FAT bastard is a French wine produced and distributed by a British and French partnership. FAT bastard is a fast-growing brand, recently selling over 400,000 cases per year in the United States alone, shortly after its introduction. BusinessWeek has called FAT Bastard a "marketing phenomenon". Despite a few states' resistance to selling FAT bastard in the 1990s, it is now available across the US.
History
A 2005 survey found that 72 percent of the adult French population finds it difficult to understand French wine labels, and the problem is not unique to that country. Research has also found that most American consumers, especially younger ones, dislike wine labels that picture chateaux, that appear elitist, and that are difficult to understand. FAT bastard appears to solve that marketing problem. The label reflects the fact that most New World (and many Old World) consumers prefer to buy "brand name" wines that are labeled by the variety of grape from which they are made.
The wine is reported to have started off as an experiment, and when Thierry Boudinaud tasted the wine he proclaimed "now that is what you call a fat bastard". The wine label says that it's "named after a British expression describing a particularly rich and full wine".