When I was graduating from the eighth grade, my mother took me from Maine (where I was growing up) to Boston, to get my graduation dress. We met my cousin Ann in the city, she came in from Stoneham, to give me fashion guidance. Plus, living in the Boston area, she knew all of the great stores… From Filene’s to some little hole in the wall, where I was finally allowed to buy my dress. I say “finally,” because once we met Ann, we walked into Filene’s and I saw this little blue dress that I adored. What my mother and Ann didn’t know about me is that I can immediately spot what I love, and nothing is going to deter me from that moment on. I didn’t have to, nor did I, see the other 500 dresses. I saw my dress, I loved it, I wanted it… But, it was the first store, the first dress I proclaimed as mine, and we had just traveled 140 miles to get to this first place. There was no way that I was allowed to buy that dress.

So, we trudged on to another 15 or so stores, with some lunch in between. At each store, I saw the same dress. Yeah, there were that many of them; however, the odds were in my favor that no one else in Lewiston, Maine was going to be wearing this dress. For a Mainer to go to Boston to buy a dress just wasn’t happening at that time. It was too far away… Except for my family, Boston was part of who we were and still are. Drawn by desire, until the last 15 years, we didn’t even know that great grandfather (10 generations removed) was the first Anglo to settle there (William Blackstone)… But, that’s another story.

The little blue dress… After a long day of shopping, trudging through every large and small store with dresses in it, the final store… there it was again. This time, they let me try it on, and my mother let me buy the dress, because we had run out of options… A dress I can still remember… Its powder blue color, its sleeves that were a bit puffy and three quarter length… Just below the knee hemline… Its added lace to the sleeves and the bottom border, about six inches off the hemline… Its scooped neckline, its zipper up the back… the little blue matching belt about three fourth of an inch wide… Every detail, every single detail of that dress; including that I had to be schlepped all over Boston to finally get my way. (That’s how I still shop for all clothing.)

If it had been black, I wouldn’t have wanted it. I was a kid.

Now, my closet has a bit of black clothing, including a little black dress. Why? Why not… Black is slimming, black is sleek, black is forgiving, and black is delicious.

And, I quite imagine that when people were sitting around a table, trying to come up with a name for a new wine, this one just slipped into the conversation and took over… How about Little Black Dress? No amount of other naming, regardless of how great others thought they would be, would be shaken from the one person who knew this one name would catch on.

Over the age of 21, who doesn’t love a Little Black Dress… Now, off to the wine.

I just received three wines from Little Black Dress ~

• 2011 Little Black Dress Chardonnay
  • A smooth wine, with a bit of residual sugar and 13 percent alcohol. This one is ready for food.
  • ACCESSORIZE: Something creamy colored. If you’re a cheese fan, think of Franklin’s Teleme with Black Pepper, Los Banos CA.
• 2012 Little Black Dress Divalicious Pink Pinot
  • Soft, smooth rose, with tons of strawberry and watermelon flavors… Only 12 percent alcohol; very European in style.
  • ACCESSORIZE: Bring on the red shoes to go with this one, and enjoy while eating a summer fruit salad with lots of strawberries and watermelon. Why deviate?
• 2011 Little Black Dress Pinot Grigio
  • This one is more of the floral and round flavors, rather than tart and dry. Just 12.5 percent alcohol… I like this winemaker! Peach and pear were flavors that I loved from this uncomplicated, delicious wine.
  • ACCESSORIZE: Go with something lime green to bring out the pear in this one… (Don’t get wicked on me.) A Waldorf salad with apples, pears, walnuts, and Gorgonzola cheese.

The marketing is cutesy and definitely wanting to attract the female persuasion; i.e., “Divalicious.”

I’ve seen some people be really offended by the marketing solely toward the women’s movement. (Hey, women have had this movement going on since forever, and we’ve made our advancements as a result.) While I’m not a huge fan of this kind of deliberately singling out women over men, straight over gays, etc., protectionist marketing does have huge benefits toward a focused target. I know that for sure. I do it all the time.

And, let’s face it… women primarily buy the everyday items for home and family. In any relationship, female energy is the one putting on parties, serving as the hospitality contact, decorating, etc.. So, if you’ve got a winemaker as adorable as the Little Black Dress wine company, and you want to bring attention to that brand I say, go for it…

This brand clearly defines who they want to buy their wines (millennial females), and it’s just pure fun… Get over it, wine connoisseur fans, this one is NOT meant for you.

Headed toward a cocktail party or a bachelorette party… OMG, Little Black Dress.

Some important points to remember for this tasty, everyday wine…

• Female winemaker… See that image above of a gorgeous woman? That’s the winemaker, Zidanelia.
  • I borrowed the image of Zidanelia from their Website.

Serious winemaker with great credentials… From their Website:

Given her exotic looks, adventurous resume and single-name appellation, you might think we made Zidanelia up, just for fun. But the talented winemaker behind Little Black Dress is remarkably real. Born in Texas, raised in Argentina, fluent in Spanish, English and a bit of French, Zidanelia earned an Argentinean National Diploma of Oenology while working in the Andes growing region.

She then served in the cellar at Les Vignerons du Pays d’Enserune in France before coming to California and joining Fetzer Vineyards in Hopland, where she is known simply as Z. Dedicated to the art of balance and complexity, Zidanelia and Little Black Dress are a perfect fit for each other.

My Jose  commented that their Website looks like an online woman’s magazine.

I completely agree. It’s all great marketing, and it’s all geared toward easy enjoyment of an every day wine.

Little Black Dress Wine has my vote. A Little Black Dress will always fit nicely into my closet (clothing and/or wine) for that perfect upcoming party.