• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11 AM

"Perhaps no brand hookup makes less sense to me than Ed Hardy -- a tattoo-themed street wear imprint of fashion megalomaniac Christian Audigier -- and wine," writes Dan Neil. And yet -- you guessed it - that's exactly what he found on a recent trip to Whole Foods. And guess what? Even though he's twice the age of the target demo and wouldn't be caught totally dead in the duds, he says that the wine is "really not half bad."

Audigier has a licensing agreement with tattoo and graphics artist Don Ed Hardy, a Bay Area legend. Ed Hardy graphic designs have been began appearing on T-shirts, hoodies, purses and perfume, socks and sunglasses, barware and bedding, swimwear and underwear since then. The brand "stands for trend slavery at its most vacant-eyed and autonomic ... [it] is even more promiscuous than Juicy Couture," Neil writes.

The wine, which costs $10, is bottled in France and imported by Nicolas Wines. The label helps address a specific problem in the wine business, according to Nicolas vp Gene Schaeffer. "There's nothing really new and exciting ...," he says. "When this idea came along, I thought we could develop new wine drinkers."

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