Wine Industry aims to attract more Latinos, because we don't have enough drinking problems as it is
By ONANTZIN News
2011-06-02
Following in the footsteps of shameless Kool-Aid, it appears the wine industry is the next greed filled group to rush into the increasing Latino market to exploit and make a profit. Unlike with Kool-Aid, however, Latinos' God-given predisposition to alcohol might make them easy prey.
Devastated by the economic recession in the past few years, many cash-strapped Latinos went from cheap Bud Light and Budweiser beer to the even cheaper bottles of wine that are routine specials at Rite Aid, CVS, and Liquor Stores throughout the Nation[You know who you are. don't make us start naming names]; Others were a bit more clever and went for the cheap cases of wine at Costco. As a result, wine consumption among Latinos increased dramatically over the past five years, according to a study by consumer research firm Experian Simmons.
In response to the research results, the wine industry said, "chi ching! chi ching! chi ching!", and mobilized like a pack of wolves for the attack. In their blind haste, several winemakers immediately rushed careless media campaigns aimed at Latinos. One of their billboards in the city of Fresno, CA depicts a Latino man holding a glass of wine with a caption that is supposed to say "We want you to be a wine man ..." but is instead incorrectly translated as "Queremos que seas un waino; Si se puede". No, really, that's what it says.
In an attempt to put a positive spin on the shameless marketing campaign, John Hernandez, executive director of the Central California Latino Chamber of Commerce, said, "We've gone from wine pickers to wine drinkers". Yeah, we're not convinced that's necessarily a good thing.
Another supporter, Peter Vallis, executive director of the Fresno-based San Joaquin Valley Wine Growers Association, said, "We want Latinos to have wine with their burrito".
We're not quite sure if that's offensive or not; but, we'll have our burritos with whatever we like, thank you.