Carl Jung White Wine

Continuing on with Carl Jung, we will consider the collective unconscious.  Oh, sorry, wrong topic.

My Experience:  I had it with tomato goat cheese and basil stuffed chicken, right off the grill.

It's appears is very clear, just the tiniest tinge of color to it.  It has a strong fermentation smell, must stronger than it's taste.  It was very light bodied, zero tannins of course, with just a light bubbling.  It's sweet, and moderately acidic, and long legs on the glass.  While more flavorful than some of the Chardonnays I've had, it wasn't very fruity, perhaps a touch nutty.

Did I like it: Yes, though my wife not so much.  She didn't mind the taste, but the smell put her off.
Would I Recommend it: It's an easy foray into dealcoholized drinks.

Who Might Like it: This requires very little commitment, it's not a punch you in the face drink.  It's light an easy to try.
6 out of 10

Carl Jung suggests paring it with: fowl, fish, white meats like pork, salads & light sandwiches, and some chinese and indian dishes.

Carl Jung Riesling

(Photo of White Wine, not Riesling)

Continuing on with Carl Jung, we will consider the collective unconcious.  Oh, sorry, wrong topic.  Though, I wonder what would happen if we discussed Carl Jung while drinking Carl Jung?  Sounds cannibalistic.  On that lovely note...

My Experience:

It's very translucent, and has just the slightest amber tinge to it.  The scent isn't far from the de-alcholized chardonnays I've tried.  I couldn't make out much more than whatever was left from the fermentation, which left a small touch of carbonation.  The first taste to hit me was strongly sour and tangy, only slightly acidic, and crisp.  

I can see how it relates to the Riesling from Draper Valley vineyards, more dry.  It certainly made what we were eating it with seem sweeter.  (Homemade enchiladas)  It worked fairly well.  The bitter tang got milder after a few sips, and it seemed to lighten as I got through the glass.  A vaguely grapefuity taste.  It's light bodied.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes, though I (personally, probably because of my inexperience) struggled to guess what i'd pair it with.

Did I Like it: It was alright.  It didn't jump out at me.  5/10

Would I Recommend it: It was nice to get a contrast from the two major de-alch brands.

Who Might Like it: It is much drier than juices, and I think this one is more about what you'd pair it with.

Carl Jung Rosé Wine

My Experience:

After a hiatus, I'm back! I've got 5 new posts to write soon, plus several more drinks I'm excited to share with everyone!

First up is the beginning of the Carl Jung series, first with their dealcoholized Rosé Wine. My wife got the following bottles for me, and I'll go through my experience with each one!

Rosé

White

Red

Merlot

Riesling

I popped off the screw top, and was immediately met with a scent that easily betrayed the fermentation process this drink had been through. It was just a touch fruity, in both scent and taste. On the nose I thought of boysenberries, but on the tongue I changed my mind to raspberries. With a touch of a tingle on the tongue, it was much like the first (Ariel) White Zinfandel we had.

This one threw me a bit of a loop, though. The fermentation taste is strong, and it's only very slightly fruity. It's not sweet like a juice, but a touch sweet for a wine. It has a tang to it like a very ripe citrus fruit, a bit a of bitter finish, and is Medium bodied. Over all, quite mild. The pork we ate with it was a little sweet of a pairing with it, though it contrasted nicely with the not-very-sweet-for-a-strawberry strawberry. It was good with the olives, and sage infused cheese, and it was also great after a short bite of lemon, so I'd try pairing it with acidic, tangy dishes like lemon chicken, though it could contrast really well with a creamy dish also.

My wife says the color is a rosy mauve. It's not super clear, but definitely leans towards transparent. I can taste the tannins, very lightly. Short legs, and mild on the acid front.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes, though I think I prefer Ariel's White Zinfandel for a similar, but sweeter experience.

Did I Like it: Yes, but I didn't love it. I'm torn between a 6 and 7.

Would I Recommend it: Try something easier to find first, but if you've found a dealcoholized wine you like, give this a try.

