When Ruffino, a client of my client, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, wanted to reach the eyes and wallets of affluent wine drinkers, I responded with a brochure and a one-page that explained, in somewhat snooty language, why Ruffino’s Riserva Ducale Gold
doesn’t appear on shop shelves each year.

Excerpt:

“While all winemakers watch the weather, none watch it more closely than the makers of Riserva Ducale Gold. Without an exceptional harvest, they simply will not create this “riserva” Chianti Classico.

Rigorous standards set more than a century ago began the tradition of selecting only the finest harvests. These guidelines were developed to suit the tastes of the Duke of Aosta, a noted perfectionist for whom the wine was named. . . .”