San Franciscans dumping 'Palin Syrah' wine over resemblance to Sarah Palin!

Washington, September 25 : The sales of Palin Syrah, a 100 percent organic wine from Chile, have dramatically plummeted in a San Francisco wine bar ever since Republican presidential hopeful John McCain named Sarah Palin to be his running mate.

Celine Guillou, a co-owner of the Yield Wine Bar, says that the wine used to be a strong seller once, but it is an outcast these days because its name resembles that of the Alaska Governor very closely.

Palin Syrah takes its name from a ball used in a Chilean-style hockey game, and it has been on the bar's wine list for a while.

"Before McCain made his announcement it was selling very well, because it's an affordable wine and it's from South America. Then he made his announcement and we hear people making comments constantly about the wine," Fox News quoted Guillou as saying.

The bar's list of wines describes Palin Syrah as: tastes of "white pepper" and "madrone" - an evergreen found in the Pacific Northwest.

However, according to Guillou, customers these days have made a sport of ad-libbing their own descriptions.

"People started making suggestions like gunpowder, moose meat, hockey mom - the list goes on and on. It's funny, but it's all we've heard for the last couple weeks," Guillou said.

With San Franciscans unofficially blacklisting Palin Syrah, its place on the bar's list is appears to be in danger.

However, Guillou feels that it's too early to sound the death knell for Palin Syrah.

"We might have a group of Republicans who come in to try and bring the sales up. Who knows? Eventually the sales could be tied to how she does in the polls. You have to appreciate San Francisco for what it is, I guess," she said.

"I think people try to see the humour in it, but we're in San Francisco, so most of the people we have in I'm going to suspect are fairly liberal. People like to joke about it, but for some people it evokes quite a visceral reaction," she added.

However, it is not that everyone in the U.S. wants to put a cork in Palin Syrah, for the wine has been flying off the shelves at Cepage Noir Wine Company in Houston, and its sales have been strong even in solidly Democratic New York City.

Scott Pactor, the owner of Appellation Wine and Spirits in New York, has revealed that Palin Syrah has caused as many heated debates among wine shoppers ever since Sarah Palin hit the national political scene.

"We've had couples come in and one in the couple will say, 'We're definitely not buying this,' and the other half of the couple is curious and they want to try the wine, so it becomes a bit of a debate. It's been very funny. Its funny to see how much conversation can be generated over a single name," Pactor said.

Pactor also revealed that he was looking to give Democrat supporters an option so as to balance the situation.

"We're also in the process of looking for an Obama wine or a Biden wine, just to be balanced, obviously, just to be balanced. We want to make sure customers have options, but so far we haven't been successful," he said.

ANI