Who Might Like it: If you are looking for something very subtle, this might be a good choice.

Fre Brut

My Experience:

I recently tried Ariel Brut Cuvée (Italics makes any food or drink look better) and found a dealcoholized wine I actually liked! It got me wondering, however, if I wasn't just deluding myself. I couldn't help but feel like the same taste might be accomplished with some apple juice, grape juice, and nice sparkling water. So, thus came another great experiment. In addition to the two most common non-alcoholic Bruts I'm going to try a few sparkling waters to compare, and see if I really was duped by the bubbly Ariel or had reason to really like it. See my Sparkling Water Roundup.

I had anxiously waited to try out another brut cuvée (though Sutter Home doesn't call their Fre Brut a "cuvée") ever since the Ariel stunned me. I stopped by my regular source for Ariel and Fre, and also snagged some S. Pellegrino, Perrier Lime, and Big K Lemon Lime from Walmart and Fry's.

On the nose it reminded me of some of the chardonnays I'd had before, though the scent was much stronger and easier to catch, including when compared to Ariel Brut, and it had a light golden color compared to the Ariel's more clear coloring. The effervescence produced a steady stream of small bubbles.

Diving in, the first thing I noticed was the sweetness. I was expecting a very dry drink after Ariel's Brut, but this is almost as sweet as Welch's Sparkling White Grape Juice. I'm surprised it's called a Brut, but apparently there is some leeway in the labeling system. It's also more flavorful than Ariel's Brut, and speaking of Welch's Sparkling White Grape Juice, Fre Brut reminds me of it, though more complex and, as noted, not quite as sweet, with that grapey, fermented taste peaking through. The carbonation gives it a strong, somewhat hot bite on the tongue.

It's a little drier than most juices, is crisp and cut through the mexican food we had well, though I'm not sure it was the best pairing. Drinking this on its own was better than drinking the Ariel Brut alone, and with food Fre's Brut was complementary, whereas Ariel's Brut was contrasting, which I preferred. I would call Fre's more approachable. It was extremely light on tannins, sweet, slightly acidic and of a medium weight.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes, and a very good one for someone who might be new to all this.

Did I Like it: Yes, my wife and I both enjoyed it (she did not like the Ariel at all) so we'll be picking this up again in the future. 7/10

Would I Recommend it: Yes, it's very approachable.

Who Might Like it: Some people might prefer something less "juicy" than this.

[update] I put a topper on the bottle (pictured) and put it in the fridge (as directed on the bottle after opening...) It didn't taste as sweet, and I've thought of two reasons why that could be. 1.) it's less carbonated, sometimes this can make things seem less sweet, and/or 2.) I didn't drink it right after trying several bitter sparkling waters. More of the grape taste comes through.

Ariel Chardonnay (2008)

My Experience:

You can smell the fermentation when compared to juices, with pear being the main scent I noticed. It's extremely similar to the Fre Chardonnay, but slightly stronger, and a touch more acidic. It's still pretty bland, though not as watery as the Fre. The fermented, sour tang this has overrides any other taste that might come through. I'm ok with it when drinking it with food, but just barely ok.

I preferred the chardonnay juice to either of the de-alcholized chardonnays. I'd love to ask a chardonnay fan what they think of this.

I think we're just not chardonnay people. Even the Draper Valley Vineyard Chardonnay was our least favorite of the juices. It's just bland, and slightly off. My wife says it tastes like rancid grape juice. I told her that's basically what it is, but that didn't change her opinion. :)

We tried it with Artichoke & Tomato Chicken (great chicken, not great pairing, though I thought it would be), Orange Cheesecake (which made it taste like water), and a hotdog (actually the best pairing I had, but still just ok.)

Works as a Wine Alternative: It's definitely got a bit of winey taste to it, but I can't come up with anything I'd want to eat this with.

Did I Like it: No. (3/10)

Would I Recommend it: Probably not. Try Draper Valley Vineyards Chardonnay varietal grape juice instead.

