Wine's about it

Rioja, Chenin Blanc and Nebbiolo may not be part of everyday vocabulary when describing product in a toy store, but for adults—wine and spirits connoisseurs in particular—wine-inspired card games, board games, party kits and other entertaining accessories could be a welcome addition, helping create unique displays and giving customers something to drink to.

And the board game Winerd does give players something to drink to—literally. Players learn about wine pairings and etiquette through trivia questions as they move around the board. To start, each player must taste all three bottles of red or white wine, and record their observations for future reference. When players land on the Blind Taste Test spot, they must correctly guess which wine they're sampling. The first to the winner's circle wins. The game, from Winerd Entertainment, Chicago, is for up to four players.

Winerd creator Tamara Leigh Murphy provides sample games to retailers, so customers can play in-store. Promotions and flyers are also tied to game playing competitions. Murphy, who currently works with 300 retailers nationwide and two in Canada, says the game works in toy and game stores because more people want to learn about wine these days—and what better way than through play. “With the wine drinking boom, it makes a perfect gift, and also serves as a fun way to start to learn about wine,” she says. “It appeals to adults who may not normally consider playing a board game but do enjoy wine.”

New product from SmartsCo., San Francisco, also teaches wine drinkers a little something about the origins of different grape varieties, fermenting procedures and more. The Sniff, Swirl and Sip Winetasting Kit includes 36 stem tags, 24 wine wrappers, 12 aroma and flavor guides, a wine notepad and a 24-page tips guide for wine tasting themes. A WineSmarts card game and a WineNotes book and Italy and California Passport for tasting notes are also available from SmartsCo., with CocktailSmarts out later this year.

Jennifer Elias, co-publisher of SmartsCo, says that adding wine games and displays appeals to customers who either love wine and spirits or are in the store buying a gift for a friend—it's a mix of luxury and fun. Elias currently works with retailers to develop sweepstakes where customers can win bottles of wine if they purchase a certain amount in a specified timeframe. Signage is something they're currently working on for use this year.

“If displayed in an appropriate part of the store, wine and spirits games and accessories are a great addition,” says Elias. “If a customer is in the store to buy a present for a young person, they may be in the games/entertainment frame of mind, and want to bring home something that they can have fun with as well. One fun way to mix the two is to have a tasting party with adults and kids. We used our WineParty product and wrapped wines in our WineWrappers for a blinded wine tasting for the adults, and wrapped a whole range of juices for the kids, so they could get in on the fun and guess which one was which.”

Customers can also pick up a box of Washington Wine playing cards, Raconteurs Press, Seattle, if they want something to bring on the road for quick play time. The card game features wine trivia and retails for $10.95. The 52-card deck is illustrated in watercolor, depicting different grape varieties within each region.

Pacific China Industries, Hong Kong, is also offering a Bar Tools Kit this year. The kit comes in mini and Classic Tool Case versions, which include a beer hammer, lemon saw, corkscrew screwdriver, spackle strainer, four nail olive picks, and a jigger. Cheers!