Moscato gets a skinny makeover

Kanye West has helped Moscato sales soar in the US

Moscato madness continues to grip this US. This week, Wine and the City learnt that Skinnygirl, the low-calorie wine and pre-mix cocktail brand founded by Twiglet-thin reality TV star Bethenny Frankel of The Real Housewives of New York City, has added a Moscato to its line-up.

The brand, bought by spirits giant Beam for $8m in March 2011, has added the low alcohol, lightly sparkling sweet wine to its range in a bid to capitalise on the growing thirst for the variety in the US. Skinnygirl Moscato is said to boast notes of “pear, peach and mango,” along with aromas of “tropical fruit and honey.”

Skinnygirl Moscato 2012

The wines in the Skinnygirl range have only 100 calories per 5oz glass compared to an average of 123 calories found in non-diet wines. Skinnygirl wastes no time in making mention of its low-calorie status, with the Moscato 2012 flagging it up the front label. Along with the Moscato, three new cocktails have been added to Skinnygirl premix range: a mojito, grapefruit margarita and a white cherry vodka, priced at $14.99/bottle for the mojito and margarita and $21.99 for the vodka.

Skinnygirl is one of the fastest-growing drinks brands on the market. Sales at the company were up 19% last year as the trend for low-calorie wines gathered momentum in the US. Last March, the brand expanded from pre-mix cocktails into wine, adding three low-calorie California wines – a Syrah blend, a Chardonnay/Pinot Grigio blend and a Grenache/Syrah rosé blend to its portfolio.

Last year, Moscato sales in the US hit a record high, up 33% in volume on 2011 with the variety now accounting for 6% of wines bought in US retailers, where it is now more popular than Sauvignon Blanc and only slightly behind Pinot Grigio. Moscato’s profile has been boosted by name checks from RnB and hip-hop stars such as Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Lil’ Kim, Ab-Soul and Drake.

Justin Timberlake creates wedding cuvée

Adding another string to his already well-adorned bow, in addition to singing, dancing and acting, newlywed Justin Timberlake has proved a dab hand in the cellar, creating a bespoke red blend from Sonoma County to be served at his wedding to Hollywood starlet Jessica Biel in southern Italy last month.

As reported on db.com, the Timberlake-Biel wedding cuvée – 2009 Blue Ocean Floor – was blended from Alexander Valley Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to being poured at the $6.5m reception, the wine was given as a gift to guests, including hip-hop producer Timbaland, who recently got in on the celebrity drinks act with a sparkling liqueur called LeSutra.

Jesse Katz, winemaker at Lancaster Estate in Alexander Valley, and a snowboarding buddy of both Justin and Jessica, made two barrels of the wine to mark the occasion. Trousersnake has been following 28-year-old Katz’s career progression with interest. A winemaker to watch, prior to Lancaster Estate, he made wine at California cult estate Screaming Eagle.

Timberlake played an important part in the blending process for Blue Ocean Floor and provided the artwork for the label, produced by Ellen Riendeau of Soda Rock Studios. A keen drinks enthusiast, Timberlake also has own ultra-premium Tequila brand, 901, made from triple distilled 100% blue agave and named after the area code of the singer’s hometown of Memphis. 

Napa’s first “dog winery” launched by Boisset

Pampered pooches prick up your ears – the ever-flamboyant Jean Charles Boisset has launched Napa Valley’s first “dog winery” featuring kennel spaces and wine-barrel dog beds in an ode to his beloved French bulldog. As reported on db.com, Frenchie Winery, named after the bulldog he gave to wife Gina Gallo (above), forms part of Raymond Vineyards; a St Helena winery Boisset bought three years ago.

Housed in a large white shed at the back of Raymond’s biodynamic garden, the winery boasts an enclosed play area for visiting hounds, and five individual kennel spaces for them to sleep, complete with luxurious wine-barrel beds. Above the kennels hang paintings of Frenchie in various historical guises, from Napoleon to Louis XIV, and even cross-dressing as Marie Antoinette.

