Wrath over grape name in Healdsburg

It seemed like a clever name for a wine store, a way to distinguish it from the many other tasting rooms around the Healdsburg Plaza.

But the owner of the "The Serial Grapist" has decided to change the name after complaints that the pun was distasteful.

"I didn't anticipate the extent of it," said Stephen Moore, the wine shop owner who acknowledged he inadvertently offended "quite a few townspeople."

Shortly after the sign went up around Memorial Day, the complaints began - essentially that it made light of sexual assault.

"I am sure it was hilarious when the name was pounced on after too many bottles of wine at dinner one night, but from where I sit, rape is a violent and degrading crime," Barbara Medaille wrote in a letter to the editor.

As he stocked the wine racks in his Center Street shop Friday afternoon, Moore said the complaints ran along the lines of "why would you celebrate rape?"

"Nobody is celebrating rape. There is a &‘G' in there," was his response.

Moore, 38, said it was a teenage girl, "my brother's girlfriend's daughter," who came up with "The Serial Grapist" idea.

"I guess she has a different sense of humor too," he said.

Now, Moore has decided to make something positive of the controversy. He's running a contest to rename the business. The winner, who will be chosen next week, gets a $100 gift certificate for use in the wine shop.

For the time being, the former name of the place, The Wine Annex, remains up outside the building.

On Friday, a couple of customers who wandered in had split opinions on the controversy.

"You're looking for a new name. I like your other name (Serial Grapist)," said one woman shopper as she walked in the door and greeted Moore.

But Jacques Brix, vice-president of Wine and Vines magazine, who also was shopping in the store, said the short-lived name "was not a cool thing. Everybody I know said that. Maybe 50 years ago it was OK, or maybe in Alabama. But not in California."

Moore said he received a call from City Manager Marjie Pettus, who suggested he might consider dropping the name and the city could expedite the paperwork.

"I received several emails and phone calls, mainly expressing two sentiments - that it really was kind of demeaning to women, and that it was inconsistent with the Healdsburg community and who we are as residents," Pettus said Friday.

Moore said 60 to 70 people have submitted names, including "Planet of the Grapes," "Grape Escape" and "Grape Expectations."

Another offering was "Sideways" in honor of the wine-themed movie.

"Most are pretty traditional," he said of the suggestions: "&‘Vintage this,' &‘Blend that,' &‘Grape this.'"

He's also thought of "Healdsburg Wine Shop. I kind of like it, although it's incredibly boring," he said.

But dropping the controversial name already has paid off.

"One woman was so happy when I called her and told her that I took the sign down. She drove over from Calistoga and bought a couple bottles," he said.