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Reuters

Entertainment

Regis Duvignau

Winter may be coming, but Dornish wine won't be for much longer

FILE PHOTO: Thibault Bardet, a French winemaker and Game of Thrones fan, poses with a bottle of "The Imp's Delight" wine at the Vignobles Bardet winery in Vignonet near Saint-Emilion, France, May 6, 2019. Bardet decided to make a wine as close as possible to what he imagined the Dorne kingdom, to create "The Imp's Delight" and "Dornish Wine", deep-red, full-bodied wines in honour of Tyrion Lannister, an eager drinker and one of most popular characters of television series Game of Thrones. Picture taken May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

VIGNONET, France (Reuters) - Winemaker Thibault Bardet is such a fan of "Game of Thrones" that he decided to make a wine as close as possible to Dornish, the wine favored by the dwindling number of Lannisters, Starks, Baratheons and Targaryens the HBO series hasn't killed off yet.

Dornish wine, of course, is an imaginary product of fictional Dorne in the mythical continent of Westeros. In other words, Berdet didn't have much to go on. But at least nobody was around to dispute what Dornish tasted like.

FILE PHOTO: Bottles of "Dornish Wine" and "The Imp's Delight" manufactured by Thibault Bardet, a French winemaker and Game of Thrones fan, are displayed at the Vignobles Bardet winery in Vignonet near Saint-Emilion, France, May 6, 2019. Bardet decided to make a wine as close as possible to what he imagined the Dorne kingdom, to create "The Imp's Delight" and "Dornish Wine", deep-red, full-bodied wines in honour of Tyrion Lannister, an eager drinker and one of most popular characters of television series Game of Thrones. Picture taken May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

He began making his version in 2016, using Merlot grapes from his vineyards in Bordeaux. Through trial and error, he came up with "The Imp's Delight" and "Dornish Wine" -- both deep-red, full-bodied wines, the former honoring Tyrion Lannister, a dedicated drinker.

No one may have been around to dispute whether it tasted like real Dornish, but somebody was around to dispute his right to make it. After he had produced some 30,000 bottles, Bardet got a gently worded letter from HBO asking him to stop.

"It's true that I kind of use the code of their universe," Bardet said. He'd spent hours trawling the novels by George R. R. Martin that inspired "Game of Thrones", studying made-up maps of the fantasy land where the epic takes place, trying to imagine what sort of wine it would produce.

FILE PHOTO: Exterior view of the Vignobles Bardet winery in Vignonet near Saint-Emilion, France, May 6, 2019. Thibault Bardet, a French winemaker and Game of Thrones Bardet decided to make a wine as close as possible to what he imagined the Dorne kingdom, to create "The Imp's Delight" and "Dornish Wine", deep-red, full-bodied wines in honour of Tyrion Lannister, an eager drinker and one of most popular characters of the television series. Picture taken May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

"My goal was to make a wine that was really from Dorne," Bardet told Reuters at his vineyard in Vignonet, a village south of Saint-Emilion, in the heart of the famed wine-growing region.

"I knew it was important that it should have lots of spice flavors," said Bardet, who hails from a family of winemakers. "It's an intense color, like dark blood ... It's fruity, strong and full-bodied, yet very drinkable."

Bardet said he'll be happy to comply with HBO's letter. HBO had rather generously said it didn't mind if he sold his existing stock, so long as he didn't keep making the wine.

FILE PHOTO: Bottles of "Dornish Wine" manufactured by Thibault Bardet, a French winemaker and Game of Thrones fan, are displayed at the Vignobles Bardet winery in Vignonet near Saint-Emilion, France, May 6, 2019. Bardet decided to make a wine as close as possible to what he imagined the Dorne kingdom, to create "The Imp's Delight" and "Dornish Wine", deep-red, full-bodied wines in honour of Tyrion Lannister, an eager drinker and one of most popular characters of television series Game of Thrones. Picture taken May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

Representatives of HBO were not immediately reachable for comment.

"Game of Thrones" conclude its blockbuster run on May 19, 2019, after eight seasons. It's attracted a passionate following around the world, leading to lucrative merchandising and product tie-ins for the creators. Among them is HBO's own licensed "Game of Thrones" wines, produced by American winemaker Bob Cabral.

Bardet, whose "Imp's Delight" has earned 3.7 out of 5 stars on some wine websites, said his dream was to have his creation tasted by George Martin and ask him, "So what do you think? Did you imagine the same?"