What’s wrong with having some fun with labels and packaging? Nothing that I’m aware of. Although BusinessWeek doesn’t seem to like it.

My wife and one of my daughters came home one Sunday afternoon with a bottle of Shiraz from Virgin Vines. This is what it said on the label:

Dare to enjoy this wine without dashes of pretentiousness or hints of snootiness. Virgin Vines believes that wine should be all about having fun and loving the taste … not waxing poetically about meaningless wine-speak and food pairings. Simply drink this big, bold red with something or someone you find delicious.

p.s. If you feel the need to describe this wine as “full bodied with great legs,” we suggest you lie down until the feeling passes.”

I like the approach, but not everybody does. I did a quick search, and discovered Virgin Vines Says It’s Hip to be Dumb in BusinessWeek. What, wine sacrilege? They say:

But as increasingly clever marketers find success with simple, compelling labels — think Yellow Tail and Marilyn Merlot — they’re discovering another way appeal to the $10-wine buyer: Make fun of the $30-and-up buyers. Think about how Rush Limbaugh talks about liberals, and you get the idea.

Not fair. Rush Limbaugh should approach liberals the way this label approaches wine snobs.