NEW YORK – The Grammy-winning group Train has been making waves with its wine club, and now, the trio is taking the next step with its own wine.
Starting next week, fans will be able to buy Drops of Jupiter Petite Sirah wine from Train's online wine club and other outlets. The name is a nod to one of Train's earlier hits, and is produced by the group's wine company, Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co., which takes its title from a Train album.
But Train guitarist Jimmy Stafford said the wine venture isn't an attempt to make a profit on the Train name - it's more about creating something special for fans.
"We're not really trying to get into the wine business or anything. It's really kind of helping to spread the name out there, and something for our fans," he said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Train, which won a Grammy Award this year for "Hey, Soul Sister," has had an online wine club for a while. The group promotes a wine of the month, has a blog and even an app.
Stafford said creating a wine was the next logical step.
"Really, it goes in hand with our wine club, and I guess what we set out to do was kind of like Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy Buffet got known for margaritas because of a song he wrote. ... It almost created this community vibe," he said. "We're trying to create just this little vibe, where people come to our shows, bring a picnic basket and bottle of wine."
Stafford said a third of the profits will go to the charity Family House in San Francisco, which provides temporary housing to the families of sick children.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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