Wine Dubai style: no alcohol but infused with 24-carat gold
Dubai built the world's tallest building, put a ski slope inside a shopping mall and gave its cops a Lamborghini for a police car. Where else would you sell a US$150 bottle of "halal" non-alcoholic sparkling white wine with flecks of 24-carat edible gold leaf gleaming at the bottom?
It makes sense in Dubai, a Gulf Arab emirate that attracts tourists with the promise of an opulent lifestyle. Or so Tony Colley, head manager of Lootah Premium Foods, which distributes the wine, said.
"It has gold in it for no good reason apart from it's fun, it's fantastic, it's frivolous, it's totally Dubai," Colley said recently at the Bystro restaurant.
Bystro owner Josh Benson said the gold leaf bottles were offered a few weeks ago. The restaurant had begun offering non-alcoholic wines a few months ago, and they were popular.
"For people that cannot drink ... it's a nicer thing to have with a steak than a Pepsi," Benson said.
