Château de Pup

Filed in archive Wine Related Contests on August 14, 2007

Although I don't own a dog (honestly, I'm a cat person), I have a few friends and relatives who are absolutely wild about their four-footed companions. A couple of these people are foodies as well, so when I read about this contest, I knew I had to mention it. The OC Register is running a contest in which the winner will receive a bottle of wine with a custom label featuring his or her dog. What would inspire this? It all has to do with this story about a doggie wine club:

Celebrity wines have crossed a new threshold. They're no longer just about rock stars, movie stars and pro athletes. They've gone, quite literally, to the dogs.

"We wanted to create a personal wine experience," says Matt Hahn, 47, co-founder of the Buellton-based Dog Lovers Wine Club, which features a different member's dog on the label each month. "It's not just about the wine - it's about the labels and the stories."

Members submit photos and stories of their dogs at www.dogloverswineclub.com. Each month, Hahn creates a new label while co-founder Fleet Hamilton creates a premium wine from guest winemakers, like Santa Rosa's Deloach Vineyards (named "Winery of the Year" nine times by Wine & Spirits Magazine).

If you're interested in entering the OC Register's contest, here's how to do it:

Just submit a photograph online with a short (250 words or less) explanation why your pooch deserves to adorn a wine label. Readers will pick their favorite by voting online. (It's all right to vote for your own dog.)

We'll announce the winner Sept. 4 and hand out a gift certificate to receive one bottle of wine from the Dog Lovers Wine Club with your own private label - like those shown here. To win, you must be 21.

E-mail photos, along with your name and hometown, to ocpets.1@tamw.com. Or to upload and/or view submissions, go to http://pets.ocregister.com/and select "my dogs face on a wine label" from the drop-down label. To vote, click on the picture and rate it 1-10 with 10 being the highest.