Everfresh Premier Varietals Honey Crisp

Where Purchased: Walmart

Brand: Everfresh
Type: (Juice, Dealcholized, etc.): Pure Juice
Color, Vintage, Tasted, Blogged, Sparking, Score?
Amber, 2013, Tasted, still, 7/10


My Experience:
I saw this back at Fry's and Walmart while we're shopping, and I thought doing a taste test of three different pure varietal apple juices would be fun! I haven't seen in Apple juice before that is marketed as from a single type of Apple.

It reminds me of candied apples on the nose, and it made an interest crackling sound just after I poured it!  I still am not sure what caused it.  Anyone out there have any ideas?  This is a still drink so I'm out of ideas.

It was amber in color, and unexpectedly, surprisingly smooth.  Intriguingly smooth.  Also quite light and it didn't leave a coating on my mouth like cheap high-fructose corn syrup laden juices do sometimes.

It left a green-apple-candy taste in my mouth, not in a bad way, but not in a good way either.  It left my mouth with that same weird feeling as after eating a green-apple Jolly Rancher.

Works as a Wine Alternative:  Probably not, but it's a great culinary drink

Did I Like it: Yes, 7/10

Would I Recommend it:  Yes, I think it would be fun to do all three in the same night sometime.


Who Might Like it: Of course, if you like apple juice, you'll like this.

Welch's Sparkling Cherry Limeade

Medium strong carbonation, very bright in color, Fuchsia.  It has a deep round cherry scent.

It’s bright and limey, the pear is lessened compared to the Welch’s Raspberry Limeade. Quite sweet, it reminds me of a Shirley Temple.  Steady carbonation.  I liked better at first sip compared to the end of the 3rd glass.  It was punchy and buzzy at first, with a foamy mild, but cherry-strong finish, leaving a minor tingle on the tongue.  It’s acidic, but I’d describe it more as a tartness.  It’s well tempered by the cherry and sugar.

Works as a Wine Alternative: It’s quite sweet for that

Did I Like it: 7/10, finding a good pairing could make this more than a novelty, but I’m not sure what to pair it with.  It’d be good with vanilla ice cream, and compliment it sweetly.

Would I Recommend it: It was fun, but the Strawberry Lemonade by Welch’s was more complex and easily parable with dinner foods.  This is more soda like.

Who Might Like it: Anyone who likes Shirley Temples. 

Kristian Regále Sparkling Pear

My Experience:

This will be short one, as most of Kristian Regále stuff is (delightfully!) similar.

After finding a hidden cache of Kristian Regále we've been pounding through them, and I actually went back get another set!

My wife made "My Dream Greek Pasta" (which was quite yummy) when we decided to try this. The color is similar to a light apple juice or some of the more translucent Chardonnays we've tried, with small bubbles just slowly trickling up. I noted both pear and apple on the nose.

My first impression was positive. The pear taste is not as strong as the RW Knudsen's sparkling pear, and the carbonation is on par with the other Kristian Regále drinks I've tried, though it's a bit more mild than the Pomegranate, and much more mild than the Lingonberry. It's light bodied and the citrus acid gives it just a tiny acidic kick. Comparing only the taste, and not the carbonation, it's terribly dissimilar from Martinelli's.

The mild, yet pleasant taste makes this easy to pair with. It'd go with many, many different foods, though especially with cold, light foods, like salads, pitas and hummus, or cheeses.

Works as a Wine Alternative: Yes

Did I Like it: Yes, 7 out of 10. It will be a regular (or table drink) in our house now.

Would I Recommend it: Yes, same as all the Kristian Regále stuff.

Who Might Like it: If you like to try new Sodas, you'd like to try this. It's light and refreshing, it's not overwhelming, and it's easy to pair with, all of which makes it a great introduction to something beyond your typical lunch-time juice.

R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Strawberry

My Experience:

Strawberry! Who doesn't love strawberry drinks? Like strawberry lemonade. Or strawberry rhubarb lemonade? Or... R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Strawberry!

It's pretty transparent for a red juice, more a rouge color, and it has medium sized bubbles continuously moving to the top. The carbonation is relatively light. Smells of strawberries, and a hint of something else, maybe grape or apple. It's not that sweet, for a juice. It is not tart, like strawberry stuff often is. The taste definitely hints at the pineapple that is also in this, like in the cherry. It's mellow and easy going, and would probably drink well with lots of light or medium foods. My wife, who is also a strawberry lover in general, loves this. We had it with plain ol' spaghetti, which was a bit heavy for this drink, but otherwise an ok pairing. Canned spaghetti sauce tends to be very sweet, which helped this Strawberry drink because its sweetness didn't overwhelm some of the other flavors, like it might have, if we had this with something more savory like a roast or anything with gravy.

Works as a wine Alternative: Not really. You can drink it with anything, and it'd be ok, but I don't think it would pair particularly well, in terms of giving contrast or complementing a food, with anything.

Did I like it: I think it makes a wonderful cooler, I'd love to sip it with a straw out on the patio, but it doesn't really make for a great pairing with lots of foods. My wife disagrees. We will have to try it again soon for a second take. 7 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: Not as an alternative, yes as a drink.

