Cabanero Wine

Now That’s a Spicy Wine!

Cabanero Wine 2

As we all know, my local HEB grocery store is a treasure trove of inexpensive novelty alcohol products and this weekend I stumbled upon the latest discovery. At first it appears to be just another bottle of mid-range cabernet sauvignon, but take a closer look. This isn’t cabernet, but cabanero. Yes, as this delightful wordplay suggests, this is wine infused with habanero.

Cabanero Wine Label

While I enjoy a nice, full-bodied red with my spicy BBQ or other red meat, I don’t know what I think about spicy wine itself. Obviously I love Fireball, which is semi-spicy, but that’s more cinnamon-y than actual heat. I’ve had pepper-infused vodka before and hated it. What to do!

Rob and I were strongly tempted to buy a bottle, but I sadly resigned myself to the fact that a habanero-infused spicy wine would give me instant heartburn. I saved the $8 and walked away. Sigh. If any of you spice-lovers out there pick up a bottle, make sure to drop a comment and let me know how it is! Olé!

Endless Poptails: Blueberry Cabernet Cheesecake

Blueberries, wine, cheesecake…in a popsicle. Yes, it’s possible to have all that in a poptail. I went against my usual hard liquor & fruit for dessert profile and instead took a blueberry cheesecake recipe, then shot it up with some cabernet sauvignon and froze it.

The cabernet gives the blueberry its full bodied shot of booze, while the eggless, heavy cream and cream cheese mixture gives the popsicle its cheesecake cred, and the little bit of graham cracker crumb inserted for a crust-like authenticity brings it all home.

This holiday weekend, forget trying to find a way to juggle your wine in one hand your dessert in the other — just mix them into one and lick your way through.

Blueberry Cabernet Cheesecake Popsicle

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