Wine Dogs and Wine Cats

Two of my favourite things in life are pets and wine! When you have a glass of wine in your hand an a pet on your knee, what could be more perfect?! So, I thought I’d like to share a few of my favourite wine (with pets) items with you…

A few years back I was on the Board of Delta Society Australia and, as a fund raiser for our therapy dog program we labelled and sold our own wine. Featuring dogs, of course! Here are a couple of bottles which remarkably I still have left…

On a recent visit to the Hunter Valley, wine country, north of Sydney, I visited Lucy’s Run, a winery named after a dog. Love to hear about Wine Dogs. But I’ve yet to hear about Wine Cats!

I have yet to try Cat Wine but this lot certainly looks yummy!

Of course, a love of cats and wine is widespread. As Ernest Hemingway said “One cat just leads to another”. Perhaps the same can be said of wine. “One glass just leads to another!”

Ernest Hemingway with cat

Wine accessories also feature pets. I love my wine bottle holder…

I’m still working on my other canine and feline accessories…

And it seems that dogs will always be a favourite with wineries and wine drinkers. Many dogs in wineries have even been featured in Wine Dogs, the books… (and the Wine Cat is a newby in the series!)

I just love how, like we did years ago, other animal charities are able to benefit from wine drinkers. Here, Pups Without Partners is a charity that has been finding forever homes for retired racing greyhounds for 19 years…

For me, wine and pets will always go together as my favourite things in life. Here is my cat Mew, sitting beside some of my wine collection…

Can’t wait to try my next “pet wine”…

My wine tastes of cat pee

I posted this blog post some time ago but thought it time to revisit, having just returned from a cruise to New Zealand. I was on the P&O lifestyle cruise to talk about pets but of course got to attend many other interesting lectures and classes. At a wine tasting masters class with the lovely Duane from Glandore Wines, I tasted some beautiful wine that indeed had a distinctive aroma of cat pee!!

First published May 17th 2009…

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My wine tastes of cat pee – call an animal behaviourist!

I love cats and I love wine. I am aware that the no. 1 behaviour problem with cats is their peeing habits (I even wrote a book about it). Never did I think, however, that cat pee and wine could be used in the same sentence. Except perhaps when cleaning up yet another feline litter box ‘accident’ led to a post-cleansing glass of vino to calm the soul.

I love a good New Zealand sauvignon blanc. I was pleased to hear that $12 million was being invested to define the flavours of this wine. Not that I’m pretentious about describing the aromas and flavours of a wine. I just know what I like and don’t like!

The conclusions of the study: The flavour was a winning combination of sweet, sweaty passionfruit, asparagus and… cat’s pee.

Apparently, wine connoisseurs routinely describe wine using terms such as cat’s pee and now the marketplace is also catching on. Cooper’s Creek winery calls its sauvignon blanc ‘Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush’. A wine region called Wairarapa, near the capital of Wellington is the top spot for cat’s pee influences in the white wine.

Will this stop me from drinking my favourite refreshment? No, I very much doubt it. Obviously, I’m lagging behind and need to update my wine vocabulary (but won’t I just sound like an animal behaviourist?)! I can just imagine this taking off in my world…

“Oh, this Camembert is infused with smidgeons of rabbit droppings.”
“My how those wet dog aromas have crept into this fondue.”

Perhaps Dr Jo and the wine industry should do some cross promotion. A complimentary copy of Dr Jo’s ‘Cat Toileting Problems Solved‘ booklet with every bottle of Sauv Blanc! In return, I’ll recommend my clients with inappropriate elimination issues indulge their palates with a bottle of Kiwi wine with the subtle flavour of cat’s pee!