Who Might Like it: Juice lovers.

Kristian Regále Sparkling Apple Juice

My Experience:

Here is the next in a series of Kristian Regále, look to the sidebar on the right to find the others.

Almost clear, it just has the tiniest yellow tint to it, lots of tiny bubbles adhere to the sides of the glass, and there is no foam on top. Pretty strong carbonation. It's definitely got a green apple taste to it, and is ever so slightly bitter due to the carbonation. I think it's sweeter than the peach, but it has a tangy, sour taste also. It's good, a little more acidic than most juices, just like all the other Kirstian Regále's we've tried. We had it with tilapia & pesto. It's actually a lot like a Green Apple Jolly Rancher, but not as sweet.

Works as a wine Alternative: It paired very well with the food, which is always a good sign, and I think it pairs well with lots of lighter meals.

Did I like it: Yes, 7 out of 10.

Would I Recommend it: Yes, and try it with a variety foods.

Who Might Like it: If you like sparkling ciders, this is a refreshing change.

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 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.

Draper Valley Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

My Experience:

The last of our Draper Valley Vineyard "sample pack", the this is the first time I've had anything related to venerable Cabernet Sauvignon grape, so needless to say I was... expectant may be the best word.

I swirled it and gave it a sniff, and it turns out the scent is much stronger and easier to pick up than say, the relatively drab Chardonnay. I picked out Raspberry or blackberry, and of course grape. Even while drinking it these scents came through strong.

It seems the sweetness is fairly consistent between all of the Draper Valley Vineyard stuff, So this is also sweet like a juice, but seems sweeter than the rest. It is less grapey and more fruity than the Pinot Noir, with a hint ot strawberry, or maybe raspberry, and is smoother and less acidic than the Pinot, as well as having a bit lighter mouthfeel than the Pinot. It seems none of Draper Valley Vineyard's stuff has legs, but this did have a long fruity aftertaste, with a touch of a tingle to it.

It ended up too sweet for the spanish chorizo & dried tomato pizza we had, as it's strong flavor overwhelmed the bready crust. It would have been better with a bigger food, like steak or burgers. The sweetness might have also paired better with some of the spicy chineese food we had recently. I then cut it with some water, maybe 20 water 80 juice, which helped tone it down for the mild pizza we had.

I think all these juices need to be served slightly colder than their respective wines.

I also chilled some of these, and it nuked the taste, but left the sweetness and aftertaste. As usual, no hint of tannins.

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.

Cut with water it's more bitter (as was the Pinot Noir from Draper Valley Vineyards) and perhaps a touch more savory than sweet (but just a minor change.) Made me think of raspberry, pomegranate, and maybe grapefruit. Without food, I preferred the uncut drink.

Works as a wine Alternative: Yes, minus the sweetness.

Did I like it: Yes, but not so much as the Pinot or Riesling. 7 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: I love trying out these varietal grapes, and I think it could even be fun for wine drinkers as it's interesting to taste the unadulterated grape. So yes.

Who Might Like it: Still a juice, but a premium, fun, interesting one. Very fruity, complex for a juice, give it a try if that sounds good to you.

Welch's Sparkling Red Grape Juice

My Experience:

Stronger than Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Grape, the Welch's appears a more vibrant red, and has a heavier mouth feel. It's less fizzy, though fine (as in small) bubbled. An obviously grapey taste, we had the Welch's with BBQ Tri-tip.

This could make a good Aperitif or Desert Wine alternative.

Simple, but good!

Works as a wine Alternative: Yes. A very good one.

Did I like it: Yes, better than Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Grape. I'd say a 7 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: Yes

Who Might Like it: If you like grape juice, this is a more refined, subtle yet vibrant taste.

R.W. Knudsen's Black Current Nectar

R.W. Knudsen's Black Current Nectar

The same time I tried Airel's white Zinfandel I also tried a few juices, this being the first. (This being the second)

My Experience: It looks like a red wine in the glass. Guess what it smells like? (Black Currant, duh!) It's nice to have experienced this to know exactly what it smells like when someone says a wine smells of black currant. Now I know! It was smooth, with a hint of better, like the dregs of grape juice. It's sweeter than wine, but not sugary like many juices. The aftertaste has a touch of tang. I had it a room temperature and liked it better that way, compared to being iced. It'd probably be best just a bit under room temperature (like red wine.)

Works as a wine Alternative: Yes, I think it does. It's subtle, though not terribly complex, I think it does work. Just barely acidic enough to pull it off.

The ingredients also list Apple, so this isn't quite a "Pure Juice" so under the blended juices label it goes.

Did I like it: Yes, both my wife and I thought it was worth trying again. 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

Would I Recomend it: Yes, again if for no other reason than to taste black currant. It's so common to hear that a wine tastes or smells like black currant, so it's worth it to try it out.

Who Might Like it: I'd think this juice would have a very wide appeal. Sweet, but not sugary, not too acidic, easy to drink.