Who Might Like it: Chardonnay fans? You tell me.

Ariel Brut Cuvée

My Experience:

Champagne. In short, Champagne is a sparkling white wine (chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier), but the term Champagne is only to be used from wines coming from the Champagne region in France. So other wines that are made in the same method are often marketed by descriptors like Brut, or Cuvée. Brut is referring to how dry, or unsweet, the wine is, as explained here. Cuvée means that it is made from a mix of vintages, rather than single year. Cuvée is relatively common for Champagne, but particularly good vintage are sometimes separated and made into a vintage Champagne, or millesimé.

Smells a lot like other still Chardonnays I've had, it's cold though so it's hard to pick up the scent. Very fizzy, very dry, somewhat bitter, the liquid flutters away quickly due to being well carbonated. It has small sparkling bubbles that rise in a gentle steady stream. This brut is carbonated using the Charmat method.

It's not fruity at all, and has more acid than previous Chardonnays I've tried. The taste or flavor itself is mild, and it isn't complex, it's rather one-note. It finishes a touch more sweetly, but just a touch.

I usually like sweet foods, so it's surprising that I like this so much, I think it pairs well with sweeter foods because of the contrast it provides. Cammy Blackstone, the host of Munchcast has a different opinion about pairing wines with sweet/junkfood, though one of her guests agrees with me on Episode 64 "Junk Food and Wine Pairings"

While I like this, I'd love to try a Sec or Demi-Sec instead of a Brut, and compare.

On it's own it's probably not something I'd drink often, but with the food (we had 4 cheese lasagna macaroni that night) it was fantastic.

My wife says the water tastes sweet compared to the Brut. She gave up on it quickly, and doesn't like its bitterness at all. Not surprising from a juice lover.

I only have one problem. The taste kinda reminds of that one time I tried some plain club soda when I was a kid. I hope all the effort put into this Brut makes it significantly better than plain 'ol sparkling water or tonic water. Look for a club soda / tonic water / Fre Brut comparison in the future.

We later made a Mimosa with this and it was fantastic! My wife actually drank it. I'd buy again just for that. I've always liked 7up and orange juice, but I prefer this. I'm also interested in mixing this with a very sweet drink like Martinelli's.

Works as a wine Alternative: Absolutely.

Did I like it: I liked it a lot, and my wife hated it absolutely. 7 out of 10.

Would I Recommend it: Yes. You have to find out if you like this or not. It's very different from any juice you've tried

Who Might Like it: If you like it dry, this is it.

Sutter Home's Fre Chardonnay

My Experience:

I picked it up at Total Wine, after calling my wife and finding out what we were having for dinner. Tonight we ate fish, so tonight would be a white. I've been waiting to see what chardonnay tastes like, and I just couldn't help myself. I had to go big, so I got Sutter Home's Fre Chardonnay.

And the verdict?

It tastes like watered down apple juice. Very watered down apple juice.

Smells like white grape juice, tastes like very diluted apple juice with a tiny touch of fermentation, with very very slightly citrus air to it. It has a very short finish.

We ate it some flounder, and it tasted better with the flounder than alone, though only very slightly. It cuts through the food better than say... water. Very dry, yet not very acidic or sharp either. In fact I'd call it dull. I tried this the same night as our Juice Roundup (link) I suppose it's a good thing we tried this with other juices, otherwise I might have tricked myself into thinking I just needed to get used to this.

Works as a Wine Alternative: The odd thing is, of the few things I've tried so far, I'd say many of the juices (with the exceptional exception of the horrible Yum Berry Juice) actually workbetter than this wine, as a wine Alternative.

Did I like it: No. Not kinda. Not "depending." Neither my wife nor I liked this. Not one bit. Some of Ariel's wine carry a vintage, but as far as I can tell, Fre Wines don't. I might revisit this one years down the road, but for now it's not on my buy again list. It was pretty bad. Let's say a 2 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: No.

