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Would you like a glass of Purple?

Deep Purple Lodi Zinfandel 2007; image courtesy of deeppurplewines.comA California company is marketing a 2007 Lodi Zinfandel with a Mk1-ish label design (and, we assume, appropriate colour), and a name of a band which recorded one of the first albums the winemaker had bought. The Gray Market Report has the story:

Turns out McDonald has trademarked Deep Purple as a wine, and that under US law, there’s no possible confusion between products. Despite the recent album cover, one is an aging rock band, and the other is a fresh young wine.

But it turns out that the band shops at Target, because shortly after the wine’s release, McDonald got a call from the band’s manager, who was very excited about the wine, in a good way. He wanted to know if there were opportunities for joint promotions (no, not THAT kind of joint. Well, maybe not.)

McDonald shipped a band member a bottle of wine, though he hasn’t yet heard whether or not it inspired the group to burn down a recording studio. So we might yet see “This Deep Purple concert sponsored by Deep Purple!” Now if McDonald can just use his smooth PR skills to tell them there have to better ways to announce your availability to groupies than that album cover.

Never mind the “recent” album cover (you know, the one with a glass of wine; yeah, it was a comeback album of sorts, but it was in 1976), Gray Market Report it’s a wine and food blog after all. Music history is not their specialty.

And their verdict was

Deep Purple is the way Zinfandel used to be back when Deep Purple had its pick of underripe groupies — spicy, medium-bodied and savory, with red fruit flavors and an earthy, tarry note.

So apparently it’s good news for the lovers of fermented grape juice. Me, I like my juice fermented from malted barley (maybe with a touch of honey), and seasoned with noble hops. 😉

Cheers!



19 Comments to “Would you like a glass of Purple?”:

  1. 1
    Tracy Heyder (aka Zero the Hero) says:

    This is Fantastic!!!!! Now not only can I sit in the Hot Tub, soaking and listening to Deep Purple in the background, I can also ingest a fine Zinfandel of the same name to complete the ambiance…

    A little bit of Purple Food Coloring in the water will top off the mood..

    Bottoms Up….glasses too..

    I believe it would be a great Partnership if the Band could somehow join in the Marketing….I’d drink to that.

    Cheers

  2. 2
    Woodruff P. Hoppinstopp says:

    If they sale as many bottles as Deep Purple sold records they will do well.

  3. 3
    George says:

    I followed the link and…. and… ooooooooooooooHHHHH Myyyyyyyyyyy Gooooooooooooooddd!!!

    the article says, that “Come Taste The Band” album is Deep Purple’s COMEBACK ALBUM which was released in 2007!!!!

    Is there 1st April today or what???

    Someone, tell them to correct it!

  4. 4
    purplepriest1965 says:

    Well, CTTB has been remastered by a certain party in the USA in 2007, so maybe……..

    Or did they drink the wine before typing the text?

    Or was Ritchie right all along way back in the early 80 s?

    He said …….

    “Americains are not that smart. Whenever it has the BRAND Deep Purple stamped upon it they will devour it. When it comes to bands like us, Gillan or Whitesnake, which after all kinda make the same kind of music they are not eager to get in to it!!!!”

    Can I collect my BOX of wine now, please?

    I ve always been a TRUE FAN of MK 1, so…….

    Btw, can someone share some money with Rod, he s starving I think……Not hearing from him that long.

  5. 5
    micke says:

    yes please!

  6. 6
    james jay says:

    What next? I ‘ll take the deep purple combo with fries!! How about RB action figure complete with working strat! Just kidding. Spirits sound fine to me. Hope the boys get a cut.

  7. 7
    fra says:

    nice piece nick!!

  8. 8
    Drdp says:

    One too many WASTED SUNSETS… One too many for……. Gotta get me some of this! Purely for collectable reasons of course. CHEERS!

  9. 9
    Ray says:

    Wine is fine but whiskeys quicker!!!

  10. 10
    Roberto says:

    “the article says, that “Come Taste The Band” album is Deep Purple’s COMEBACK ALBUM which was released in 2007”

    hey I wanna drink this wine!it seems very powerfull and strong!! I am very curious….

  11. 11
    purplepriest1965 says:

    Unfortunately I m not really a red wine man.

    I prefer white and dry.

    Perhaps Coverdale can arrange something for me ?

    I m not sure though if I ll still feel thirsty visualising his forthcoming biography “How white was my snake”…….

    But California should give the wine something good I think, better than from cold England.

    Its not really a bad idea, considering what Sammy Hagar did with his Tequila organisation?

    Mmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhhh, drinking cold fresh dry white wine and looking at Gods postcards in DCs backyard(After all, I m partly responsible for providing him with the financial means to live there!)and having a Deep Purple BBQ.
    SLIDE IT IN!!!!

    And DC is free ofcourse to give us an acoustic recital with his dark voice instead of the high screaming both he and Glenn think is cool to do.

    Bring it on!

    Waitttttttiiiiiiiiiiiiiingggggggggggggg……..

    In the meantime I ll try to trim my roses in moderate conditions in my Rotterdam back yard.(….)

    Cheers, Mark

  12. 12
    Crimson Ghost says:

    @4

    “Americains are not that smart.”

    Please….. but I’m okay with you opining such a thing about Americans yourself, but saying someone else said it just because you think so is funny at best. I’ll believe he said such an ignorant thing when you provide a source, otherwise… lol!(not that a lot of what he says at press isn’t ingorant or anything, but this is clearly quite absurd)

    I don’t see why Purple can’t just barge in latigously if anything, its their trademark name that is clearly being used without any lack of admission. To have to ask such things is courteuous and all, but not axactly necessary.

