Cat’s Phee on a Gooseberry Bush

Wikipedia cites a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc called "Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush" as an example of "wine humour." The site notes, "Humour is usually rare in the world of wine, and wine jokes may only be amusing to wine obsessives."

Apparently the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms didn't find the name amusing. They forced the maker of the wine to change the name of the U.S. import version to "Cat's Phee on a Gooseberry Bush," which doesn't even make sense.

The 'cat's pee' in the name was a reference to the fact that Sauvignon Blancs are occasionally known to have that scent.

Text from, Drink This: Wine Made Simple by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 15, 2018
Category: Odd Names | Alcohol

Comments

At the "wine humour" link, Wikipedia tells us that wine jokes may only be amusing to wine obsessives. I'll buy that. However, I do like the name of the South African "Goats do Roam" wine. After the INAO protested at the similarity of this name to the French appellation Côtes du Rhône, the winery counter-protested with a herd of goats outside the French embassy.

Posted by Virtual on 06/15/18 at 09:57 AM

We have a local winery (yes, Minnesota has grapes as well as apples) called "Smoking Loon". The cork (used to) say "Whooh Whooh Whooh Whooh Whooh Cough Whooh. Do a Google image search for Coughing Look Cork and you'll find a bunch of photos. The vineyard has gotten all pretentious since they've won some awards, so I don't know if they still have a corporate sense of humor.

Posted by mjbird on 06/16/18 at 12:04 PM

Personally I can't make out the various flavors or odors described by some during wine tasting. Cat Pee, indeed. I think it's just a ploy that people use to make themselves look important. If there isn't too much tannin in a red or a white that isn't too sweet, I'll usually drink it without complaint.

Posted by KDP on 06/16/18 at 06:29 PM

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