Who Might Like it: Reviews I have seen online from people who normally drank wine who where looking for something with out alcohol, all uniformly had negative reviews. I was hoping this might be very close to a "normal" wine, but I just can't imagine that is so anymore.

(Compare to varietal grape juice Chardonnay, by Draper Valley Vineyards)

Ariel's White Zinfandel

I hid something embarrassing when I told you about the Fre White Zinfandel a few posts back. I got home, ready to try it, tore off the foil... And my mind started to race. Surely, surely we had a corkscrew somewhere. As always in this situation, my first instinct took over. "Honey, do you have any idea if we have a corkscrew around here anywhere?" She had a small swiss army knife in the house somewhere. After some time, I gave up. We had to find another way to get that cork out of there. I went to the garage, got a small screw, and washed it well in the sink. The screw went less the half way down the cork after I'd grabbed a screwdriver and and spun, spun away. I tried pulling the head up with my fingers, and the screw quickly ripped out of the cork. Great, just great, I'm going to have to hack away at it until it crumbles into the bottle I thought. In one last desperate measure, I went back to the garage, and dug to the bottom of the pile of screws, and I found a very large one with wide threads. I don't even know what it was for, just that the end wasn't pointed, so it was going to be hard to get in there. I tried to get it to catch in a new part of the cork I hadn't torn up yet. After a few minutes of working it down, I had to go get some pliers, and slowly but firmly pull it up, and thankfully the cork came with it. I had no way of removing the screw from the cork. That poor screw sacrificed itself for the drink, and into the garbage it went.

Lesson #1: Own a corkscrew.

I have a Lesson #2, but that will be for another day.

So, when I went to Total Wine (which opened up right next to where I work on my birthday) I had two missions. Not only did I have to find my way to the "non-alcoholic" section through tens of thousands of bottles, I had to find a corkscrew.

After I entered, the first thing I realized is that this was much more organized and well labeled than anywhere else I'd been. The place was so big I had no idea where to start. So, again, I had to ask that question. The man who answered sounded like car salesman. "All my non-alcoholic stuff is right over here." My stuff? Surely I wasn't talking to the owner nor the winemaker. "I've got Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Brut." I saw they also had several types and sizes of Martinelli's. "Heh, Martinelli's" I said half to myself. "Yeah," he said "That's really popular during the Holidays." Really? I didn't know. Did you just see that in the training video? (I'm sorry, I'm sorry, they were really nice and helpful, this guy was just too much eager and not enough genuine.)

They had, as far as I could tell, all of the Ariel and Fre stuff, in addition to the Martinelli's. It was all in a small section labeled "Non-Alcoholic." I was secretly hoping to find a Carl Jung or some varietal grape juice, or *gasp* even some EGA. But I can't complain, so far they had the best selection, they even had both major brands, not just one or the other. So I grabbed the Ariel White Zinfandel (to compare to the Fre I'd recently had) and then got pointed to the accessories aisle.

I don't want to say they had tons of accessories, but the variety and absurdity of some of them was impressive. Some were absolutely essential, like corkscrews, and in being so essential (and the task being somewhat difficult - I can imagine certain people who, due to whatever physical circumstance, would have a hard time popping the cork out) there were many types. I think I even saw a battery operated one. But some of the accessories seemed like they were relying on an ignorant but enthusiastic wine fan to think they needed all of these things to "truly" enjoy their drinks. Some were just plain weird.

Anyway, I got me a simple, cheap butterfly corkscrew (something like this), it seems to work well.

Anyway, I get home with the Ariel in hand and find out my wife has prepared the perfect birthday meal. Cheese. Lots of it, too. Brie, a wet Goat's Milk, a dry Sheep's Milk, Blue Cheese and Extra Sharp Cheddar. In addition to that, there was a fondue with Irish Swiss and some of the cheddar, and home made bread to go with it. Throw in some apple slices and pear slices, and we had quite the meal!

We had a few other drinks to try as well - Blueberry Pomegranate and Black Currant Nectar.

