Nude Label Is Marketing Boon For Wine Bottle

Alabama's ban on a wine that features a nude nymph on the label has become a business opportunity for a California vintner who is preparing a marketing campaign to capitalize on being "Banned in Bama."

The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board recently told stores and restaurants to quit serving 'Cycles Gladiator' wine because of the label.

Board attorney Bob Martin says the stylized, art-nouveau rendition of a nude female with a flying bicycle violated Alabama rules against displaying "a person posed in an immoral or sensuous manner."

But Bill Leigon, president of Hahn Family Wines in Soledad, California, says since then callers from across the country have been asking where they can buy the wine.

Because of the interest, he's developing store displays that say "Banned in Bama" and "Taste What They Can't Have in Alabama."

The wine's label is based on a 1895 French advertising poster for Cycles Gladiator bicycles. It shows a side view of a full-bodied nymph flying alongside a winged bicycle. Leigon says the poster is a classic piece of art, with originals selling for as much as $50,000.

Hahn says he won't miss the 500 cases sold annually in Alabama.

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