Wine for cats is not actually a thing, right? Domestic cats are beloved household pets around the world. For many of us, our cat is like a member of the family. For others, they may be a best friend or close confidante. Jokes about crazy cat ladies aside, people love theirs cats and like to treat them accordingly.
Cat food, toys and other accessories are big business. There are entire aisles in supermarkets, hypermarkets and department stores – not to mention pet stores – dedicated to everything that our feline friends might need. Cats need a balanced diet, heavy in taurine, and there are many companies meeting this need, from huge corporations to smaller, artisan operations. Dry food, wet food, vegan food – it’s all there. Cats need to keep fit too, right? You can get toys and sports equipment for that. Cat beds, cat cages, catnip, you name it and you can buy it.
Well, what about cats with a taste for the finer things in life? Say, wine, for example?
Is there really wine for cats?
You may scoff at the idea, but wine for cats is a real thing – and here’s what you need to know.
Nyan Nyan Nouveau
Japanese company B&H Lifes specialises in pet supplements, and in 2013 it launched a wine for cats called Nyan Nyan Nouveau. This cat wine is non-alcoholic, but comes from the juice of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It also contains Vitamin C and a healthy dose of catnip to make for a tasty, hedonistic wine for cats. They say that it tastes like red wine, though we think we will take their word on that one!
While Nyan Nyan Nouveau might keep your cat happy, we suggest something slightly different for you. As your cat enjoys his Cabernet juice blended with catnip, perhaps consider something like Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada 2014, a blend of Cabernet with Syrah from Chile.
Apollo Peak
Apollo Peak, a company of cat lovers based in Colorado in the USA, has produced a whole range of non-alcoholic snack wine for cats, including:
- The Pinot Meow, a light-coloured red wine for cats from organic catnip and organic beets
- The Moscato, a white wine from the same ingredients
- The Catbernet, a darker-coloured red wine
The company’s wine for cats is so popular that it regularly sells out of individual varieties. It also makes some special edition glass bottle versions, and even wine for dogs! While barrel aging would not exactly be appropriate in wine for cats, Apollo Peak’s wine is preserved using sea salt, which actually enables the wine to have a slightly longer shelf life – they think you could keep the wine unopened for up to six months. It’s not quite a first growth Bordeaux, but that’s not bad.
We do think that for a human wine lover, we can do better than six months’ aging and sea salt preservation. Leave Apollo Peak to your four-legged friend and opt instead for a Reserva Rioja like Marqués de Cáceres Reserva 2010, with an impressive 20 months’ aging in French oak barrels and a further 18 months in bottle.
Visit the official Apollo Peak website for more information.
To understand a little more about wine for people, read this.
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