As an internet user, you’ve surely encountered at least one Someecard in your lifetime. The tongue-in-cheek illustrated postcards that mock Hallmark while cutting to the heart of the human condition in a hilarious, snarky-as-hell way have become a mainstay on the web since their introduction in 2007. You may have even thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I could grab a drink with the people that write these.”
Well, you’ve just come a little bit closer—the card company is now making wine. Launched in early 2016, SomeWine combines the two elements for creating memories and having a good time: laughter from hilarious jokes and a great bottle of wine. Random, perhaps, but we’re not complaining.
“We saw Someecards as a brand where people engage with our cards the same as they do with wine,” says Duncan Mitchell, CEO of Someecards and co-creator of SomeWine. “People love to share the hilarious memes we create with friends and family, similar to how people get together and share a bottle of wine, so we wanted to build that deep conversation connected to people.”
The company sells four types of wines; Chardonnay, Red Blend, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Currently sold in 15 states, with partnerships with major retailers like Sprouts, Heinen’s, Giant Eagle, and Goody Goody Liquor, the company is looking for further distribution in 10 more states by 2017. The company’s target audience? Twenty-somethings and enthusiasts looking for a fun, humorous spin on wine.
“The wine business is evolving with millennials. They’re open to nonconventional ideas of what a wine company now is,” says Tom Lynch, a partner of 1026 Beverage Company and co-creator of SomeWine. “They want something approachable, with depth and something they can relate to, as well as wanting really good juice in the bottle.”
The socially awkward and shy among us have never been better-armed: with SomeWine, the label is the joke. Currently, there are four jokes as the labels, including “Keep your friends close and your wine glass closer” and “This wine goes great with more wine,” but since they have over 100 memes in their arsenal, they are working to branch out and offer more variety.
They’re also tapping their original social media success to crowdsource the funniest labels. For their second Chardonnay, for instance, SomeWine tested five different variations of wine memes across Facebook and had a contest. The most liked card, “This is the perfect wine for drinking in your nicest sweatpants” won to become the label for their Chardonnay blend.
SomeWine isn’t just spreading laughs. As a 1% For the Planet Company, they donate at least 1 percent of all their revenue to non-profit organizations. After Lynch took a life-changing trip to South African Safari with his daughter and did a week-long volunteering with a non-profit organization that brought sustainable food garden into a village, it got him thinking about that the right way to do business and do good things in the world shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
While their wine production is still in the early phases, those looking to get a double-dose of wine and humor can shop online by the bottle—or buy an entire case to ensure that there will be plenty of good times to be had at the party…even if that party just consists of you, a glass, your finest sweatpants, and Netflix.
