Of course, producing great wine requires hard work and dedication, careful attention to details, and a lot of help from Mother Nature.  It takes years to plant, harvest, ferment and eventually, bottle wine that is worthy of being shared at a special occasion. As people who spend our days tracking down the components of costs that go into each bottle of wine and helping winery owners make sense of the numbers, we certainly don’t take the business of making wine lightly.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate the lighter side of the business.

Many successful wineries and wine marketers have found a way to sell quality wine with a wink and a nod; they manage to get their point across without bringing out the white tablecloth and good china.  And what better time to lighten up? Summer is the time of year when we break out the paper plates, round up the govino glasses, and head for the lawn. How nice that the wine itself can inspire some of the mirth.

Here are some notes from the lighter side:

• Frog’s Leap. How’s this for a story about wine? This quote from their website kind of says it all.  “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.”
• JaQK. They’ve got a card-playing theme. They even offer gambling tips with labels like “22 black”.
• Swanson. If you have ever been intimated by wine, visit the Swanson Sip Shoppe and get a new perspective.  It starts with the adorable tent-like tasting room, the glass dixie cups and the whimsical outdoor seating. It finishes with the wine and many times, chocolate.
• If You See Kay. This wine from Hundred Acre Winery has stirred up plenty of controversies but aren’t you just dying to buy a bottle as a gift for that friend who has everything?
• Educated Guess. No need to worry about the complicated science involved in each bottle of this wine.
• Twisted Oak Winery. They have a rubber chicken contest and dress in pirate costumes.  What more do you need to know?