Can't drive the wine

Harlan Estate wine marketing in action; when less is more?

Harlan Estate marketing sometimes reminds me of Porsche mailers. But without the fun gadgets; just a fancy envelope, slick fonts, and impressive card stock. This one arrived with an insert that reads: When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. – John Muir I’m [...]

Clinton Stark
01.06.2010 | View Comments


Harlan Estate marketing sometimes reminds me of Porsche mailers. But without the fun gadgets; just a fancy envelope, slick fonts, and impressive card stock. This one arrived with an insert that reads:

When one tugs at a single thing in nature,

he finds it attached to the rest of the world.

- John Muir

I’m still trying to decode the meaning. But I’m sure it means: “this wine is good, this wine is very expensive.” They should also add:

“and… you’ll never know how it tastes, because you’ll never get to drink it…”

Somewhere in our cellar is a wooden box “Maiden,” but for all I know it’s just diet grape juice in there. At least with the 911 I got to drive it!

Clinton Stark
Clint writes about Silicon Valley, film, California wine (Stark Sips), theater (ATCA member) and tech (including his trusty Droid and Canon EOS 60D). A would-be NHLer if it weren't for the clarinet, he tries in vain to direct Loni on Stark Insider TV. He's held executive marketing roles at Cisco, EMC and Salesforce.com, and is active with start-ups across the valley. Clint's story...