The thoughtful Boisset has also installed a “Frenchie cam” in the shed, so owners can keep a watchful eye on their dogs while they’re in the Raymond Vineyards tasting room. “It’s like daycare, it’s awesome,” dog owner Elizabeth Schroeter said after a recent visit. “We treat the dogs the same as humans. I want to create tasting paces where people – and dogs – can have a blast,” Boisset added.

The Frenchie range comprises three wines: Marie Antoinette Chardonnay ($18), Louis XIV Cabernet Sauvignon ($30), and Napoleon ($30) – a red blend. The labels feature paintings of Frenchie dressed up as the three historical figures. Boisset’s move is shrewd, aiming to attract a portion of America’s 46 million dog owners that don’t want to leave their canines at home when they go wine tasting.

Dog-friendly wineries are already popular in California, with Napa Valley boasting 96 that welcome four-legged friends. Burgundy born Boisset looks after the American arm of Burgundy-based wine empire Boisset Famille des Grands Vins, founded by his father in 1961. In 2009, he married Gallo’s chief winemaker Gina Gallo, cementing one of the most powerful wine family unions in history. The pair have one-year-old twin girls. 

Koch’s Jefferson lawsuit thrown out of court

Bad news this week for billionaire wine collector William Koch, who has lost his bid to reinstate a lawsuit against Christie’s that claimed the auction house “induced” him to buy counterfeit wine. As reported on db.com, the US Court of Appeals in Manhattan last week upheld a 2011 ruling by US district judge Barbara Jones dismissing Koch’s suit after finding that he waited too long to sue, agreeing that the statute of limitations had expired.

“For wine, timing is critical, the same is true for causes of action,” said US district judge John Koeltl, who was sitting on the appeals court for the case. “I’m very disappointed by the decision. The appeals judges dismissed the case for a technicality, although we know they got a lot of the facts wrong, but they’re the ones who decide what the facts are,” Koch said. “Christie’s got away with an incredible hoax,” Brad Goldstein, a Koch spokesman, told Bloomberg. Koch filed a lawsuit against Christie’s in Manhattan in 2010, claiming the London-based auction house had sold him counterfeit wine “for many years.”

Koch also said that Christie’s had “induced” him to buy four bottles of 1787 Château Lafite engraved “Th.J” that had purportedly belonged to American President Thomas Jefferson from German wine dealer Hardy Rodenstock in 1987 because Christie’s described the wines “positively” in auction catalogs during the 1980s. The wines were allegedly discovered in the mid-‘80s when Rodenstock claimed to have found a cache in a bricked-up cellar in Paris. Koch had the bottles tested in October 2000.

One of the purportedly fake Jefferson bottles

In dismissing the case last year, Jones said Koch knew the bottles were counterfeit and that he bought the wine out of a “desire to gather evidence against Christie’s.” Jonathan Lerner, a lawyer for Christie’s, told Bloomberg: “Today’s court ruling was clearly correct, Koch’s claims turned to vinegar a long time ago. The only hoax in this case was the allegation in the complaint that ‘no credible question’ had been raised about the wine until shortly before the complaint was filed.”

Koch should have made inquiries about the wine by October 2000, when a report was issued about its authenticity, the appeals court said. He filed his suit in 2010. A historian at Monticello, Jefferson’s former home in Virginia, issued a report in December 1985 that determined “no solid connecting evidence could be found between Jefferson and the Th.J wine.” While the report didn’t become public at the time, newspapers including the New York Times published articles saying there was “scholarly doubt” about the authenticity of the wine. Koch has previously sued Rodenstock and American auction houses Zachy’s and Acker Merrall & Condit for fraud.

Goo Goo Dolls wine to be designed by fans

American soft rockers the Goo Goo Dolls have asked their fans to design the label for their limited-edition wine made in collaboration with Noni Bacca Winery in North Carolina. Unfortunately for Goo Goo devotees, the wine is destined for the band’s private wine collection rather than supermarket shelves, though a number of the bottles will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to youth charity Compass House.

