Vino Vednesday: Copa di Vino

Disclaimer: This blog post contains an informal, somewhat amateur review of Copa di Vino wines.  Copa di Vino has no clue who I am nor are they paying me to talk about their product.  All the opinions are 100% my own.  The favorable opinions on The Naked Grape and Barefoot wines are also unpaid and completely belong to me.  Read on, wine drinkers: you will thank me and my friends for this one.

This week, Shelby and Loni came over so we could have a much-needed Vino Vednesday and the 3 Amigos could have a playdate.

The boys jumped into the toy pile and the mamas got down to business.  We had The Naked Grape Pinot Grigio (one of my personal summer favorites), Barefoot Bubbly Pink Champagne, and three mini-glasses of Copa di Vino: Cabernet, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay.  Copa di Vino, which literally means "wine in a glass," is a new product in the states.  

According to the website,

"Copa di Vino wines is America's leading producer of premium wine in the glass.  Founder and owner, James Martin, discovered the concept on a bullet train adventure through the south of France.  A year later he brought it to the states.  His passion for the wine [led] to Copa di Vino - wine in a glass - a ready to drink wine glass that could go anywhere without the need for a bottle, corkscrew, or glass.  Just open and enjoy!  Wine is no longer trapped in the bottle."

Prior to this evening, I had noticed these cute little ready-to-drink wine glasses at Hy Vee Wine and Spirits, displayed next to the cashier.  I hadn't really given them much thought.  When Loni brought them over, she told us they had been on Shark Tank!  I enjoy watching the show but haven't watched in several years.  Shark Tank is a show on ABC where inventors and innovators present their ideas to investors.  Some are accepted, most are declined.  Apparently, Copa di Vino had some offers from the Sharks but the founder declined the offers, "knowing his dream was worth more than the offers" (http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank).

Loni admitted that the cashier warned her when she purchased the three tiny wine glasses: "They're awful!" the cashier proclaimed.  We decided to try it anyway.  Sometimes people are too snobbish when it comes to wine, we said.  How could this be bad if the company has had so much success?

We opened the Cabernet Sauvignon first.  My first sip was pretty tart but I attributed that to the Tropical Sno I'd just eaten with my husband and son at a (super-fun) neighborhood birthday party.  The rest of the glass (we split it into three even mini-glasses) wasn't bad.  It was actually pretty good.  It didn't, however, taste anything like a Cabernet should.  I described it to the girls as tasting like a "pretty mild Pinot Noir."  We all finished our mini-glasses and moved on to the next: Chardonnay.

If you know me, you know this:  I hate Chardonnay.  I do.  I think it tastes like a moldy old log of oak wood that has been covered in rancid butter and sour grape juice.  When I was a fresh 21-year old junior in college, I ordered it at weddings and restaurants because I didn't know any other names of white wines.  I thought, well, this tastes like crap but I guess all wines must be pretty hard to choke down.  I thought I would learn to appreciate it and just get used to it.  When I had my first glass of Riesling my life was changed and I never gave in to Chardonnay again.  Ugh...even the thought of it makes me want to urp.

Anyway.  We opened the cup and sniffed at it.  First impression on the nose was, honestly, sulfur.  I passed it to the girls and their noses curled up just like mine had.  We tasted it carefully and decided it wasn't as bad as the smell had been.  However, just like the Cabernet, it tasted NOTHING like the variety it claimed.  Nothing about it was Chardonnay-ish.  We took another tiny sip then down the drain it went.

The next one was Pinot Grigio.  I adore Pinot Grigio so I was very hopeful.

Ummm...

WRONG.

We sniffed.  We almost gagged.  The cup claiming to be Chardonnay smelled like sulfur, and this one was worse.  This so-called Pinot Grigio was sewage.  Oh my gosh it was so terrible.  Shelby wouldn't allow it into her glass and Loni and I were scared...but we sipped it anyway.

Honestly, it tasted the exact same as the "Chardonnay."  Very basic, and nothing like real wine should taste.  The smell was so off-putting that I couldn't think of taking another drink, so like the Chardonnay it went down the drain.  We eagerly filled our glasses with The Naked Grape PG and Barefoot Bubbly champagne, hoping they would diminish the nastiness lingering in our senses from the Copa di Vino.

**Side Note:  Copa di Vino's website is very boastful about the concept of wine sold in a glass-shaped container being a "new" thing.  I agree, I haven't seen wine in a ready-to-drink glass.  But the actual concept of wine-to-go isn't new.  There are several brands that sell wine in mini plastic bottles, ready to take on-the-go.  Sutter Home and Beringer are the first two that I think of.

(And by on-the-go, I mean picnics, boats, backyards, etc....NOT ON THE ROAD.  Please don't be stupid and drink alcohol in a vehicle.)

The Naked Grape Pinot Grigio is an inexpensive, tasty white wine that is one of my go-to whites in the summer.  It is perfectly sweet-tart and balanced.  No burn, no funky aftertaste, and fresh.  Love it.

Barefoot Bubbly pink champagne is everything you'd want for a bridal shower, girls' night out, cocktail party, or celebration drink.  Uncomplicated, sweet, fizzy and fun.  It was a great choice after we'd been bad wine-scarred.  

Here is my saint of a husband, who cooked and served us (and the babies) frozen pizza.  It was the 3 Amigos' first pizza party, Loni said!  They were so cute.  We can't believe how big they are getting.  

They had their traditional photo shoot as usual!  Jude, Everett and Easton.

Not so sure about this, mommies!

We were making ridiculous faces and noises...Jude thought they were pretty funny!

For our next Vino Vednesday, which I'm hoping will be soon - I love these girls and their boys! - I have my sights set on some more expensive reds.  I'd like to do one without the babies so we can have a real dinner, too...maybe do a tasting at one of the restaurants in town?!

Happy wining!  Remember to stay away from Copa di Vino!

Love, Betsy