Tags
CA, California, Chardonnay, low calorie wine, Mini Moscato, moscato, napa valley, Slim Chardonnay, The Skinny Vine, Thin Zin, Thirsty Girl, twitter, unoaked, white zinfandel, wine, wine review, wine reviews, Zinfandel
Getting To The Skinny of It
It’s the first of the year and the age old New Year Resolution haunts us all…diet. It’s inevitable that many of you are faced with feeling you must start this January fresh and you want to “reshape” and “lighten up”. 
Well, a new line of low calorie wines has hit the shelves this year. The Skinny Vine. There seems to be a trend lately in low calorie, alcoholic beverages and that includes wine. What are these wines all about? Well, I had an opportunity to join a live Twitter Tasting with ThirstyGirl.com and Skinny Vine before the holidays and the response to this new line of wines was rather overwhelming. Let me give you the “skinny” of it all:
“Slim Chardonnay” – $11.00 SRP – Standard 5oz pour weighs in at 86 calories. Average caloric intake of 5oz of any other California Chardonnay is 114. Slim Chardonnay is flavorful and fruit driven….crisp with apple notes; a bit of citrus and light oaky spice. Quite drinkable and very affordable. It was very popular with everyone tasting and I can see why…it’s a white wine that hits across the board with most palates. You could serve this up at a party, blind, and no one would know it was “skinny”!
“The Thin Zin” – $11.00 SRP – Standard 5oz pour weighs in at 89 calories. Average caloric intake of 5oz of California White Zinfandel is 112. While I’m not a fan of White Zin, Pink Zin or any kind of Zin that is not bold, deep red, fruity and spicy; many folks have cut their teeth on wine drinking with White Zin and many still drink it today. I will always try something once when it comes to food and drink…so I kept an open mind when it came to this Pink Cutie! The wine fills your senses with berries and strawberry and a bit of citrus with the off-dry finish. Very aromatic. It really wasn’t bad…and I think for those that like White Zin, this is a good choice.
“Mini Moscato” – $11.00 SRP – Standard 5oz pour weighs in at 96 calories. Average caloric intake of 5oz of most Moscatos is 126. Mini Moscato is all that moscato should be….aromatic with stone fruits, honeysuckle and tasting of apples, pears, honey and vanilla. Moscato is a sweet wine and this one hit the mark. It was also the hit of the Twitter Tasting. Everyone loved it…and what’s not to love….it is full of taste and saves you about 30 calories per glass. A real crowd pleaser.
What does all of this mean for someone who’s looking for a value, California wine and they want to keep to a New Years Resolution of getting Skinny? Well….I think there is a market for these, I personally base my wine choices on tastes and not calories…(I cut calories in other places, not my wine!) 
The Slim Chardonnay has crowd pleasing flavors and taste; The Thin Zin is a preference for style and if you like this style, it’s good; and the Mini Moscato is a decent go to when it comes to Moscato. All priced very reasonably and accessible. I think the chase for low calorie wine should take a backseat to taste and value. Based on that and given that there are many people who like these styles…I give them all THREE BOTTLE Ratings. Their not my personal preference in wine styles….but they are decent wines and I think many will find one of them, if not all of them, to their liking. The Skinny Vine has been launched now just prior to the holidays and is making its way to superstore shelves fast and furious…you can also check them out at http://www.theskinnyvine.com/home.html.
Cheers!
** Samples received courtesy of The Skinny Vine and ThirstyGirl.com **
Related articles
- Skinny Packs a Punch! (wineonmymind.wordpress.com)
- The Skinny Vine – Not Worth the Calories (winecompass.blogspot.com)
Great article…very interesting concept. They wouldn’t be my personal preference either but I am sure there is a market for this somewhere…
Thank You Cynthia! Yes, I believe there is a market….there are many everyday wine drinkers at home, probably a majority are female, (that would be an interesting statistic to look at) that have a palate for these styles of wine. For having lower alcohol levels – they still had flavor & that makes them ok for some. I’ve taken quite a bit of “heat” from buddies in the wine drinking world of social media on reviewing these wines w/ any favorable remarks…but I truly try to keep an open mind when tasting because my target audience is mostly those everyday wine drinkers at home. And many of them like these types of wine. If I reviewed everything I like the best, all of the time, I’d be keeping a personal wine journal via online…not what my blog is about. Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks for keeping an open mind w/ me! Cheers!