Nothing Says “I’m Liquid” Like Fine Wine

There are scams, there are elaborate scams, and then there is apparently the sort of scam where pretending to be an NFL player requires a supporting cellar of classified-growth Bordeaux and Napa Cabernet.

Federal prosecutors allege that Daejon Love spent years presenting himself as, among other things, a San Francisco 49ers player while cultivating a lavish image designed to convince women that they were dealing with a very wealthy man. The alleged scheme eventually involved at least 26 women and more than $1.3 million. It included luxury cars, football uniforms, supposed investment accounts and an alleged financial adviser. In other words, practically everything except an actual spot on the 49ers roster.

The elaborate nature of the alleged con raises an interesting question: what was Love drinking on his dates? Naturally, a man projecting a millionaire lifestyle could hardly be seen drinking Barefoot Merlot. That would undermine the image.

If you are trying to convince an unsuspecting romantic prospect that you have NFL money, you need the accessories to support the story. A Lamborghini helps. A helmet helps. And perhaps the most effective finishing touch is an impressive bottle of Château Margaux sitting casually on the kitchen counter.

Nothing exclaims, “I am liquid,” quite like a bottle of fine wine. Fine wine is an almost perfect prop for the age of manufactured wealth. Forty years ago, a con man might have needed a tailored suit, a rented Mercedes and perhaps a business card embossed with something vaguely Swiss. Today, the image can be constructed with an Instagram account, a Lamborghini Urus and a bottle whose Wine-Searcher average price makes everyone at dinner slightly uncomfortable. If a bottle of Harlan is sitting next to your car keys, few people want to be the person who interrupts dinner to ask why your name appears nowhere on the San Francisco 49ers roster.

This may be one of the more unusual endorsements of luxury wine marketing the industry has received in years.

Wine executives have spent countless meetings wondering how to make fine wine relevant to younger consumers. The answer may lie in the same playbook used by major household brands from Domino’s to Toyota: position the product within the world of the National Football League. That means product placement and activations around the Combine, the Draft, season openers, Monday Night Football, international games, the playoffs and, of course, the biggest NFL event of them all, the Super Bowl.

Forget tasting notes and scores. In modern brand marketing, what may matter just as much is whether the wine finds its way into the conversation surrounding the game.

The cars were there to impress.

The football persona was there to impress.

And the expensive wine, whether intentionally or not, served the same purpose.

Luxury goods work as props in a fantasy of wealth because people still believe they communicate something meaningful about the person who possesses them.

So perhaps Bordeaux is not as dead as some in the wine industry fear.

It may still possess exactly what luxury brands have always depended upon: the ability to signal wealth before anyone asks too many questions.