Clearing up a legal gray area, state lawmakers have passed a bill regulating the sale of frozen dessert products made with wine, permitting the sale of ice cream and sorbet to anyone over the age of 21. The bill limits the alcohol content to 5 percent by volume and requires warning labels – even though it would take two gallons of wine ice cream or one pint of wine sorbet to equal one glass of actual wine, according to upstate purveyor Jeff Kostic.
But what about beer ice cream? The new bill only regulates wine desserts, but Kostic – who co-owns Cayuga Lake Creamery in Interlaken – has been making a nut brown ale ice cream with an Ithaca brew. And wine sorbet has been readily available from the Greenpoint-based Wine Cellar for years now; the Times recommends dropping a scoop of Pinot Noir into a glass of sparking rosé for “perfect harmony.” Winos and sweet tooths will be able to savor the taste utopia without fear of legal repercussions once Governor Paterson to signs the bill into law.
