Talk-A-Vino

The wonderful world of wine. Wine is definitely unique, arguably the one and only. What other product on this planet reappears every year literally, and not just as one, no, probably millions of new and unique ones? No wonder something is always happening in this amazing world. Let’s take a look at some of the latest news out there.

Opus Two
Opus One wine project, a collaboration started by wine’s greats, Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild, hopes to extend its lead into the brand new world. What’s the brand new world in wine? Same as everywhere, the world dominated by AI. Opus One recently announced the brand new undertaking, Opus Two, the new wine which will be produced by AI. Opus One has partnered with Anthropic AI, the most “hands-on” AI engine out there, to build a new vineyard and the winery to start production of the Opus Two wine beginning in 2030. Opus One folks managed to sign a 20 years lease for the plot, not just somewhere, but at the Beckstoffer To Kalon vineyard, and now Claude, the new AI winemaker, is preparing to take full control of the grape growing and wine production using the team of human assistants (the plan is to gradually switch to cyborgs over the next 10 years). For now, Claude is finishing its rapid education course at UC Davis in California and getting ready to start making winemaking decisions. Never been a fan of Opus One, but I’m curious to try Opus Two once it is released.

DRC Moving Past Pinot Noir
Yes, you are reading this correctly. And you know what makes this story even crazier than it sounds? It is all because of the movie. Similarly to how the movie Sideways had a tremendous and prolonged negative effect on the sales of the Merlot, a wine movie is the culprit in the decision of Aubert de Villaine to move past beloved Pinot Noir. An obscure grape called Herbemont so lovingly portrayed in the Season 2 of the Drops of God, had a very significant effect on Aubert de Villaine, who supposedly said, “only Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines can have such effect on people”, referring to the scene where competition judges all show absolute amazement after blindly tasting red Herbemont wine produced in Georgia. It is unclear how DRC will source Herbemont grapes, whether they will plant the vineyards (and where), or buy them from the growers, but DRC seems to be determined to start offering Herbemont wines over the next 5 years. Considering the astronomical prices of their regular Pinot Noir wines, it is hard to tell how expensive the Herbemont wines will be, but this is an exciting development in any case, so let’s wait and see.

Soon, wine-ing your food will be as easy as salting it
McCormick, one of the largest producers of spices in the USA, wants you to be able to wine your food, right after you salt it. Yes, you heard it correctly. McCormick is teaming up with one of the large wine producers in California (rumor has it that the wine producer is Jackson Family Wines, but this information has not been independently verified) and Whirlpool Corporation, which developed freeze-dried ice cream for NASA, to produce freeze-dried wine extract, which will be available to chefs and home cooks alike. Want to season your steak with Cabernet Sauvignon? No problems, here is your can of dry Cabernet Sauvignon. Want some Chardonnay on your chicken? Here you go. It was announced that the initial lineup will include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, all sourced in California. If successful, the lineup will expand to include more grape varieties and potentially even look beyond California. These new McCormick WineLine spices will soon appear at the grocery stores near you, so you should be on the lookout for them, as production will definitely be limited at the beginning.

Love wine too much? Enjoy it in more ways than before!
Here we have a combination of two seemingly unrelated factors. First, there are people who love wine too much and are happy to enjoy it at any time in any form. Second, the wine consumption is down, and we have to deal with the surplus of wine. To connect these two factors, recently we learned about not just one, but two new products guaranteed to make the wine lovers extra happy and help with dealing with wine surplus at the same time.

First, Colgate, one of the leading producers of dental hygiene products, entered into a partnership with Familia Torres, the largest wine producer in Spain, to create a new wine-flavored line of dental hygiene products, which will include toothpaste, mouthwash, and even dental floss. Initially, the taste profile of the dental products will be limited to Tempranillo and Viura, but it might expand later on with the addition of other types of wines. Colgate TotalWine-o line of products is expected to hit the shelves in early 2027.

Now, for even bigger news – Dove, leading manufacturer of bath and shower products, announced its partnership with Concha y Toro, a leading Chilean wine producer, to create a wine-infused line of shampoo and conditioners. Can you imagine coming out of the shower and your hair smelling like Carmenere? Soon, you will be able to! The new line of shampoo and conditioners, called Dove Wine Therapy, will initially include Carmenere and Sauvignon Blanc aromatics, with possible future options including Merlot and Viognier. The products will be available in the second half of 2027. Have you ever imagined how good you might smell after the shower? Now you can and should!

And we are done for today. Tomorrow will be a new day, and until then – cheers!