The products were pulled within a day amid social media backlash.
Say goodbye to the blessed fruit.
Shortly after announcing the launch of three wines inspired by Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” MGM and Lot18 nixed the endeavor altogether, People has confirmed. The products, subject to backlash on social media because of the nature of the show, have since been scrubbed from Lot18’s website. The series, based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel, takes place in a theocratic society battling widespread infertility by forcing handmaids to bear children.
Social media backlash was swift, with fans of the series calling out the tie-in. “I’m starting to think that aliens released a chemical into our water supply that is slowly making the entire world stupid,” one user wrote, while another quipped, “Blessed be the fruit of entirely misguided capitalistic endeavors.”
Based on three of the show’s lead characters — Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel’s handmaids, Offred and Ofglen, and Yvonne Strahovski’s Serena Joy — the now-pulled wine trio offered up detailed descriptions of the beverages.
Promised to be “a powerful experience you will never forget,” the 2017 Pays d’Oc Pinot Noir for Offred is described as “rich and complex,” while the 2017 Rogue Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for Ofglen is “a daring testament to the heights that Oregon Cabs can reach, featuring concentrated flavors of cherry, plum and coffee bean that give way to a warm, spicy finish.” On the show, the handmaids wear red.
As for Serena Joy’s “sophisticated, traditional and austere” 2016 Bordeaux Blanc, the description noted, “while the wine may initially come off as restrained, a few sips reveal it to be hiding layers of approachable white grapefruit and lemongrass, backed by weight and concentration.”
“The Handmaid’s Tale” concluded its second season Tuesday night.
