Grey Poupon clones mustard into wine

But how well will Dijon style wine pair with hamburgers and hot dogs?

Like other traditional Dijon-style grain mustards, the well-known Grey Poupon brand has a little white wine in it. So one can imagine how excited the product development folks at the American-based company might have been in the proposal, “Why not bring to market a white wine with a few grains of mustard seed in it?”

Which is what is happening today [Tuesday, October 5] as Grey Poupon, a division of the Kraft Heinz Company, launches its first, and possibly only, table wine – Grey Poupon “La Moutarde Vin” Napa Valley Viognier 2020, made from wine infused with mustard seed and having a 13.7% alcoholic content. It’s on sale only at www.GreyPouponWine.com for $30, but then how many premium wines also come with an 8-ounce jar of Dijon mustard?

But while it’s a novel idea, Kraft Heinz intends for it to be taken as a serious wine. “Grey Poupon has been crafted with the French-style recipe for over two centuries, so entering the wine space was an exciting new endeavor,” says brand manager Danielle Coopersmith. “When we first began development of La Moutarde Vin, we wanted to create a limited-edition white wine to celebrate the white wine used in our one-of-a kind Dijon recipe – in contrast to the majority of Dijon mustards that use vinegar.”

Kraft Heinz partnered with The Wine Foundry, a Napa Valley contract wine facility, as the grape source and for wine production.  They also enlisted sommeliers to taste-test various experimental batches.  The time to market was very quick, as Coopersmith says “the original idea sparked in early 2021.”

The wine is well structured and well-made, and it is doubtful that anyone would taste the influence of the mustard infusion (there are no actual seeds in it) had they not known about it in advance. It does have a light savoury spiciness which goes well with the more-rounded, less floral and very dry Viognier flavours. It seems like the wine would make a fine match with most poultry dishes

Kraft Heinz, however, is recommending La Moutarde be paired with “foods like a classic croque monsieur, Dijon maple-glazed salmon or a beautiful meat and cheese charcuterie board.”  There is no mention how it might match with such American mustard-centric cuisine as hot dogs and hamburgers.

The wine is being sold only in the U.S., and Coopersmith refuses to comment on whether there might be subsequent vintages or a portfolio expansion. Perhaps Kraft Heinz is being a typical marketer in first waiting to see if La Moutarde can actually cut the mustard with wine lovers.

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