Wine Humour

As if buying wine labels weren't obscure and confusing enough, add to that the labels that seem completely out of left field. Some of those labels are meant to be humorous, poking fun at the wine world and appealing to wine geeks who (like myself) love this stuff. Here are some of my favorites. 

1. Goats Do Roam
This one always makes me laugh when I see it. The name is borrowed from Cotes Du Rhone, the AOC that covers the Rhone winemaking area. Goats Do Roam is made in South Africa, with a blend of Pinotage along with a handful of grapes that would typically be found in - you guessed it - a Rhone Red Blend.  The winemaker, Charles Shaw, has been in some hot water over how similar sounding the names are - but his defense is that the names come from the herds of goats that run around his vineyards. Either way, I don't think the Cote du Rhone has anything to worry about, as only  people who are familiar with the name will recognize the label as anything. 




2. Goat Roti
The same producer makes another wine, called Goat Roti. This is an even more direct play on another Rhone appellation, this time the very prestigious Cote Rotie in Northern Rhone. Cote Rotie is known for is expensive bottles of Syrah, of which they add a little white Viognier to to add floral aromas. Goat Roti, is also made with Syrah and Viognier. tsk, tsk - tongue in cheek indeed.



3. Chat-en-Oeuf
Okay, okay - this is the last dig on Rhone I'll put in this post, but I think this is so cute and funny. This label is of a cat sitting on an egg, but in French - chat en oeuf - sounds a whole lot like ChateauNeuf; as in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, another well-known Rhone AOC where 13 grape varieties can/are used. As for chat-en-oeuf - a 'Product of France' - who knows.




4. Longue-Dog
Admittedly, this one is a stretch. Longue-dog is supposed to sound like Languedoc, as in Languedoc Rousillion. In fact - this wine is made with the typical grapes of the region and is made -in- the Languedoc. I am not really sure the reasons why the winemaker wouldn't follow whatever restrictions required to be able to just write  the AOC on the bottle, but to each his own, I guess. Sketchy stuff.


5. Oh... Schist!
This next one is probably the geekiest of all the bottles on this list. In fact, Oh... Schist! is actually made in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer of Germany, an area known for producing good Riesling, as well as vertical vineyards that line the banks of the Mosel River and the steep, rocky shale outcroppings where the vines thrive. And there in-lies the joke. 
Shale=Schist. 
And the image of the crack in the bottle is supposed to have been from a piece of schist. Funny. 
What's more is that there is no explanation of this on the bottle, you either know or you don't.


6. Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush

Finally, the most ridiculous bottle of them all - a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc that isn't taking itself to seriously. Sauvignon Blancs are known for their capacity to smell a bi like cat pee, especially the bold expressions that come from New Zealand. In the wine-world, we joke about this pee-smell with one another all of the time, but to a guest in a restaurant - you might describe this same smell as "underripe gooseberry". Either way, this wine embraces both. I guess you can't say they didn't warn you.