Does Mommy Need a Glass of Wine?

Two wines trying to tap into the the wallets of mothers with young children have landed in court. Clos LaChance Wines, maker of MommyJuice Wines, is asking a San Francisco court to decide that the MommyJuice name does not infringe on the trademark of Mommy's Time Out, a wine distributed in New Jersey. Both wines seem to be angling for modern mothers who blog about difficulties and hold virtual nap-time happy hours: MommyJuice's red wine is "wonderful... to drink while the kids are sleeping," and Mommy's Time Out "know[s] that being a Mommy is a difficult job."

These marketing schemes that may be exploiting motherhood recall Diane Schuler. Schuler was a mother who in 2009 consumed both alcohol and marijuana before driving the wrong way on a New York State highway and crashing her car, resulting in 8 deaths. The ensuing uproar brought alcohol abuse in mothers into the national spotlight, with even some boozing mommy bloggers hopping on the wagon.

Photo by MommyJuice