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Merlot was Snoop Dogg’s gateway wine
American rapper Snoop Dog, who launched a California red blend in April, first got into wine through Merlot, which proved a gateway wine to other styles.
Speaking to CNN, the West Coast rapper, who teamed up with Australian brand 19 Crimes earlier this year to launch Snoop Cali Red, said fellow rapper Warren G first introduced him to wine.
“My homeboy Warren G popped some shit on us called Merlot. It just sounded expensive, so we started drinking that and we fell in love with it because it made us feel some kind of way about ourselves. Wine started to enhance my thinking and my thought process,” Snoop told CNN.
“Even the glass that you’re drinking it out of, the way that you hold the glass, your posture, your conversation – all of that comes with the feeling of drinking wine. As I got older, I wanted to age like fine wine. You are what you drink,” he added.
Snoop Cali Red is a $12 blend of 65% Petite Syrah, 30% Zinfandel, and 5% Merlot from Lodi. The label features a monochrome photo of the rapper in a hooded jacket.
Snoop, who was involved in the blending process, describes the wine as “strong and bold with a smoky taste”.
As a food pairing, he suggests a filet mignon steak and fettuccine, or an Italian sausage spaghetti dish from his ‘From Crook to Cook’ cookbook.
The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., was drawn to the collaboration with 19 Crimes as the brand “represents and celebrates second chances”.
“We all have a past, which is part of the journey and builds character. I wouldn’t be who I am without my past, and I appreciate celebrating folks who have reinvented themselves along the way,” Snoop told CNN.
Inspired by “the convicts turned colonists that built Australia”, 19 Crimes pays homage to the thousands of British men and women who were exiled to Australia in the 18th century for committing one or more of the 19 crimes.
While some of the crimes, like assault and arson, were serious, others were less so. You could be packed off to Australia for uprooting plants or impersonating an Egyptian.