A while back I reported here on boutique Marlborough (NZ) producer Koru. Owned by Jasper and Sarah Raats, they make small quantities of high quality Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Their wines are fantastic. On their website, they talk about how they took great care in choosing the name Koru.
Imagine my surprise when at the Asda press tasting yesterday I caught sight of Koru Sauvignon Blanc. But rather than being a £20 boutique wine, it was a bulk-shipped Marlborough Sauvignon, bottled in the UK by D&D Wines International, and labelled as Koru. I don’t think for a minute that D&D tried to nick Koru’s name; I suspect they didn’t check very hard whether the name was already in use. Anyway, the bulk-shipped Koru is £7.98, with, I imagine, some room for promotional price movement, perhaps down to £5.
While consumers are unlikely to be confused by the two wines, it’s clearly not fair on the original Koru for someone else to be using the same name on a wine from the same region.
NOTE ADDED LATER: D&D have contacted me and told me that they registered Koru as a trademark in the UK a few years ago.
9 Comments on Nicking a name, presumably inadvertently: Koru Sauvignon Blanc
Seems the Koru name and/or its spiral shape are popular choices for use by businesses in NZ, including their national airline.
Trader Joe’s in the USA have a NZ SB called Vin-Koru with a similar spiral logo, see http://traderjoeswine.blogspot.com/2009/11/2008-vin-koru-sauvignon-blanc-599.html
They should have taken great care registering the rather obvious name, rather than penning a load of newage sewage about the frondy unfolding of their dreams.
How do you know who was first?
C’mon Jamie – look at the logo. That’s more than a coincidence!
Actually, I’ll take that back. If you Google it, the logo is pretty obvious…
Did you taste the cheap stuff from ASDA?
Anyway, considering that Koru’s PN is produced in Marlborough (SB too but a bit further down the road) and enjoys the reputation of being one of top wine in the country it looks very obvious they were nicking this reputation. By the way there is only one company in NZ registered with Koru wines limited and that’s the real one. 🙂
Blog over the Wine and Spirits market in the United States, especially in New York City. Overall information about the US customer habits with wine and spirits.
The 2012 cheapie at Asda won gold at the IWSC(?) and the 2014 is staggering. Not just in terms of value but taste. It could easily pass for a Saint Clair Pioneer Block at silly dosh.