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Food

Slovenian Vineyards Make a ‘First Lady Wine' for Melania

Because Trump vodka wasn’t enough for the world.

For a teetotal President, Donald Trump can't seem to distance himself from booze. He's responsible for appointing wine bloggers as national security advisors and killing the tequila trade, not to mention some godawful vodka and hotel bars.

And now, it seems Melania is hitting the bottle—literally.

Vineyards in the First Lady's hometown of Sevnica, Slovenia have produced a new red wine using regional Blaufränkisch grapes. They're calling it "First Lady" in Melania's honour.

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Produced by four winemakers, the FLOTUS-inspired wine is being sold at local tourist attraction Sevnica Castle for twice as much as other Slovenian bottles, retailing at 27.90 Euros.

Photo courtesy of First Lady.

Despite the hefty price tag, the first 300 bottles of First Lady sold out in three days, with another 12,000 bottles of the 2015 vintage ready to go on sale at the castle gift shop. Visitors to the castle can also pick up First Lady-branded salami (made from a local rare breed pig), chocolate, and face cream.

No Melania fridge magnets, then?

The First Lady-inspired food and drink products might not be on sale for long, though. According to wine magazine Decanter, there are reports that Melania has hired a Slovenian law firm to stop local producers from using her name to promote their goods. But Rok Petančič, a steward at Sevnica Castle, told the magazine that producers were unfazed.

He said: "We have good wine, we have the best salamis and we have other products that are very good for the area; we shouldn't be afraid or feel ashamed of offering them to a wider audience. I think this is one of the best ways we can promote our winemakers, our tourism, and Blaufränkisch as a variety, which is very important for us as we want to become a centre for Blaufränkisch."

And besides, with Trump in the White House, we could all do with a large glass of something strong.