by John LaFollette
‘Ville Voice Eats Correspondent

I’ve heard of monkey wine, lion wine, sheep wine, and swine wine, but… horse wine?

Kendall-Jackson, the California winery owned by Jess Jackson, is producing a limited amount of wines commemorating the achievements of another Jackson asset—Kentucky Oaks and Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra.

Kendall-Jackson will bottle fewer than 300 cases of the limited-edition wine for release around the holidays.

The limited edition wine is the latest effort by Jackson to mix the worlds of wine and horse racing.  Right after her win at the Oaks, Jackson added Rachel Alexandra to the stable of thoroughbreds he co-owns, which also includes Curlin, the 2007 Preakness winner.  And in July, Kendall-Jackson announced it was selling five special pieces of Rachel Alexandra memorabilia in an online auction to benefit the V Foundation.

The winery is saying that Rachel Alexandra’s victory at the Preakness made the filly “a symbol—especially to young girls—of the ability of talent to compete across genders,” which should strike most people—especially Kentuckians—as a bit of stretch, given that Regret (1915), Genuine Risk (1980), and Winning Colors (1980) were all fillies that won the Derby.  Did those horses get commemorative anything?  How can a horse be a role model for a person?

To put your name on a mailing list about the Rachel Alexandra wine, from which the winery will presumably make selections about who will get first dibs this holiday season, visit the Kendall-Jackson website.  You’ll find info about the auction items there, too.