Winemaker from Cupcake explains Cupcake wine at Craft Dallas lunch on Wednesday

by Teresa Gubbins

Cupcake lunch at Craft 9-30-09

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Kevin Gray, Debbie Meyer-Gore, and Adam Richardson

Winemaker Adam Richardson hosted a lunch on Wednesday at Craft in downtown Dallas where he poured eight wines from the Cupcake label for a group that included Savor Dallas co-founder Jim White, Dallas Drinks' Kevin Gray, and Good Friends Great Tastes author Debbie Meyer-Gore.

Meanwhile, a few tables over, in a coincidence that made Craft feel like Celebrity Central, cast member Keith Lissner from Bravo TV's The Fashion Show showed off some dresses in a fashion show that occurred right there in the aisles of the restaurant.

Cupcake's goals are modest: From the not-too-heavy flavor profile to the $10 to $15 pricetag to the name, it's an unapologetic attempt to capitalize on the popularity and whimsical nature of the cupcake trend, and of the warm indulgent feelings that cupcakes evoke. In fact, if you do the obligatory Internet search for Cupcake wine, you'll find it mentioned on no small number of cupcake and baking blogs, where people usually "can't resist" picking up a bottle because of the name.

From the company's press release:

"With the gourmet cupcake trend accelerating and Cupcake boutiques opening up across the country, there is an opportunity for a wine that is crafted to invoke the feeling that you get when reward yourself," remarks Marketing Director Nicolas Tucker. "The 'more is more' consumer can’t get enough of Cupcake’s complex flavor – especially for the modest price point."

Cupcake doesn't grow grapes; it buys juice from around the world, so it has bottles of all the most popular varieties: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and chardonnay from California, sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, riesling from Washington state, and so on. Suggested retail for all of them is $13.99, and you can often find them for $9.99. For $10 wine, they seemed pretty good.

At Craft, you share dishes, so an anchovy-dosed Caesar salad made its way around the table, as did fabulous doughy-yet-light polenta fritters; richly flavored short rib; browned Brussels sprouts with bacon; barely-cooked spinach with garlic; mashed potatoes so buttery they were yellow; and more.

No cupcakes, however. No dessert at all.

Keith Lissner (right)

As the eating part of the lunch wrapped up, the sounds of the Keith Lissner party breaking up nearby could be heard. Good thing they were behind me, as the specter of models patrolling in party dresses might have proved distracting, and I applaud the iron focus of my table-mates.