I was the lucky winner chosen from Professor Kapon's class to test the Nuvino single serve wine pouches. I decided to do a wine tasting with a few of my friends. The wines that were offered were Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, and Red blend. Just like we do in class I gave my friends four different cups, as well as cracker barrel white cheddar, and town house crackers. Before the tasting I told my friends to try to sip the wines and let the flavor linger on their tongue and then proceed to swallow. I also told my friends to smell the wine and asked them what flavors they picked up from the wine.
The first wine] we all five tried was Sauvignon Blanc (Chile 2013). I got feedback saying that the wine was refreshing, light, and a nice way to wind down from a long day. I then asked, what were some flavors they picked up from the taste and smell? They mentioned apples, pineapples and oranges. For those who didn’t like the wine I told them to try it with a piece of cheese to see if the flavor was more tolerable. I thought the cheese helped to take away the bitter flavor from many wines. My personal feeling on the wine was that it was refreshing, very good with seafood such as lobster or salmon.
The third wine was a Malbec (Argentina 2013) which is also a dry red wine. The alcohol percentage on this wine was 14.5 percent which is the highest level of the four wines. Most of my friends already knew to accompany the wine with cheese after just smelling the wine. The wine had flavors of oak and had the same vote as before with two of the four friends liking the wine. The taste was supposed to be fruity with hints of plum and black currant. The meal pairings are steak, barbecue ribs and spicy sweet dishes. As far as the Malbec I would recommend it because it did have strong flavors that would go really good with a red meat.
The last wine we tried was Chardonnay (South Africa 2012) which was very refreshing. I chose this wine last because I felt like it would be a hit with my friends who enjoy white wines. The flavors we immediately tasted were pineapple, and peaches. This wine pairs well with salad or other light dishes. I also recommend this wine because it is a nice light wine that can pair great with a vegetable platter at a dinner party, or just a relaxing beach day. Overall I really enjoy the idea of wines being made into small pouches. I feel like it makes it more convenient than always having to buy a bottle. Also I feel there is no excuse for single people who enjoy wine and say that they had to finish the whole bottle so the wine won’t go bad. My favorite part with these pouches are they are very informational. Most bottles of wine only provide a little bit of information about the wine such as the vineyard and year. You can tell the owner and packaging team wanted to satisfy the consumer and give you a good idea of what you are about to try. For example the wine pouches tell you food pairings, the fruits, and the climate where the grapes were ripened.
I would have loved to see a Riesling, perhaps a port and a rose. Had I seen those wines in the pouches I would have probably been very excited. I also tried to look at some of the possible price point targets with the wine. I asked my friends for an estimate of how much they would spend for each wine, and how much would they spend for a box alone. We all agreed that each pouch be around five dollars, and the box alone should be twenty dollars. That is a great bargain for anyone.
Something I did notice about the wine is that each of the wine taste very fresh. I know the cork can sometimes be bad and destroy an amazing bottle of wine. But without the cork and the twistable tops the wine stayed fresh. The pouches were also very interesting because they reminded me of a capri sun juice meaning the wine would stay cool because of the coolness of the foil wrapping. I rated this product a 3.5 and hope they add more varieties.
For More Information- www.nurvino.com
Editors Note- The retail price is $3.99