The UnCorker

Niebaum Coppola Claret Commemorative Label 2006

Oh, how we’re looking forward to getting our hands on Coppola’s fun-sounding new Encyclopedia label – geared at educating younger drinkers in world varietals – with the nifty edutainment website and test-tube bottle design only sweetening the deal for us. Did we mention the uber-convenience of handling distribution through retailers such as Seven-11 and Walgreens? After all, it’s a lot of trouble to go out and find and understand such off-the-beaten-path varietals as  Tempranillo and Torrontes by drinking the actual indigenous wines on which their reputations were built – so we’re glad Francis and his people are making things easy for us. After all, the Godfather I, II, and, ok-even III, let us experience Mafia life without actually putting ourselves at risk of catching a stray bullet. But, alas, these wines are not yet available in the state of New York, so in the meantime we’re forced to stray up-label and drink Coppola’s “Diamond Collection” series of wines – including the best-selling of these, the Niebaum Coppola Claret – which is as good of $19 bottle that powerhouse marketing efforts are likely to ever land in front of you. We won’t bother to review it when Benito has done such a nice job here.

Our real question is – where is the commemorative label version of this wine? It somehow made it’s way into Snooth.com – where it sits unadorned with tasting notes or availability information and unrated. And we know Snooth wouldn’t clutter up the Internet with less-than-useful wine ratings, so we’re intrigued. Is Snooth posting phantom wines, or is this some inside California cognescenti thing that only a few Hollywood A-listers know about? And is it really a two-headed monster like the photo implies – sort of like a Diamond Collection version of conjoined twins? We love Coppola – and we especially love it when the guy commemorates. So if anyone knows where we can find this wine – please let us know. Of course, maybe it’s still in oak barrels somewhere, ahead of it’s release, and the publicists are just getting a jump on things. Either way, we wait with baited breath.