From House Stark to yours, just in time for TV premiere
Game of Thrones wines go on sale at the LCBO, and will be popular, judging by June presales
You may have noticed the characters on Game of Thrones drink an awful lot of wine. They’re always telling each other to “Drink!” as they chug back big goblets of the stuff. It’s enough to make you thirsty for a glass of your own.
Well, it seems HBO may have clued in to the effect of the fantasy series on its viewers, partnering with California-based Vintage Wine Estates to create a range of official Game of Thrones wines. These bottles will be available at the LCBO in time to toast the July 16 premiere of the series’ seventh season.
The range consists of three premium bottles — a chardonnay from the Central Coast ($29.95), a red blend from Paso Robles ($29.95) and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley ($74.95).
The chardonnay and red blend will be in 75 LCBO stores and online July 12 and the Napa Valley cabernet will be available next week — exclusively online at LCBO.com.
And my bet is they’ll be popular judging by the speed they sold out during a June pre-release.
“The LCBO online Game of Thrones wines presale was the most successful LCBO online wine launch to date,” says Marie Cundari, acting director of wines at the LCBO. Cundari was the buyer responsible for bringing these wines into the province.
“The10-day presale began with a special offer which included one bottle each of the red blend and the chardonnay with a bonus Game of Thrones hat.”
“The 100 units available sold out by 10 a.m. the day of the launch with the 240 bottles of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon also selling out before the end of the day.”
This round is unlikely to sell out quite as quickly given 3,469 bottles of the chardonnay, 10,551 bottles of the red blend and 1,344 bottles of the Cabernet Sauvignon are poised for release in coming days, so you should be able to grab some for the duration of Season 7.
What’s likely spurring sales is the fact the winemaker for all three labels is Bob Cabral — a bit of a big deal in the wine world. Cabral has crafted more than 100 95-to-100-point wines in his career, including California’s first 100-point pinot noir. Turns out though, Cabral was not just selected for his track record but also because he’s a diehard fan of the HBO series itself.
But just because a wine is popular and made by a guy with serious street cred doesn’t guarantee bottled joy. So I tasted the wines to see for myself.
Unfortunately, no cabernet was available in the province when I wrote this story, but here are my notes on the chardonnay and the red blend. Taste for yourself: Taste the chardonnay and red blend for yourself, Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Queens Quay LCBO (2 Coopers St.). While you’re there take a totally Instagramable photo of yourself sitting on the Iron Throne, which will be on site. Price: Free.