We're nearing the end of summer now, which means that odds are your bloodstream is approximately 50 percent rosé. And while I mean no disrespect toward our beloved Instagram bait of a beverage, shouldn't we endeavor to expand our alcoholic horizons? If you're feeling especially brave, put down your rosé bottle and kick it up a few notches with a jalapeno-infused wine.
This wine comes by way of Galena Cellars Vineyard & Winery, a family-owned business that has three locations in Geneva and Galena, Illinois, including two shops and a vineyard. According to the product description on the website, the jalapeno wine is "an exciting blend of Illinois white wine infused with serrano and jalapeno peppers." As you can see from the product image, they're not messing around: there are literal peppers in the wine. Honestly, my eyes are tearing up just from looking at it, from some combination of both joy and the knowledge that one sip of this would probably send me spiraling into jalapeno bliss.
While there isn't much more information on the website about the wine, a Travelocity review titled "Jalapeno Wine? Of course it exists! Nice bite!" sings its praises. The review also came with a pro-tip to make it even more delicious: "We were very excited to find that they added a ton of new wines since our last visit. Let's get down to business. Between my wife and I we sampled 20 wines. They have a Merlot that is new this year (they did one about 10 years ago). You HAVE to try the Jalapeno Wine, take a taste, but then ask to try it in a bloody mary. It is AWESOME."
The review isn't exaggerating about the number of wines, either: aside from the jalapeno wine, Galena Cellars boasts dozens of others. They've repped pretty much every fruit wine you can think of, from cranberry wine to rhubarb wine to spiced apple. There's even a chocolate port that they recommend you pour over ice cream. This place essentially sounds like the wine version of Candy Land, if you're willing to take the road trip out.
Fortunately, the wine is available to ship — but less fortunately, it's only to a limited number of states. It seems as though the winery only ships to Washington, D.C., Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Colorado, California, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, and Illinois. If you live in those states, congrats! You can enjoy the glory of jalapeno wine. If you don't live in one of those states, go make friends with someone who does, fast, and hope that they'll do you a solid and save you some of the goods when you visit.
In the meantime, you have plenty of other wine hybrids at your disposal — this year has not only yielded a ton of rosé ciders, combining hard cider and rosé, but also a cold brew-infused red wine from Apothic. If anything, this just goes to show that when it comes to wine, if you can dream it, you can drink it.
