Pick Your Potion - Aphrodisiac Wine

Do you think wine is an aphrodisiac? To be honest, it is not something that has ever crossed my mind before. However a California Winery has come up with the ultimate in seduction. A Love Potion! Madera Vineyards has created dessert wine called "Deviation." (A daft name if ever I heard one, if anything it sounds slightly kinky rather than romantic).

The secret ingredient is the Damiana herb (Turnera diffusa), a small shrub with smooth, pale green, oval leaves and aromatic yellow flowers. The plant is found in hot, humid climates such as Mexico and South America as well as Texas and California.

The dried leaves of the shrub were used by the Aztecs as a remedy against impotence, the Maya's used it for pleasure and it was drunk as a healing tea by Indians throughout South-America. Having looked up this wonder drug I found out that it is not only a sexual stimulant but has a psychoactive effect comparable with the 'high' of cannabis! Sounds quite a lethal concoction to me.

The Damiana and Scented Geranium are infused into Madera Vineyards Essensia Orange Muscat dessert wine. Scented Geranium is said to be used in witchcraft where practitioners supposedly employed its hauntingly seductive aroma in "love potions". The winery is quoted as saying that “This combination takes dessert wines to an entirely new dimension.” (I’m not surprised if it gets you stoned as well as sloshed.)

In fact there is a Damiana Liqueur already on the market and the Damiana Margarita is supposed to be very popular in the Los Cabos area of Mexico. (I wonder why?) Deviation certainly seems to be popular as the vineyard has already sold all of the 400 cases it made for its test run - with each bottle going for $25. What I want to know is DID IT WORK?

Us Brits seem to be a little more down to earth when it comes to aphrodisiacs. I wonder if it has anything to do with our damp and dismal climate? All the aphrodisiacs that are on the open market seem to come from exotic places abroad. (Not that I have made it my personal quest to find this out – I had to look them up for this blog – honest!)

For example Horny Goat Weed comes from China (the names get worse don’t they?) Even Cocoa comes from South America. Yes, apparently Chocolate is an aphrodisiac (is that why the ladies love it so much?) We thought that the tomato was one when it was introduced from the Americas and called it the “Love Apple”. The humble potato was also supposed to be an aphrodisiac (well, if it is then we must all be sex maniacs given that it makes up our staple diet!).

And as for oysters – well they are an acquired taste. The thought of something cold, snot like and slimy slipping down my throat does nothing for my libido. I don’t think I will be buying a bottle of Deviation though – there are enough deviants out there already!

Images Courtesy of www.yotophoto.com, www.flickr.com & www.sxc.hu.com