Museles is created by reducing the strain from grape pressings and fermented in a clay pot, notably with specific mixtures of proteins such as pheasants and pigeon blood (as well as perhaps more palatable spices such as goji berries). Apparently the process, along with added sugar, produces something akin to a vermouth. Obviously, this would be a tough sell to Western audiences but it does parallel in some respects the efforts by more familiar brands to branch out into infused wines. My understanding is that we're still not past the age of the wine spritzer, in that more recent offerings like the Gallo "Spritz" are regarded as somewhat lower-par, lower-alcohol products (and often targeted to women specifically as an alternative to prosecco), but I'd be interested if folks have seen any infusions reach the middle of the market. Flavored vodka has been quite a success story generally, but in my mind adding a foreign flavor, even a complementary one, automatically downgrades the base wine used in the product--and I'd think that could be a potentially insurmountable problem for any producer trying to go above the lower ends of the mass market.
(for more, check out http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3110508/Grapes-Wrath-Muslim-wine-ferments-divisions-China.html)
Great post, thanks Jeff! While I'd personally be very hesitant to try something like Museles (the pigeon blood is a big turn-off), I have come across a few companies working on developing products in the 'wine spritzer' category. As a fun side-project I have a blog (winesdays.com) where I've interviewed a number of wine startups and companies taking less traditional approaches to winemaking. I've talked to two interesting companies, Bon Affair and Pampelonne, that both create wine spritzers but target different markets. Bon Affair is a product that blends wine with sparkling water and electrolytes and is marketed as a 'healthier' alternative to wine. Bon Affair gained a lot of publicity a few years back when the founder pitched the idea on Shark Tank and got some funding from Mark Cuban. The other spritzer I'm aware of is Pampelonne - they make sparkling wine products such as sparkling 'Rose Lime' in a can which is designed as an on-the go beverage for the beach. Feel free to check out the interviews here if you're interested:
ReplyDeletehttp://winesdays.com/2015/11/07/catching-up-with-bon-affairs-founder-jayla-siciliano-on-healthy-wine-shark-tank-and-wine-spritzers/
http://winesdays.com/2015/11/02/interview-with-pampelonne-co-founder-wyatt-carder-on-the-must-try-wine-spritzer/