Talk-A-Vino

As you know, I generally like to share the interesting wine world information which I come across, so below are few of such tidbits.

Let me start with something a bit unusual. Generally we don’t mix beer and wine. However, some innovative winemakers started experimenting with adding hops to their wines creating new and refreshing beverages which greatly appeal to millennials and generation Y. Not to miss the bandwagon as they did with the craft beers, Budweiser announced that they acquired a small winery in California and the new product, called BudMyWine, will appear soon in the supermarkets next to you. The initial release of BudMyWine will be packaged in the standard 6-pack of .33 tin cans, and will include Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. BudMyWine Light, boasting measly 49 calories per can, is expected to hit the store shelves closer to the Christmas season. With this development, I’m really curious who Budweiser will be mocking in the SuperBowl 2017 commercial…

Next, the wine is about to be taken to “where no man has gone before”. Elon Musk, the multi-talented entrepreneur behind SpaceX program, which has the goal of “enabling people to live on other planets”, recently decided to evaluate the effects of space travel on wine in a bottle. SpaceX teamed up with none less than Château Mouton Rothschild, which will produce a special bottling of its popular Mouton Cadet Chilean wines, which will take a voyage in space for the duration of about 12 month. The wine will receive a special label and will be called Space Cadet. About 1,000 cases will travel into the space. Upon return, the wine will be sold through the auction, and it seems that numerous collectors already started signing up so they wouldn’t miss their chance. Who knows, SpaceX and Mouton Rothschild might be onto something – 200 years ago, hugely popular Madeira was an accidental result of the ocean voyage – Space Cadet might start another cult wine revolution.

It is political season in the United States, so obviously wine is not immune to the political interests. Not to be outdone by Donald Trump who is affiliated with eponymous winery in Virginia, supposedly the biggest one on the East Coast, Hillary Clinton just announced an agreement to acquire Brotherhood Winery in Washingtonville, New York, the oldest winery in the United States. Mrs. Clinton stated that winemaking team will stay in place at Brotherhood winery. One of the Brotherhood Winery flagship wines, 1839 Cabernet Sauvignon, will be produced as a limited release under the name “White House Dreams”, picturing Hilary Clinton with the White House in the background. The wine will be available in July at a retail price of about $100, and is expected to be an instant hit among Mrs. Clinton supporters.

And here is the last update I have for you for today. As you might know, Playboy Magazine already ventured into the world of wine, first with the wine column written by the talented wine educator Joe Roberts a.k.a. 1WineDude, and then with the wine club. Few weeks ago, Playboy announced the new wine club, called “For your eyes only”. Playboy managed to sign an agreement with an undisclosed cult wine producer in California, and will offer a line of luscious, sexy wines to the very limited number of lucky mailing list subscribers. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon will be available in the first release, and the wines will be limited to the one three-pack of each per subscriber. The wines will be called Double Pleasure, and each bottle label will feature one of the Playboy cover models (naked, of course), going all the way back to 1953 – and new labels will be produced for each release. Each bottle will be wrapped in gold-accented black parchment paper; the wine will be priced at $450 for the 3 pack, plus shipping. It seems that the mailing list had been already sold out, so waiting list is now the only option for those who wants to get a taste of Double Pleasure.

That’s all I have for you for today. Until the next time – cheers!