Posts Tagged “wine”

Two women were hospitalized after a New Zealand cafe mistakenly served dishwashing liquid as mulled wine, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Chico’s Restaurant Ltd. in the mountain resort of Queenstown on South Island pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food containing extraneous matter - the chemical sodium hydroxide - that caused injury, the Southland Times newspaper said.

Prosecutor Sarah McKenzie told Queenstown District Court that the two women were taken to a hospital after drinking the liquid last July, the newspaper reported.

Customer Sarah Ferguson had ordered a glass of “Mountain Thunder” mulled wine from Queenstown’s Old Man Rock Cafe, owned by Chico’s Restaurant Ltd.

She spat out the liquid when she experienced a burning sensation on her lips and mouth.

Cafe worker Bethany Sim offered to test the drink and suffered a similar reaction.

Wal-Mart (it’s not just for fiber optic cables anymore!) announced that, sometime in 2008, it will begin offering customers a new discount item —- Wal-Mart’s own brand of wine.

The world’s largest retail chain is teaming up with Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery of California to produce the spirits at an affordable price, in the $2 - $5 range.

Wine connoisseurs may not be inclined to put a bottle of Wal-Mart brand into their shopping carts, but “there is a market for inexpensive wine,” said Kathy Micken, professor of marketing at Univ. of Arkansas, Bentonville. “But the right name is important.”

Customer surveys were conducted to determine the most attractive name for the Wal-Mart varietal. The top surveyed names in order of popularity were:

10. Chateau Traileur Parc
9. White Trashfindel
8. Big Red Gulp
7. World Championship Riesling
6. NASCARbernet
5. Chef Boyardeaux
4. Peanut Noir
3. I Can’t Believe it’s not Vinegar
2. Grape Expectations
1. Nasti Spumante

The beauty of Wal-Mart wine is that it can be served with either white meat (Possum) or red meat (Squirrel).