Reckon that a tie-in wine series for The Handmaid’s Tale seems like a really, really weird idea? Well apparently so do the people who thought it up, having withdrawn the line almost in the same breath with which they announced it.
As People initially reported, MGM had paired with wine retailer Lot18 to make three wines inspired by the show: a pinot based on Offred, a cab sav based on Ofglen, and a Bordeaux blanc based on Serena Joy.
If you want an idea of just how much these things miss the mark in capturing the tone of the show, here’s the description of Offred’s 2017 Pays d’Oc Pinot Noir:
Completely stripped of her rights and freedom, Offred must rely on the one weapon she has left to stay in control — her feminine wiles. This French Pinot Noir is similarly seductive, its dark berry fruit and cassis aromatics so beguiling it seems almost forbidden to taste. But it’s useless to resist the wine’s smooth and appealingly earthy profile, so you may as well give in. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum, indeed.
In an update issued around 9 hours after the original article went up, People added this rather curt addendum:
After further consideration, Lot18 and MGM have decided to cancel the line of wines inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale.
At time of writing, the products are still up on the website but marked ‘sale closed’. A spokesperson from Lot18 confirmed to Variety that the line had been pulled.
This is obviously going to come as a huge blow to you if you had been looking to pair grilled chicken, mushroom risotto, or pork chops with a TV show that serves as a gutting critique of patriarchy by showing its logical extension.
Marketing people: they are sure not like you or me, my friends.
