London Releases A Trio Of Commemorative 2012 Olympic Wines

With the opening ceremonies coming up in a week, all eyes are turned to London for the Olympic Games. While the weather in England may not be the promised beautiful British summer, London 2012 has decided to combat dampened spirits by introducing its own wine. The wine will be available inside the Olympic stadium, so you don't have to worry about not being able to take your basic bottle past security (only liquids in bottles less than 100 millileters are allowed). This is the first time that the Olympic Games has released its own wine to honor the games.

Spectators will be able to purchase either a rosé, white, or red wine, all of which are fair-trade and sold in plastic bottles (to prevent any mishaps should tensions rise). Each wine is a 2012 vintage, made from Southern Hemisphere grapes that were picked in early February. Both the rosé and white wine come from South Africa, while the red comes from Brazil, an homage to the 2016 host city: Rio de Janeiro. While the early harvest time resulted in a slightly lower-than-average alcohol content (11.5 percent ABV compared to the usual 13 percent), the taste and novelty of these wines should more than make up for the drinks' potency.

The rosé and white wine have been described as easy to drink; said Iain Muggoch who works at Bibendum (the British wine company in charge of creating the London 2012 drinks), they are "a wine that could combat any British weather." The red wine is supposed to be the stand-out of the group, with deep, earthy notes that manages to retain a sense of freshness.

Will introducing Olympic wines become a trend? Maybe, but these commeorative wines certainly come as good new to those ticket-holders nervous about their food and beverage choices inside the stadium. It certainly beats having a plain-old Heineken at the games.