Herrnsheim is not going to sell itself. A handful of producers are addressing this issue by adopting modern marketing techniques. Some are eliminating village and vineyard designations on the labels of low- and midpriced wines, substituting easily remembered names. By using terms universally understood within the wine world, producers can more easily tout the potential quality of their wine. Still others are making one or two midquality wines instead of four or five.
Consumers understand the language of price very quickly.
What has changed dramatically is the quality, says Theise sales manager Bill Adams. That's not the case anymore. And the places where the quality wines are appreciated, such as chef-owned restaurants, have increased. Neophytes who want to venture beyond Blue Nun are in luck with the 1997 vintage. While it's dangerous to make a blanket statement about the quality of wines from 13 different growing regions, in general, the 1997s are user-friendly.