Buzz
Wine can venture into the extraordinary. For your next gathering, ditch the typical selections and explore bottles crafted from unusual ingredients or boasting unexpected colors. Discover some intriguing options below.
1. WINE INFUSED WITH ROSE PETALS
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Nestled in West Sussex, England, the quaint, family-operated Lurgashall Winery crafts wines, spirits, and meads using natural ingredients and fruits such as birch sap, brambles, honey, and walnuts. The Royal National Rose Society, an English organization dedicated to rose cultivation and care, tasked Lurgashall with creating a rose wine from carefully selected petals. This pink-hued wine is said to be aromatic with a medium-dry profile. Whether it captures the fragrance of the roses themselves remains a mystery.
2. WINE AGED WITH A METEORITE
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In 2012, Ian Hutcheon, then manager of Tremonte Vineyard in Chile's Cachapoal Valley, combined his passions for astronomy and winemaking by producing a Cabernet Sauvignon fermented alongside a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite, thought to have landed in the Atacama Desert approximately 6000 years ago. He aptly named the wine "Meteorito."
Initially, Hutcheon exclusively offered the wine at his observatory, Centro Astronomico Tagua Tagua, established in 2007. “The goal was to merge astronomy with winemaking, creating a unique souvenir for observatory visitors,” Hutcheon explained to The Drinks Business in 2013. However, the cosmic wine gained global fame, attracting enthusiasts from countries like the U.S. eager to taste this otherworldly creation.
3. WINE IN A SHADE OF BLUE
Gik Live
Traditionally, wine comes in red, white, pink, or yellow hues. However, a group of six young Spanish innovators has introduced a blue version to the market. Their brand,
Gik's wine is crafted from a combination of red and white grapes, enhanced with a calorie-free sweetener. Its striking blue color isn't artificial; it reportedly stems from a natural pigment in grape skins and indigo derived from the Isatis tinctoria plant. The wine is currently available for purchase online in Europe and is open for pre-orders in the U.S.
4. WINE INFUSED WITH COFFEE FLAVOR
Friends Fun Wine
Ever find yourself torn between needing a coffee boost or a wine-induced relaxation at the end of the day? Friends Fun Wine understands this dilemma perfectly. Based in Florida, the company offers a range of canned wines, including what they claim to be the world's first coffee-infused wine. Their lineup includes Cabernet Coffee Espresso, Chardonnay Coffee Cappuccino, and other non-coffee options like sangria and moscato.
5. WINE MADE FROM PUMPKINS
If pumpkin spice lattes aren't your thing, consider trying their boozy alternative—pumpkin wine. Produced by Maple River Winery in Casselton, North Dakota, this seasonal beverage is crafted from locally sourced pumpkins. The winery notes that the autumnal favorite is in such high demand that it sells out quickly every fall (and thus isn't featured on their website). Visitors to the vineyard can still enjoy other unique flavors like apricot, gooseberry, lilac, and strawberry-rhubarb, depending on the season.
6. WINE WITH A CAKE-INSPIRED TWIST
Birthday Cake Vineyards
Birthday Cake Vineyards
The name of this New York-based winery says it all. They specialize in crafting wines that, as they claim, mimic the flavors of birthday cake. Their offerings include white wines reminiscent of strawberry shortcake, cheesecake, and cake batter, as well as reds inspired by coffee cake and black forest cake.
7. WINE WITH A JALAPENO KICK
Cardinal Winery
If you’re bold enough to eat a whole jalapeno, why not try drinking a bottle of jalapeno wine? Situated just 30 minutes north of Philadelphia, Cardinal Hollow Winery in West Point, Pennsylvania, produces over 25 unique wine varieties, including strawberry, blackberry, and dandelion. However, one of their most popular offerings is their jalapeno wine. If drinking a spicy chili-infused wine sounds too intense, you can still use it in cooking. The winery suggests marinating meats, drizzling it on salads, or mixing it with other wines for an extra zing.
8. HYBRIDS THAT BLEND BEER AND WINE
Dogfish Head
While most people identify as either wine or beer enthusiasts, some breweries have blurred the lines by crafting innovative beer-wine hybrids. These creations often involve adding grape juice, whole grapes, or must (a mix of grape skins, seeds, and stems) to beer, or fermenting beer with wine yeast.
A standout example is Delaware’s Dogfish Head Brewery, known for its craft beer excellence. Their Noble Rot beer incorporates pinot gris and viognier grapes, the latter affected by botrytis, or “noble rot,” to enhance sweetness. Another creation, Sixty-One IPA, includes Syrah grape must, while Midas Touch is a unique blend of wine, beer, and mead inspired by ancient ingredients found in King Midas’s tomb by archaeologists.
9. WINE INFUSED WITH VODKA
A tailor-made creation for Absolut Tune, blending a sparkling New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with the iconic Absolut vodka! pic.twitter.com/zuNW5TWA1a
— Artus Vinis (@ArtusVinis) December 5, 2016
In 2012, Absolut Vodka introduced Tune, a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc enhanced with vodka. (Reportedly, it had a 14 percent ABV, indicating a relatively low alcohol content.) However, Tune was recalled in 10 states the following year after it was revealed that the brand failed to disclose the presence of sulfates. Although Tune was eventually discontinued, some online retailers still seem to carry it.
BONUS: WINE MADE FROM SPACE-GROWN GRAPES (COMING SOON)
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In the coming years, wine enthusiasts might savor vintages crafted from grapes cultivated in a growth chamber aboard the International Space Station. In 2015, it was revealed that the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft would transport wine grape seeds to the ISS during its April commercial resupply mission. Interestingly, wine grapes are ideal for space cultivation: they demand minimal water, produce robust fruit, and generate very little waste.
