What’s up with branded wine?

Watching the wine news of the day, I read this release from Canandaigua Wine Company about the popularity of their Monkey Bay brand, and it got me thinking about all the other “critter brands” in U.S. wine stores these days. Do Jill and Joe consumer need labels with kangaroos, bears and monkeys on them to buy wine? Hopefully they will continue branching out from the Merlot and Chardonnays, as Monkey Bay does with their New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (which is pretty tasty, judging from the ’04). I’d like to see some Zinfandel and Tempranillo make it in this space…