Take Wine On the Go in a Wine Bra
Creators of the Beerbelly Strike Again with The Wine Rack
Take one sports bra, add a plastic bladder along with a drinking tube, and your favorite tipple can go anywhere. That's the idea behind this unusual new product.
Three partners, Brooks Lambert, Ted Coburn and Keith Thesing are the owners of Under Development, Inc. whose first product, the Beerbelly, was a similar idea to the WineRack. The Beerbelly is a polyurethane bladder concealed inside a neoprene sling, with a drinking tube, Velcro waistband and shoulder straps. When worn under a gentleman’s shirt it appears to be just another flabby belly but actually hides up to eighty ounces of a favorite beverage. That is more than a full six-pack of beer.
Size Matters
Already built like Pamela Anderson? You’re out of luck. The WineRack’s design is “optimized for smaller cup sizes” according to the Beerbelly web site. Buxom ladies should perhaps consider wearing a Beerbelly instead, although looking as if you are about to deliver a baby might not be as titillating as appearing surgically enhanced.
Super Sized
Hiding alcohol is hardly new. In November 2007, retail giant Nordstrom agreed to stop selling flip-flops that contained three-ounce flasks in each heel. According to Pete Shulberg, communications director for the Oregon Partnership, a non-profit focused on drug/alcohol awareness and prevention, Nordstrom deemed the flip-flops a “ridiculous product” and promptly pulled them from store shelves when the organization complained about their appeal to underage drinkers. At least the flip-flops only held a total of six ounces, not twenty-five ounces like the WineRack.
Side Effects
Perhaps these products might make for an amusing gag gift, but not for a true wine connoisseur. Once that cult Cabernet has been poured into a plastic bag and hauled to the big game, surely it would no longer be at the optimal serving temperature to say nothing of having to slurp it through a plastic tube. Other problems have been reported, the most embarrassing of which is leakage. Failing to adequately rinse and clean the bladder that holds the liquid can result in a pinot tasting like polyurethane, or worse.
Boys Will Be Boys
When interviewed on CNN, founding partner Brooks Lambert stated the Beerbelly started as a “gag between a couple of buddies” and the company web site clearly indicates “UDI does not encourage or condone excessive drinking, breaking the law or public nudity.” Is that why they also sell an anti-hangover remedy? But apparently these are highly successful products. Lambert says they have applied for patent and trademark rights and are currently sold out on the most popular size of the WineRack. Not to worry. They are making more as fast as they can.
