(updated video will be up shortly!)
Hello my wine lovers!! It's been a hop skip and a jump since our last encounter, but I have a new wine to share with you all! :)
As you can tell from the video and title of this post, I found out that Kroger (yes, the grocery store that keeps expanding their stores... Yep, they have everything now in their stores! I actually bought an awesome dress at one location, and they have shoes too!!) now has their own wine, besides everything else!
Okay, honestly, my first thought, Kroger is trying to measure up to Costco and their Kirkland brand wines. However, after trying this discovery, I do not think Costco will have a problem with Kroger.
Simple Truth Organic California Red Wine
I bought this on a whim when I explored my favorite Kroger location in Mansfield, TX. (I am a Tom Thumb girl, but just can't help this store! It's awesome!) I saw this wine, and was blown away at the price (hello super super Inexpensive!) and the temptation of trying an organic wine from the brand that already makes so many great products (haven't had a bad simple truth organic product before). Because I am yourwinegirl, I had to jump at the chance and give you guys a review.
This red wine is a light and very fruit forward. Lovely red cherry color, you can smell the blackberries as soon as you pour the wine. You can taste the lightness of the wine as you take a sip (because there are no added sulfites... yes, majority of wines add a little more sulfites to the wine as a preservative so the wine does not spoil, and to give it a little more flavor...this wine tastes very fresh and light), and then a raspberry jam takes over your tongue.
Here is where I got a little disappointed. The raspberry jam just ends. No lingering finish. Nothing more than a quick hit in the mouth of raspberry jam, and then nothing. There is no substance.
However, after letting the wine sit for about twenty minutes, it did open up a little bit more, and had a little bit of a finish, but not much.
Honestly, after the jamminess left my tongue, I did not like it.
The next day (after we used our wine saver and sucked the oxygen out to help keep it fresh... yes, I actually have these things. They work well, but honestly, if you're going to finish the wine the next day, there's not really a need for it. But hey, whatever floats your boat!), the wine really was not good. It was done.
Here is a quick wine lesson on why the wine did not last the night.
Sulfites are a natural product of making wine. They help prevent oxidation in the wine (wine + oxygen = bad), prevent further fermentation, and act as a natural preservative for shelf life of the wine. As stated earlier, majority of your wines add sulfites on top of the naturally occurring sulfites in order to help preserve the wine and add a little more flavor, and sometimes to even preserve that red color of red wines.
Many people (I hear this on a daily basis), think that sulfites are the reason for their headaches/allergies with wine.. especially red wine, and I am here to tell you that you are pretty much wrong.
Now I must state that there is a very small percentage of the population that is allergic to sulfites, and they usually have asthma. Since no one wants an asthma attack, by law (at least in the U.S.), vineyards have to report "Contains Sulfites" when they add sulfites to the wine, on the bottle.
Here is the kicker: Organic wines and wine before adding sulfites contain anywhere from 10-40PPM (parts per million) of sulfites. When sulfites are added, it jumps up to about 50PPM, which really can not do much damage, as compared to some foods, like prepackaged foods and dried fruits, that can contain up to 1,000PPM or more (which honestly, who wants that much preservative??); AND Red Wine has LESS sulfites than White Wine!
That is right. For all those out there that think red wine has more sulfites and that is why you get headaches and are allergic, here is your eye opening fact: White wine has more sulfites added to them because they have less color. Red wine has naturally more occurring sulfites in them due to the hardier, tougher, black colored grape skin, which gives the wine it's color and natural sulfite derivative, which the white grape does not have.
Sweet white wine, hello my Moscato drinkers, has even more sulfites so a secondary fermentation does not happen from the excess sugar in the wine.
(If you want to read more about sulfites, check out these awesome articles:
- The Bottom Line on Sulfites in Wine
- Sulfites: Separating Fact from Fiction )
A lot of cool wine info right?!?!
Because this simple truth wine is 100% certified organic and "contains no detectable sulfites," (No added sulfites. Remember that's really what it means.) this is why the wine more than likely tasted fresh, but went bad quickly and did not taste good in the long run for me.
All in all, if you want an easy, basically cheap wine for the night, this wine will do the trick!
Perfect to Pair with: Spaghetti Squash, light chicken dishes, salad.
Average Price: $4.99!! (Hello Super CHEAP!)
Cheers my wine lovers!
