Petty controversy: Battle of the 'Mommy' wines
Two wine labels target overworked mothers in desperate need of Chardonnay — and one is taking the rivalry to the courts
![Two wine labels are competing for the same market: Stressed moms who covet an alcoholic break.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3ahVS3NssobmSswAfEQJid-415-80.jpg)
The petty controversy: Mama mia! A label war is brewing between rival winemakers who both want "mommy" on their bottles. Last week, a California-based winery filed a lawsuit in federal court, asking a judge to declare that its MommyJuice vintage does not infringe on the trademark of Mommy's Time Out, another vino marketed at harried mothers. The MommyJuice label features a cartoon of a mother juggling it all, and a slogan urging moms to "tuck your kids into bed, sit down and have a glass of MommyJuice. Because you deserve it." The relatively bleak Mommy's Time Out label depicts an empty chair at a table with a wine glass and bottle. (See the labels below.) "Mommy is a generic word that they don't have a monopoly on," says an attorney representing MommyJuice. The owners of Mommy's Time Out declined to comment.
The reaction: "Someone's bound to come out of this current case disappointed, but sour grapes must also be pretty standard in the wine-making community," cracks Katy Steinmetz at TIME. Ugh, says Mary Beth Sammons at Parent Dish, such a needless lawsuit. "Do we really need to make a federal case out of the fact that more than one mother enjoys gulping a little Chardonnay to wind down at the end of a day?" Yeah, says Kim Conte at The Stir. "Though a judge may rule there's not room in the market for both, the irony, of course, is that there's never enough wine for mommy." Compare the labels for yourself:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.