R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Crisp Apple Cider

That top was double wrapped!  Not sure if it was intentional...

Ingredients - Sparkling Apple Juice & Asorbic Acid

Amber in color, and as most fruit drinks it smells like it’s main fruit component, apples.

It’s dry for a juice, and has a slight bite. It’s lightly carbonated, and has a light mouthfeel.  It’s a bit of a tart, green apple taste.

Works as a Wine Alternative:  I think it’s straddling a line between dry juice and sweet-for-wine that makes this a hard decision.  

Did I Like it: Not so much, It’s a bit to tart for my tongue, and oddly enough, my wife who often likes tart flavors didn’t fall for this one either.

Would I Recommend it:  Only with the perfect pairing, 5 out of 10

Who Might Like it: Green apple fans.

Carl Jung Red Wine

My Experience:  I've long believe if something has to say "Premium" on the label, it's not all that Premium.  We'll find out with Carl Jung Red Wine.

We had it with with bacon and eggs.  Good legs, deep maroon in color, we had it just slightly chilled.

The scent made me thing of figs or dark berries like cherry.  It's dry, but not bitter, though a touch bitter in the aftertaste, leaving my mouth feeling mat.  Strong tannins, and mildly acidic.  the finish brings out a little bit of the fruity taste and also some astringency.

It was acidic enough to cut through the greasy bacon and eggs, and worked well with it.  Just below room temperature seemed a good place for it.  It's much more drinkable than some of the Chardonays I've had so far, but it's not as approachable as some of the White Zinfandels I've had.  It's got a weighty mouthfeel.

I'm still not used to how dry some of these are compared to my Juice-trained tongue.  The more I try I'm realizing either I'm not used to it yet, or I simply prefer sweeter drinks.

Interestingly enough, it was very slightly carbonated, after the fact.  It's listed in the ingredients.

5 out of 10

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes
Did I Like it: I did, paired correctly with something that needs something strong to cut through it.  My wife nearly spat it out.
Would I Recommend it: Not a bad first red to try, I suppose.

Who Might Like it: Those looking for dry alternatives.

R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Organic Apple

My Experience:

You know, whenever I see a set of something I'm interested in, I get excited. I love sets. So, every time I see R.W. Knudsen's sparkling juices I want to buy them all. This one changed that, at least a little...

It has very little carbonation, as with most of R.W. Knudsen's stuff, and in the glass it looks exactly like normal apple juice. Smells like apple juice, though it's not a very strong scent. It tastes just a little tart, pretty much exactly like you'd expect if you took apple juice and carbonated it. Much much milder than Martinelli's Sparkling Cider.

Works as a wine Alternative: Not really.

Did I like it: It's ok. A 5 or 6 out of 10. It's just very plain jane, expected, and done.

Would I Recommend it: If you love apple juice or drink it semi-regularly, give this a shot to change it up a little.

Who Might Like it: Maybe anyone who likes apple juice...

Draper Valley Vineyard Chardonnay

My Experience:

My wife got me a 4 pack of varietal juices from Draper Valley Vineyards for christmas. I was so excited! We quickly decided what nights to try them in the coming weeks, and for a few of them even planned meals around them. For the Chardonnay, we unfortunately didn't planned a meal around it, which perhaps lead to a less than great experience with it.

It has a weak scent, of apple cider and dried autumn leaves. It's a great white grape juice - very dry for a juice (still very sweet compared to a wine.) Fre Chardonnay tastes like this but watered down 1 to 1. Full bodied, heavy mouth feel. The taste is very mild, and it's very very low on acid. Fruity, tastes of apple. We had it with Panda Express - bad pairing! My wife says it could be a good dessert drink with cherry cobbler and ice cream, we'll have to try it. It's fairly complex for a single ingredient juice, which means it's just barely more than a one note drink.

We haven't given up on Chardonnay, however, we still have the "Award Winning"™ Ariel Chardonnay to try!

Works as a wine Alternative: If it's paired well, I think it could be. It's so very low on acid that it doesn't cut at all, but it's the driest of the juices we've tried so far.

We later did a taste test with all four of the Draper Valley Vineyard drinks we go, one cup straight, another cut with 1 part water 3 parts juice.

The chardonnay, without any food, I liked better cut with water, the apple/grape flavor comes through more with less sweetness. There is a thickness to the uncut Chardonnay, and the water thins it a touch.

Did I like it: Yes, with reservations. I'm starting to think my wife and I are just not Chardonnay people. It deserves a proper pairing, and with the weighty, intense food we usually lean towards it does not pair well. 5 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: We got a Draper Valley Vineyards 4 pack, they currently have a deal on a 6 pack, one of each of their juices. This is a great way to experiment and learn more about the most popular types of grapes out there. It was a very educational experience, and we found some juices we definitely return to. Recommended!

Who Might Like it: If you're ditching alcohol and want chardonnay, it's worth a shot. It does taste like chardonnay, but very sweet.

(Compare to Sutter Home's Fre Chardonnay)

Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Grape

My Experience:

While I've yet to have the courage to write my Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider tasting experience, I have gone ahead to try one of their other drinks, Sparkling Apple Grape.

It's not as deep purple as I was expecting it to be. I think the green bottle tricked me. It's a dark red with a hint of purple. Surprise surprise, it smells like apple and grape! It's smells almost the same as the Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider. The taste has a touch more of a tang than the "normal" Martinelli's, with just a bit of the grape juice taste added in. The carbonation almost creates a small head, as it's very bubbly. It foams up in the mouth and has a quick bite as the carbonation disappears and evaporates during the finish. We served it with noodles and spaghetti sauce! It's a touch more acidic than the Sparkling Apple Cider, not so much as Ariel's White Zinfandel however, for example. The Welch's was much more grapey, less fizzy, and stronger in general.

This could make a good Aperitif or Dessert Wine alternative.

Works as a wine Alternative: I think so

Did I like it: Yeah, but not as much as Welch's Sparkling Red Grape Juice. 5 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: Sure

Who Might Like it: Someone who likes normal Martinelli's

Juice Roundup - R.W. Knudsen's Pomegranate Nectar and Yum Berry Juice

R.W. Knudsen's Pomegranate Nectar

It's a blend - the ingredients list says Water, Apple, Pomegranate, Grape Juice, and Pear Juice.

Looks like apple juice with a tinge of red, and I thought it would be stronger than it is. It's smooth. The apple and pear come through stronger than the pomegranate. For a juice it's not too sweet. Cut a bit of water into it - too weak. Cut with Sparkling water - not bad. Best chilled.

Works as a wine Alternative: Yes, though not as sweet as most juices, still a bit sweet for a wine alternative, however.

Did I like it: Yeah, it's pretty good. i'd give it a 5 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: Yes, it's worth a shot. Not a stand out drink, but I thought it worked well.

Who Might Like it: Anyone who likes juice, I think.

R.W. Knudsen's Yum Berry Juice

Lots of ingredients. Very thick, smells mostly of strawberry, thick like Kerns nectar, My wife hated it, not recommended. Cut with anything makes it worse - It stays thick but loses flavor.

Works as a wine Alternative: No

Did I like it: No, it was horrible. Maybe a 1

Would I Recomend it: No

Who Might Like it: Can't think of anyone.