My Experience: We had a lot of things to try it with, it was soooo much fun. In general, it was less floral smelling than the Fre White Zinfandel, but still quite fruity. It was a bit darker smelling (that is to say it smelt more of dark fruits or berries) than the apple-ly and rosy Fre. This time we had it somewhat under room temperature, which I liked the taste of better, but makes it a bit harder to smell. It seemed smoother, less tingly, and just a touch less strong than the Fre, perhaps slightly sweeter. Less acidic, so it didn't cut through the food as well as the Fre. The finish was bland and watery, and short.

Works as a Wine Alternative: (This section is intended for wine alternatives that are not dealcoholized wine)

Did I Like it: Both my wife and I found this one much more enjoyable than the Fre. It was great with a variety of the foods we had. Lets give it an 8 out of 10.

Would I Recommend it: Yes, I think this is a particularly easy entry point for people who are new to this.

Who Might Like it: It's not strong, it's not bold, it's not adventurous, but it is safe.

(See the Fre White Zinfandel post here)

Sutter Home's Fre White Zinfandel

Well, this is it! My first dealcholized wine!

My Experience:

I was in Sprouts looking around with my wife. She knew I'd been on this wine alternative stint for a while, reading everything I could find online about the subject. It was much easier for us to look at the pomegranate, cherry, and black currant juces. I wandered through the wine section, confused and wondering how in the world I would find any dealcoholized wine in what looked like a sea of identical bottles to me. There is a part of our brains that activates when we see faces, helping tell apart very similar details. This part of the brain changes in people who study cars, and activates when they see a car, helping them tell the difference between a '71 and '72. I wonder if that part of the brain will someday help me as I wander through this sea of seemingly identical bottles.

I was hoping to avoid this, but I was determined to leave with something besides apple juice in hand. So I asked the most awkward question. "Do you have any non-alcoholic wine?" "You mean Fre?" he said. Well, I just figured out which one-and-only brand they carry. I picked the White Zinfandel quickly. I'd read it's a good starter wine, not too dry (some might call dry the opposite of sweet).

We got home and I threw a frozen Bertolli's (roasted chicken) in a skillet and got out some stemware that had only until then seen water and Welch's.

I poured some in, gave it a swirl and a sniff. Wow! Cherries, apples, flowers! So fruity, it took me by surprise.

I knew to expect something much less sweet than I was used to, but I was not prepared for the bubbly tingle I felt on the fist sip. I almost spit it out! The bubbly sensation reminded me of some kimchee I'd once had! That makes it sound much worse than it was, I was just surprised. I thought only sparkling, bubbly wines like champagne were carbonated. This wasn't bubbly like soda, it just had a touch of unexpected sparkle.

So, I braced myself, took another sip, and was ready for the tingles this time. Having already had a taste, it didn't have as strong of a bite, but still had one. It slightly smoothed out as I sipped slowly, but it was a little tart. As I ate and drank, the acid helped cut through the food and cleanse the palate. I wish I could say how dry it was compared to other wine alternatives, but it was drier than anything I've had before.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Sure? I'm including this section more for the things like varietal juices and such. I think dealcoholized wines are a given.

Did I Like it: Well, my opinion might change, but with the right food pairing I think it worked. I stopped up the bottle and stored it in the fridge. The next day I pulled it out before dinner with enough time for it to warm up, but not to room temperature. I liked it better chilled somewhat, as the tart bite was a bit less, and the acid was a bit more forgiving. Lesson of the day: serve your drinks at the right temperature! Read my next review for some more thoughts. Lets give it a 6.

Would I Recommend it: It's my first try! Read my next review.

[EDIT] after having tried a lot more stuff, I would recommend giving this one a try. Though I liked the Ariel White Zinfandel better, this has a lot to offer and might appeal more to those used to normal wine.

Who Might Like it: It is not sweet, compared to juices. Get that out of your mind, and pair with a light meal like chicken or pasta with a white sauce, and it might work for you. It's tart so that might put some off.

Hey, this is getting exciting!