Green Point Wines are from Australia, people – nowhere near us.  And, to boot, it’s imported by the great French luxury brands conglomerate, Louis Vuitton – Moet Hennesey (LVMH).  LVMH happened upon a wine from halfway around the world that happened to have a similar name to one of our neighborhoods, and has been trying to purport it as a wine that has something to do with this part of the world.  

Needless to say, this irritates the crap out of me.  This wine, this Green Point wine, has nothing at all to do with Brooklyn, not even New York, let alone the United States.  

I first came across this wine last year at Summer Screen in McCarren Park Pool; they had this well-produced video montage of rolling green vineyards, alternating with stark view of the urban landscape (presumably from somewhere in Brooklyn), with lovely drippy phrases like “from the lush hills… to the sophisticated city… ” scrolling through the scenery, trying to elicit a connection between this winery and our Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint. 

This really frustrates me, because BOE is my little company, with which I’m trying to do something genuine and meaningful to Brooklyn and our local area.  Many people I’ve spoken to about this wine hadn’t at all realized the truth about this wine until I told them.  So, I bring the news to you – beware the imitators!