A wine range for the "go hard or go home" drinker

Wines with no alcohol, or low alcohol, are all the rage. Many folks jump on the Dry July, or Sober October bandwagons.

But there are also wine drinkers who maintain a firm "go hard or go home" policy.

These are youngers drinkers looking for big wines with big flavours. And lots of them.

Enter Mullet, a new wine brand from Fourth Waves Wines that caters for those looking for robust flavours.

Developed by drinks branding specialists Denomination, Mullet is described as "challenging the prevailing trend towards low- and no-alcohol offerings".

Mullet is designed to be "a hard wine that caters to a daring palate, offering a robust, fruity flavour with a high alcohol content and a long finish designed to appeal to a younger, adventurous audience".

Mullet speaks a deliberately non-wine language in tone of voice, look and feel.

Denomination says: "This brand is anti low-alc, anti-sophisticated, anti-conventional. Like its namesake hairstyle, Mullet is not for everyone.

"It’s bold, brave, fun, and laden with satirical humour and attitude. However, Mullet treats its consumers with respect: there’s no condescension, instead there is an appreciation of the individual. Mullet combines traditions via its crest and motto to reassure its novice consumers of the wine’s quality.

"But unlike straight traditional wines 'like my Dad drinks', this is where the tradition ends and counterculture begins: as the saying goes, business at the front, party at the back!"

To introduce Mullet to the market, Denomination orchestrated a guerrilla marketing campaign that included placing teaser stickers and posters in the back lanes and on notice boards of popular drinking venues, attracting the attention of those with a penchant for the unconventional.

The promotional strategy also eschews traditional wine merchandising, opting instead for items like skateboards and hoodies, which resonate more with Mullet’s target demographic.

The campaign’s highlight is the “Party at the Back” movie, shot at a lively party and now available for viewing on the brand’s newly launched website www.mulletwines.com.

Denomination says: "The big difference is with the creation of the Mullet brand, is that it’s not just a wine: it’s an entry ticket to the party with cool hoodies, skate decks, and street posters, with films and images shot by gen Z. The whole package? Sick.

"While the current trend is for low or no alcohol wines, when our client from Fourth Wave Wine briefed us to design a hard wine range we knew we had to do things a little differently."

The wines cost around $15 retail.  

THE VERDICT

I tried the Hard Sparkly, Hard Chardonnay, Hard Pinot and Hard Shiraz, all from 2024 and all at 15% alcohol, except the shiraz (17%). 

All fitted the brief perfectly; a quartet of brooding, tattooed, slightly menacing dudes on the wine rack. 

There were no fat guts, however: these brash bothers have been working out at the gym. 

The wines may all me muscular, and masculine, but they are well toned. Good work from winemaker Corey Ryan.

As a Burgundy-sipping dilattente, I am clearly not the target market, but I know several people who are. 

I can see the Hard Sparkly being a hit at backyard Christmas parties and the Hard Shiraz would pair well with a T-Bone steak from the barbecue.