Sonoma, August 15 :

Would you drink a little Fat Bastard? Pour a glass of Marilyn Merlot? How about pulling out some Screw Kappa Nappa for that next college reunion? Wine labels, once dominated by ornate script and just as fancy verbiage, have gone from frumpy to funky.

“It’s making wine less elitist and it’s making wine fun,” says Paul Dolan, partner in the Mendocino Wine Company whose labels include Tusk ‘N Red and Big Yellow — a cab, of course.

A quarter-century ago, wine names stuck to the classics as vintners tried to establish brands and teach customers there was more to wine than red or white. Now, with most US consumers familiar with at least the big four grape varietals — chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and sauvignon blanc — and with a lot more wine competing for market share, the dynamics of naming have shifted.

Like the ‘critter labels’ — wines named after animals — oddball labels aim to start a conversation with consumers. “It’s easier to remember a dancing bear than a multi-syllabic Italian last name,” says Donny Sebastiani, a proprietor in Don Sebastiani & Sons.