Launched via the band’s fansite AbsoluteGoo.com, the top two designs will be turned into wine labels, which will include the name of the winning artist. Labels must measure 3.33″ by 4″ and must contain the band’s name, but don’t have to be digitally generated – sketches and paintings are being accepted.

Noni Bacca Winery owner Toni Incorvaia secured the collaboration through a long-standing friendship with the band. “We’re all from Buffalo – I used to take the school bus with the band's founder Robby Takac – we were neighbours,” Incorvaia told StarNews. “When they played here at the Azalea Festival I had some souvenir wine bottled for them."

Aspiring artists can submit their label designs to the Noni Bacca Facebook page. The Goo Goo Dolls formed in 1985, and enjoyed commercial success with their 1998 single Iris, written for the soundtrack of the film City of Angels, starring Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan. In 2009, Iris was reported as the fourth-biggest-selling song of the ‘90s on iTunes UK, ahead of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit. 

Wine milkshakes go on sale in US

In a move that may turn many a stomach, LA burger chain The Counter has added wine milkshakes to its menu. As reported on db.com, the milkshakes, inspired by classic desserts, are being blended at select Counter restaurants across Los Angeles. According to their creator, the wine helps to cut through the sweetness of the shake, with the flavour more milkshake-like to start, but with a wine finish.

The burger chain is offering three flavors: Pinot Noir, featuring cherries, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, Sweet Peach, made using sweet wine, peach nectar and vanilla ice cream, and Mimosa, featuring sparkling white, orange juice and vanilla ice cream.

Perhaps due to the ongoing success of the Santa Barbara-based film Sideways, in which the protagonist Miles extols the virtues of the difficult but rewarding Pinot Noir grape, the Pinot Noir shake is proving the most popular of the trio. The shakes can be found on pour at The Counter restaurants in Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Century City, Toluca Lake, El Segundo, Torrance and Hermosa Beach.

Vin Gogh? Artist creates portraits using red wine

A New York artist has come up with a novel way of making the most of her leftover Cabernet Franc – using it to make portrait paintings. As reported on db.com, using a wax resist, 29-year-old Amelia Fais Harnas pours six to seven layers of red wine on top of white cotton in order to achieve the light and shade effects. To ensure the wine dries quickly, Harnas, an avid wine lover, has to work at around 27°C, rotating between four to six portraits at a time.

She discovered how to make the portraits by melting dead candle remnants in a coffee can over a propane grill and painting the wax resist on cotton bed sheets with an old paintbrush. “The idea of painting with wine developed slowly over a couple of years. I wondered if wine could be used as a pigment for my portraits and started experimenting with Cahors,” she told Solent News. “I'd love to be able to say it happened by accident, where I spilled wine and saw Jesus's face in it, but it really resulted from a series of what-ifs.

“I enjoy the challenge of trying to control the unpredictable nature of wine bleeding through fabric in order to channel the equally imprecise nature of a person’s character,” she added. Her portraits, many of which incorporate religious iconography, have been exhibited in New York galleries and Finger Lakes producer Damiani Wine Cellars, whose Cabernet Franc-based Vino Rosso is almost exclusively used in the portraits due to its deep colour and low residual sugar content.

"I’m intrigued by what effect wine quality will have on the works, and plan on experimenting with all sorts of grape varieties and regions to see how the colour, residual sugar and tannin content affect stain penetration, she told The Huffington Post. As to how long the portraits will last, Harnas is unable to give an accurate answer, though believes their ephemeral nature adds to the intrigue.

"I’m doing everything in my power to ensure they last as long as possible, but part of the excitement is how fragile the works are,” she said. Her works sell for up to £650, depending on their size, with a 20" by 16" portrait requiring just one glass of wine. Harnas plans to move to Paris to work on miniature portraits using French wine.