    At one time I would have thought this was a bad idea, but you get a little older and…. btw, is this the first ever wine bottle with their name on it? I do have a picture somewhere of one, and it looked similar as far as the letter style used. Now this… hhmm.

  13. 13
    Roy says:

    Ok, ok, marketing has it. May I suggest we turn now to a few goodies I got here:

    “WHITESNAKE” for a tin of bratwurst frankies.
    “McGILLAN” for that huge triple XXX burger.
    “RAINBOW” for the perfect rainy day umbrella.

    This stupidity reminds me of Grollywood…

  14. 14
    purplepriest1965 says:

    Source?

    What do you care?

    If I m right to quote such a thing, and I am so……

    You dont like me to …or want to deny it…. or say RB was this and that.

    In the early 80 s I read a reprint of an article in the “Over The rainbow en zo” fanclan mag in Holland.

    I think it was a reprint of a interview during the introductionphase of Rondinelli and done by an English magazine, I think it was SOUNDS.

    I can look it up.

    Ofcourse WE can criticise everything being said by whoever espescially when we dont like the content.

    I m the first to say, we have been here before, I know the Purps have a history of talking nonsense.

    But indeed, it was and is funny, dontya think?

    Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhh, who on board is objective enough to say if my quote was really being said by the MIB????

    Dont you have something on film to prove me right?

    With visuals I think he is even more funny.

  15. 15
    purplepriest1965 says:

    ad

    The thing I quoted is from ” Over The Rainbow en zo” , date 15 january 1981.
    It was a translation from an article done for SOUNDS by Pete Makowski, probably done in 1980 or 1981.
    One can look it up on line and pay for it, which I refuse right now, or just look at the text at the OVER THE RAINBOW fanclan site.
    In BOTH Dutch and English, btw.

    In general I remembered it like it was said.
    Only the main difference is that he said ” I think that a lot of YANKS are stupid.” instead of “Americains”.
    Does that make it sound better to you?

    He also said that he did not want to compromise himself endlessly in order to conquer the USA market.
    He explained ….
    “Because certain things , like bribing someone or having to give someone cocaine for helping Rainbow to push the band, does get to me too much. There are limits.”

    He also said that bands who are big in Europe mean more than big bands in USA because the audience is more4 critical compared to the USA audience.

    The context was, IMO, that USA way back supplied the world with lots of commercial rock and that European rockbands did not break the USA market because of that and the attitude towards real heavy rock.
    “Songs like Stargazer and Gates Of Babylon are tracks being perceived over there as wayyyyyyyyyy to heavy.”

    Personally I like all the Rainbow transitions more or less.Even the more commercially inclined years.

    But ofcourse I d loved to have seen the Blackmore, Dio, Powell line up live(I was too young way back, The Down To earth show was my very first show) and with more studio albums.

    That kinda MAGIC would have been so wonderful instead of trying to please an audience which often behave so shallow.

  16. 16
    purplepriest1965 says:

    ad

    Forgot something(….)

    The Stargazer and Gates Of Babylon quote.

    It was something Blackmore said, I think in an interview for Muziekkrant Oor, Dutch magazine, probably during Down To Earth days.

    Ofcourse we can blame Ritchie for being obsessed with exceeding DP commercially by compromising himself too much.

    I do remember that lots of Rainbow fans were NOT pleased with Glovers arrival becaused he symbolised the strive for commercial succes.
    We lost the Dio era, followed by another big member … Cozy Powell.

    Luckily I ve been able to enjoy the years after that but it was and stayed difficult to grasp Blackmores choice of direction.

    After Rainbow “commercialised” and almost DID break the USA market, well so far as I understood, it was reuniondays for Deep Purple.
    We ll never know what would have become of Rainbow and the sacle of its succes it they had pursued.

    Since then wayyyyyyyyyyy heavier music became popular in the States, all that metal and so on.
    In my ears much more difficult to endure than the eternal grandness of epics done in the Dio days.

    Such a loss?

    In a way Black Sabbath with Tony Martin, during the DIO days USA was still not ripe enough for real heavy music I think, prolonged the Rainbow with DIO format but I suppose THEY never really got big in America.
    Maybe because, again, “Americains” did not want to see the glory of those line ups due to problems with adapting…?
    After all, espescially in America OZZY always was THE sinegr in the public eye.
    Whoever came up after that, great ones like Gillan, Hughes and Martin, probably never really got a serious chance.

    Btw, I must admit having missed out on Black Sabbath with Martin, Murray and Pôwell in 89 because I hesitated too!
    Took me some time but those Martin led BS line ups are real classics.

    Logically that led to me trying to give the Morse era a serious chance after this frustration.

    But history does not always repeats itself.

    (…………………………………………..)

  17. 17
    Hotgrampa2003 says:

    Old vine California Zin is my fave wine so I guess I’ll be picking up a case……to be consumed while listening to The Purps of course!

  18. 18
    Hotgrampa2003 says:

    Bought the wine…Link to my photo: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/4529453669_d35cb98fab_b.jpg Review to follow!

  19. 19
    Tracy Heyder (aka Zero the Hero) says:

    Great collage and display ‘Hotgrampa2003’….

    Hoping to get my hands on a bottle this weekend…

    Cheers

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