I don’t know if you noticed, but Meghan Markle’s highly anticipated new wine didn’t fly off the shelves like many of us thought it would.
The second edition of her Californian rosé, As Ever 2024, is still available days after its release. This, coming from someone with the ability to sell out in a matter of hours—as happened with the first batch—is striking, to say the least.
And of course, the wine is still beautiful, summery, with that pale pink hue reminiscent of the Provençal style that is so popular on Instagram. Meghan herself described it as “delicately balanced,” with notes of stone fruit and a long finish.
Sounds good, right? But this time, it seems that marketing has not been enough. The price is the same as last year, but the bottle contains less alcohol (13.5% vs. 14.5%) and is only sold in packs of three, six, or twelve units.
That, plus the fixed $20 shipping fee, may have put off more than a few people.
Now, this doesn’t mean that Meghan has failed in her wine venture. On the contrary, she is positioning herself in a field where there are already many famous stars.
But there is something interesting here: has the “Meghan effect” worn off, or was it simply not the right time? Perhaps the public was expecting something more accessible, or perhaps novelty is no longer enough.
For now, the As Ever label continues to build, but this minor commercial setback, as some experts call it, leaves much between the lines.