Y’all, there is some fun stuff going on where books + awesomeness are concerned.
First: today, Harlequin announced Vintages by Harlequin, a partnership with Vintage Wine Estates to produce three wine varietals, each with a vintage Harlequin cover. There’s a chardonnay, a cabernet sauvignon, and a red blend.
YES WAY. Have a look:
I’m all about a full-bodied cab with a label that says, “Pardon My Body.” I wish the text above weren’t (I presume) from a man’s point of view, because as the reader of romance and a consumer of wines in this homestead, those are for me. I mean, I’ll share (maybe) but the conde-sexism of the text bums me out, though I do get the nod to vintage 50’s/noir dialogue.
The wines are available in the US only (egads, Canada, I’m sorry. Come on over and we’ll party, ok? I’ll even take y’all to Target.).
Presently they’re exclusively on sale at Amazon for ~$15 +shipping/tax for one bottle, or ~$45 +shipping/tax for a set of three. I have to look into the legalities of my doing a giveaway for a set – stay tuned!
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But wait, wine isn’t enough? Kensington has you covered! To celebrate the release of The Bollywood Bride, they’ve teamed up with Spice Madam to release a limited edition spice box with special items picked out by author Sonali Dev with recipes from the book:
[Y]ou can also get a taste of the vibrant dishes from the book delivered right to your home by signing up for a Spice Madam subscription, featuring recipes from the dishes highlighted in The Bollywood Bride in the October box!
Sign up here http://bit.ly/SpiceMadamSignup by 9/25/2015 to get your first box including some special treats from the book’s author. There will also be a limited quantity of single-order boxes available to purchase directly on the SpiceMadam site starting on 10/17/15.
Spice Madam’s boxes are new to me – and I found some positive reviews if you like box subscription services, and you like to experiment with international cultures and cuisines while you cook (*waves hands*). You can see a lot of pictures of previous boxes on their Facebook page, too.
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What else do you think would pair well with romances? Wine, spices, and what else?
Amazon only ships alcohol to some states.
The list seems to have grown since I last checked.
The male voice for the wine doesn’t even make SENSE. That’s not Harlequin; that’s Mickey Spillane, and it’s YUCKY. I’m sticking with gin.
I love trashy romance and I love trashy detective novels but they are different and that advertising confuses me.
For some reason it makes me think of my favorite description of California Chardonnay (which is perennially, tragically, over oaked): it’s like blowing pinnochio.
You’re welcome.
Hmmm, add me to the list of the puzzled in re: Harlequin’s label/ad choices. We all know that Harlequin published hard-boiled/noir genre mysteries back in the early days of the company. But Harlequin is so totally associated with romance now, why do the throw-back look? I’m the wine buyer for our household and I will not be purchasing these, just because of the labels. Sorry, Harlequin.
Now if the labels had featured some of those classic clinch covers from the 70s–those I would have tried.
Am I the only one twitching over the verb tense inconsistency in #2? “I HAVE a thing…, and she KNEW it?” *twitch*
@kkw:
“Blowing Pinnochio.” Oh my stars. That is hilarious!
At the Harlequin pre-party for RITA nominees and publishing milestones at the Romance Writers of America Conference, they were pouring previews of the wines.
I can report that the “Substitute for Love” Chardonnay is very good! I liked it a lot and would **actually buy it!** in the real world.
And I agree with the confusion over the voice in the ads – I think the tone of the labels is more wink/wink from a woman reader (“Substitute for Love” is a great name for a wine, I think – it’s true!) but the ad’s text doesn’t fit with the POV of the label names, unfortunately. I wonder if it’s different out-sourcing/different group coming up with and approving the ads? They’re also kind of clichéd and I’m having a conniption over the inconsistent use of periods.
Still, the Chardonnay was good. That’s important!
@Anna:
The chardonnay being good is VERY important, I agree! I can ignore a label if the wine is delicious!!
Re: those wines, Jesus Christ. No fucking thank you. Who at Harlequin decided that blatant sexism and mockery of their customers (“Substitute for love”? Really?) was the best advertising strategy?
Not sure exactly what they were after with those labels, I mean tongue-in-cheek, obviously but my god do they fall flat. Not sure how well that ad campaign is going to do, but I’m thinking they had few if any women working on it. And they fell back onto the male standard that “romance is bad” and joined their mocking. *sigh*
Not a wine drinker here, never was. Once nearly gave my bff’s husband heart failure when I put ice in my glass because ice cold was the only way I could drink it. I think it was a reserve? Whatever, it was a bottle that he’d put up or kept or something. To him it was special and he’d spent far, far more than my $10 per bottle limit- not good enough to drink = not good enough to cook with. Watching me in hortor, his voice cracked when asking me what I was doing. On the plus side, he hasn’t offered me wine since nor has he ever again questioned my stated preferences. So, win?
But the tequila & rum I keep on hand for my margaritas & daiquiris? Reach for them and die! Also, no touching the Disaronno, Tia Maria or Baileys. Mixed drinks are my happy place. And the T&R have pride of place in my freezer just waiting to be needed. As it should be.
Like those silly videos a while back, these wine ads and labels miss the mark for me. Harlequin may want to remind their marketing people (I’m now imagining a team of geezers who wrote ad copy in the 50s) who buys most of the romance novels in Romancelandia.
I’m one of those wine drinkers who buys by the label. I bought Cupcake wine because I thought the label was cute and it is now the house wine for my garden club. Put something cute on a white wine label and I am yours, winemakers!
@Ulrike: It’s not really inconsistent. “I have a thing” is ongoing, he has it now, he had it in the past. “She knew it”–some woman in his past knew about his perpetual weakness. It sounds very much like the opener to one of those old hard-boiled detective novels; which I presume was the intention of the writers.
a wine called “Substitute for Love”? TAKE MY MONEY.
also, what else pairs with romances: chocolate, of course. [shaking head]
I like wine. I like Harlequin. I hate their ad agency. Seriously. So I’ll sip a full bodied cab from my own stash while reading a Harlequin. Now if they had a vintage ROMANCE cover instead of misogynistic noir, I’d have been tempted to try the reds. Geez. No self-respecting guy is going to want a wine named “Harlequin” and few women are going to be attracted to a busty Jane Russell clone. Epic fail.
Who is is charge of PR at Harlequin these days? Those off-putting videos and now these labels? The images these two PR exercises paint of romance readers are disturbing to me, like a kind of twisted, hostile tongue-in-cheek from an overbearing or misguided “ally”.
Thanks for sharing the info about our Spice Madam boxes! The book is awesome and we are so excited to help readers bring the food in the book to life!