Strange Wine and Winery Names

Wine labels often catch your attention through colorful artwork or clever names that read like they're straight from a headline on the Onion. Those striking labels and punny names will stick with you long enough to mention in a future conversation, or if you're a home wine maker, as an inspiration for the name of your next batch of wine. There are a lot of wines with clever names around these days; here are some of our favorites:  

• Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush – Cooper’s Creek Winery Smell is essential to determining a wine’s quality and flavors, so naturally the New Zealand winery Cooper’s Creek named their sauvignon blanc after one of the most foul smelling things on the planet. Believe it or not, this wine includes small amounts of cat pee, which by the accounts of wine connoisseurs adds some great flavor to the wine. This begs the question: Would you consider letting your cat contribute to your next batch?

 

• Goats do Roam Wine Company This South African winery derives its pun-tific name from the Côtes du Rhône wine growing region of France. Goats do Roam makes a red, white, and rosé wine, all of which are styled after wines created in that area of France. Varietals from the Côtes du Rhône region can be easily purchased for creation at home, whether you’re into making whites, reds, or rosés.

 

• Marilyn Merlot – Marilyn Wines The origins of this merlot’s name warrant no explanation, and neither do the Sauvignon Blonde or Norma Jeane wines created by the California-based Marilyn Wines winery. Any profits made from the sales of these wines go to a charity set up by Marilyn Monroe’s estate, and the wine has gained in popularity since it was introduced in the public marketplace in 1985. It’s hard to top a name that rolls off the tongue like Marilyn Merlot, but constant use of your home wine making set-up should give you a little inspiration.

 

• Chaos Theory – Brown Estates This cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel blend has flavors equally as complicated as the logic behind its name. Brown Estates is considered one of the top zinfandel producers in California, and Chaos Theory’s chocolate, blackberry, burnt sugar and kumquat flavors reinforce their place as a top notch winery. Varietal blends can be some of the most intriguing and complex wines you can make in your wine making kit.

 

• ChardonnAlien, CabernAlien – Cosmic CruZer By the account of a few comments on various wine forums, both of these wines with extraterrestrial names can only be found in their area of origin (the Santa Cruz Mountains in California) and are worth a try if you come across a bottle.

  The names and labels for wine are just as diverse as the grapes used to make them (“Zin City” and “Call a Cab” are just a few suggestions). And as long as you make your own wine at home, the creative opportunities are endless.