Day 20 of my 24 Cocktails of Xmas... Today: 3 non-alcoholic Sparkling Wines to the test!
Today, instead of making a Xmas cocktail, a friend and I tested 3 non-alcoholic sparkling wines plus 2 different Sparkling Wine Toppers…!
The Wines
First of all we tried the Wild Life Botanicals Nude – They claim: “*Bubbles with Benefits* Ultra-low in alcohol yet ultra-high in goodness, this unique English bubbly crafted in Cornwall, is infused with an uplifting elixir of vitamins, minerals and botanicals each chosen for their health-giving properties.”
I have tried their Wild Life Botanicals Blush last month and I had the weirdest experience with is, it was really good, it had excellent taste, but I had an allergic reaction to it. So I was quite curious today if the same thing would happen with the Nude version.
So we poured it and the non-alcoholic wine has a beautiful light color and nice, active bubbles. Great flavour again too, Elderflower in the beginning and then it gets nice lime undertones, very pleasant. Bút it happens again, I get an allergic reaction: nothing severe but I get a really annoying tickle in my throat that just doesn’t leave. I stopped drinking this because my throat became worse and I kept coughing. My friend had the same thing but her throat got less irritated while she kept drinking and it slowly disappeared.
We checked the bottle and we think it was one of the 5 botanical ingredients – I suspect the Ashwagandha as the others I have taken before and never experienced any issues with them. These are their 5 added botanicals:
1. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
Lifts the spirits, relieves palpitations, calms anxiety, supports good digestive health.
2. Damask Rose (Rosa Damascena)
Anti-inflammatory, strengthens the heart, soothes digestive upset, mood-boosting.
3. Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
Balances blood sugar levels, lowers stress hormones, encourages bett er quality sleep whilst lift ing energy and mood. Overall tonic eff ect.
4. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
An antioxidant that soothes digestion and boosts the immune system. Stimulates circulation of blood to the head, improves hair growth, concentration and memory.
5. Damiana (Turnera diffusa)
Aphrodisiac, stimulant, energy tonic, mood lifting.
So unfortunately I won’t be having this non-alcoholic sparkling wine again, despite the great taste…
Then the second one: Scavi & Ray Alcohol Free Sparkling wine. My friend found this one very similar to a Chardonnay but then bubbly. I thought it was quite yellow in color and a bit on the sweet side. Not for me to be honest but that’s a personal opinion – many people might actually líke that little bit of sweetness about it.
And lastly we tried the Secco Bianco by Rimuss, from Zwitserland. The color of this alcohol free sparkling wine is nice, lighter than the Scavi & Ray. It smells like the real deal ánd it also tastes like the real deal, really rather nice!! But then… It stops! The bubbles disappear and there’s no flavour what so ever left lingering… So not awesome.
But we had a solution for that as we also tried and tested 2 Sparkling Wine Toppers!
The Toppers
First of all we tried the Elderflower Bloom flavour of this set of 5 “sumptuous” (their words) syrups of this set – FIZZOLOGY. The box packaging (see pic) of these 5 syrups looks very cool and funky but once you open it, it all looks cheap-is. The bottles are plastic and have wonky labels. Then we tried the actual product but it didn’t do much good to our bubbles to be honest. It was more or less sugary water with a bit of flavour. We compared it with the Elderflower Cordial from Bottle Green (just to have a quick look if we were being too strict with our verdicts haha) which was way more flavoursome.
But I have some good news too… Next one on the test is the [MBP_AA_LINK “MBP_AA_LINK_POPABALL”] ✨ It is nicely packaged (see pic) and comes in a cute little glass jar. They say to add one third of a teaspoon to a 2/3 of a glass of sparkling so we did and oh were we in for a treat…!! So first it fizzes up, with a nice pink colour on the top part of the drink. Then it diffuses downwards and gives the drink a lovely raspberry flavour. After say 10 seconds the whole colour is shimmery pink with marble looking edible gold twirling in it. Delicious and super fun! A little jar makes 21 servings and cost £7.50 – See link below.
So my verdict of today is —> [MBP_AA_LINK “MBP_AA_LINK_POPABALL”] rocks & I am still in search of my favourite non-alcoholic sparkling wine…
✨I hope to see you back tomorrow for my Xmas Cocktail 21 – Yes, back to the cocktails – and have a lovely weekend/holiday…!✨
