Tag: vegan wine

Trapiche Pure Malbec

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Mother's Day, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Summer, Valentine's Day Gifts, Vegan, Women

Disclaimer: we received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

If your dad enjoys a glass of red wine, a good bottle is guaranteed to go down well on Father’s Day. Better still, for those last minute shoppers, Trapiche Pure Malbec is readily available from the Co-op so you can pick a bottle up on your way to see him!!

Produced by Argentina’s most awarded winery, this Fairtrade-certified Malbec is packed with juicy fruit flavours and is wonderfully smooth and easy to drink. At just £10 a bottle, it’s also excellent value for money, proving that you don’t have to spend a fortune to give a special gift.

The Trapiche vineyards are in Mendoza, one of Argentina’s most famous wine regions which are  nestled at the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The winery was founded by Argentine politician and businessman Tiburcio Benega back in 1883 and over the years the business has grown to be one of Argentina’s leading wine producers. The vineyards are planted higher up in the mountains, where the cooler air helps keep the grapes fresh and balanced, despite the intense Argentinian sunshine.

The “Pure” in the name refers to the fact that this is an unoaked Malbec. Rather than being aged in oak barrels, the wine is made in stainless steel and concrete tanks. While I’m no wine expert, I find this style lets the fruit do the talking, bringing out the cassis, blueberry and plum flavours without the vanilla or smoky notes that oak can sometimes add.

The rich purple wine is smooth and easy to drink and it goes really well with both steak and cheese.

By choosing Fairtrade wine, you are supporting farmers and ensuring that they have access to fairer working conditions. Fairtrade also makes sure that producers receive a fairer price for their grapes and provides extra funding that can be invested back into workers and local communities. It also supports growers in adopting more sustainable farming methods and promotes fair treatment and opportunities for everyone working in the vineyards.

Available from the Co op

Siprano Non-Alcoholic Wine

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Today, there are not only a lot more choices available to us for alcohol but non-alcoholic drinks are also becoming increasingly popular, and much better than they used to be. 

Siprano was born out of owner Anna-Louise’s sobriety and an opportunity she found to create wines that were non-alcoholic but tasted as good as the real thing.  There are a surprisingly large demographic of buyers who don’t want or can’t drink alcohol, and those, like me, who just don’t like the taste. Ultimately, the non-alcoholic market is much larger than the drinker’s market and has more longevity, so Anna-Louise has hit the nail on the head with her idea, and especially in time for Christmas.

Anna-Louise sent me a bottle of each of my favourite wines; a Riesling white wine called The Very Cautious One and a Rosé called Darling Cellars Grenache. Both are alcohol free and refreshingly, also vegan so anyone can drink these!

The Very Cautious One was our first to open. A dry wine, it is typically Riesling flavour with Australian grapes.  Not a tough drink at all, it has sharp tones but a slightly fruity taste which develops with time. It feels like a wine but perhaps not the same Riesling flavour as the alcoholic version but still refreshing and easy to drink either on its own or as part of a meal.  It’s light-medium bodies so you can drink more of it than you might imagine.

The DC Rosé is made with 98% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Grenache from South Africa and has distinct delicacy to it with a fruity sweetness.  This is a great pairing with a pasta meal or after dinner and is very drinkable.  This tastes more like its alcoholic rosé cousin and goes down well on its own or with a meal, and even a snack in the evening.  Particularly good sharing with a group of friends where you can forget that it’s not alcoholic and enjoy it anyway!

Siprano has an online quiz on their website to help you choose which wine is best for you, with a subscription of 1-4 bottles per week delivered to your door. Their gift idea also works perfectly as a gift for someone to receive a bottle per month for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Nothing stopping you having your own subscription for the next 12 months too, and with it being non-alcoholic wine, it won’t be the alcohol preventing you opening a bottle as often as you like.

www.Siprano.co.uk have a new website which they’re eager to show off, so have a look and see if the quiz, or any of their evolving products take your fancy.

The Very Cautious One White £10.60: https://siprano.co.uk/collections/white-wine-alcohol-free/products/de-bortoli-the-very-cautious-riesling-alcohol-free-white-wine

Darling Cellars Rosé wine £9.35: https://siprano.co.uk/collections/rose-wine-alcohol-free/products/darling-cellars-grenache-alcohol-free-rose-wine

Sinzero Low Alcohol Chile Wine

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Drinks and Mixers, Family Life, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Him, Spring, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

No one misses out this Father’s Day with the Sinzero range of low and no alcohol wine.  The range includes a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chardonnay, a Rosé and a Sparkling Brut white wine which have only recently been launched in the UK. Whether you’re drinking alcohol or not, each of the Chilean bottles tastes of summer and you won’t notice the difference having low alcohol makes compared to what you find on the supermarket shelves. Each variety has a maximum of 0.5% alcohol. 

Starting with the Sinzero Chardonnay, which is both vegan and alcohol free, the unmistakeable sharpness of Chardonnay is still there, with a slightly fresher, fruiter scent and after taste.  This makes a great accompaniment to food especially white meat and fish and doesn’t have the acidic flavour you’re used to with some Chardonnays, probably because it’s from Chile.  I’m reliably informed it only has 20 calories per glass too!

The Sinzero Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon tastes of vanilla but has a fragrance of strawberries, redcurrants and summer berries.  I loved this one on its own, not with food but it goes particularly well with lighter meals like Italian pasta, it is a lovely lunchtime wine.  The Sinzero Chliean Cabernet Sauvignon is also award winning, with 96 points and a gold medal in the IWSC.

Sinzero Chilean Rosé is a great wine for BBQs and works swimmingly with pasta, cheese and lighter dishes. I can also be drunk on its own and is also vegan and less than 25 calories per glass. It’s crisp, floral and fruity, just like a rosé should be!

Finally, there’s the Sinzero Chilean Sparkling Brut.  We saved this for a family birthday as everyone could drink it, regardless of age or what medication they were on! The sparkling, crisp wine goes with anything or can be drunk on its own as the celebratory drink it is meant to be. Like all the other Chilean wines, it is light and fruity plus has less than 0.5% alcohol. Perhaps a good sparkling for family celebrations, especially as it’s got a slightly sweeter taste?

I didn’t know non-alcohol and low alcohol wines could be so tasty, let alone light and refreshing like the Sinzero line.  I’m looking forward to seeing what other varieties they bring out in the future!

All Sinzero products are available via DryDrinker.com;

Sinzero Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from £11.25 p/ bottle

Sinzero Chilean Chardonnay from £11.25 p/bottle

Sinzero Chilean Sparkling White Wine from £13.76 p/bottle

Sinzero Chilean Rosé from £11.99 p/bottle