Lieb Family Cellars 9/11 Commemorative Wines: It's the Thought That Counts

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor

Over the past week or so, Lieb Family Cellars has come under fire -- from all directions -- over two recently released wines meant to commemorate 9/11 and the opening of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

I'm not going to link to any of the coverage in this post. It's easy to find and most of it is simply repeats the somewhat sensationalized discourse on the part of journalists, politicians and citizens swollen with words like "exploitative" and "offensive," despite the fact that the wines, which cost $19.11 a bottle, have been approved by the September 11 Memorial and Museum Board and that up to 10% from each sale will be donated to the memorial.

With about 500 cases total of wine under these labels total, the roughly $11,000 is probably not situation-changing money, but it is far from the full story.

Back in 2004 the winery released a 2002 merlot under the label "September Mission." The wine -- now up to the 2008 vintage -- retails for $9.11 and for each bottle purchased the winery donates 91.1 cents to the September's Mission Foundation, which provides educational and cultural programs to remember the victims of 9/11 and to fund the 9/11 Living Memorial Project. That wine has raised more than $25,000. 

The winery also makes a syrah from which 20% of the proceeds are donated to the non-profit Animal Medical Center in New York City for research and treatment of kidney disease in animals. In 2009, Lieb Family Cellars also made a white merlot to help raise money for the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund.

Philanthropy is part of what Lieb Family Cellars does and is. These newly released 9/11 wines are only a part of the overall picture.

With their history of giving, I think Lieb Family Cellars deserves the benefit of the doubt.

My personal reaction to these wines falls short of offended, but it's easy to see why many have been. This is one of the most emotionally charged topics in our country. The anger some have expressed isn't hard to understand.

Clearly, this was a marketing misstep. That has been proven out in the media onslaught. While some rallied around the initial September Mission wines, the temperature has changed. We're beyond the "rally against a common enemy" mentality I think. I also think that the Lieb family and winery General Manager Gary Madden are genuinely surprised by the vitriol being slung in their direction.

I am too... and yet I'm not. Media is just so different today. All it takes is one or two influential media types to blog or Tweet or mention something on Facebook for their reaction to snowball, or even explode like it has here.

Some people quoted in the stories I've read over the last several days decry these wines as offensive, pointing to all of the friends and family they lost on 9/11. Especially as New Yorkers, we all mourn those lost on the most tragic of days. The Lieb Family Cellars lost loved ones as well.

I think that's an important point -- Lieb Family Cellars feels the same pain, and was and is trying to do the right thing. Whether we like what they are doing isn't the point. There are plenty of companies and individuals who make mistakes with their marketing efforts. That doesn't make them bad people.

My parents taught me at an early age that it's the thought that counts.

This was a miscalculation, not an exploitation.

Comments

[RichardPF]

Has Lieb Cellars issued a formal statement concerning the controversy? Have they admitted they made a mistake in their marketing?

[Lenn Thompson]

Richard: I spoke with them this morning and they are planning a statement, but it has not been issued.

When it is, I will likely publish it here on the site.

[Steve Howe]

It is the thought that counts. It sounds like the winery got prior approval...no one should be angry at their attempt to help. It's sad that it's becomming politically incorrect to help.

[Rick Rainey]

Lenn,
Nice job in handling this very sensitive subject. They really were trying to do the right thing but in this day in age when it seems like everyone is trying to cash in on something I understand the knee jerk reaction.

You did a good job in reminding us to hold back a bit...

[steve]

I haven't read the negative articles. I don't think I need to because this post was so good. I think the problem is clearly in the labeling. It is a tad heavy handed. If they would have just made their label look like wine, and then simply put a note saying,'A portion of the proceeds go to the 9/11 Museum', nobody would have complained.

Of course, they also might not have raised as much money too, because nobody would have cared.

[Todd - VT Wine Media]

Heard a piece on VT Public Radio some time ago...may have been the CBC radio show 'Spark' about research that found emotional content travels much faster on the web than factual content...basically good old fashioned gossip on steroids. It behooves all of us to check the situation out more thoroughly before jumping on any bandwagon. Maybe Lieb, despite the right intentions, made a misstep in marketing...but the question for the rest of us is: do they deserve the pillory because it's easy, or should we take the extra time to provide constructive criticism?
Unfortunately, in any situation, the mob will always take the path of least resistance...I like to think that in this country, we are better than that.

[RichardPF]

I have to say that it hasn't helped Lieb Cellar's cause that they have remained largely silent since this controversy broke about four days ago. They should have issued a public statement by now, presenting their point of view. In today's media, a quick response to negative press is often necessary.

[Southernwinetrails.blogspot.com]

Lenn - you wrote an excellent piece that got me to thinking and looking at the LA Times and Yahoo articles that were written. Most of the "outrage" strikes me as gossip mongering and bandwagon in nature. And more than a few people didn't seem to have the reading comprehension to understand what Lieb was doing. These are just a few excepts from what I posted on G+ http://is.gd/zenBxn

...I'm curious. I assume no one ranting about this memorial wine purchased any "We love America" "Never Forget" t-shirts, "Yellow Ribbon" car magnets or t-shirts to support troops (purchased from Walmart or the sidewalk vendor, whom I'm sure sent that money straight to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force troops to buy after market armor, or The Marine Family Support groups to pay the light bills of called up reservists) Or perhaps you boycotted the CD that was produced after 9/11 from the Concert for New York? Wait, you only bought those things because those items were all 100% of the profit, including production costs, donated to a charitable fund right? Because weren't those all horribly exploitative, profit mongering taking advantage of a national tragedy, just like Lieb Cellars?

...They did this to raise funds to do something good - they've been doing it since their 2002 vintage - when we were all opening our wallets, our veins (giving blood) and our hearts to heal.

I'm yet to figure out why this FDNY/EMS group would contact Bourdain or his (former) restaurant about carrying the wine, and not contact the Memorial Fund people or the winery itself to start an honest dialogue.

They've actually been making a wine along these lines since 2002. If Bourdain and this FDNY/EMS group were that worked up about it, you'd think someone would have started raising a little media hell sometime in the last 9 YEARS?

This is a good thing, benefiting charitable organizations that need funds. Stop with the hate. That's what caused this whole scenario to begin with.

Thanks for your continued balanced articles, and as always, your class!

[G.E. Guy]

Glad to see this post, Lenn. I do agree with Richard, though, that duck and cover (while understandable) was not a helpful response to this. Until talking to you about it, I had no idea that these folks had been doing these wines for so long. It's unfortunate that they didn't find a way to at least get their voice into the conversation.

[Rosemary Rannes]

The Lieb family do not deserve the benefit of the doubt given that they knew their product and how it would be marketed. What they did not anticipate was how vile others would deem their 'crassless taste' !

Rannes family.