California-based Yappy Hour Vineyard's nonalcoholic meat gravy for pets, sold in wine bottles and keeping to a wine theme with names like "Bark-deaux" and "Char-dog-nay," highlight the latest trend in pet pampering.
Adult-themed beverages for animals have been a growing trend in the pet product industry, according to reports. Bowser Beer, for example, launched in 2008; a microbrewery in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, sells "beer" for dogs; and a Japanese sake company sells a variety of nonalcoholic spirits for pets.
The co-owners of Yappy Hour Vineyards got the idea for the product while working on gift baskets for dogs, noticing that there were a lot of dog-themed wine products (glasses, cocktail napkins), but no actual "wine." They began testing various options and came up with a (alcohol-free) chicken broth-based drink that they say tastes like a chicken gravy that you'd put over mashed potatoes or rice.
The drink is made in a Food and Drug Administration-approved facility in Florida and retails for US$19.99.
