I participated in an Ambassador Program on behalf of Millennial Central for Brancott Estate Wines. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. As always, all opinions are 100% own. This post is intended for readers of the legal drinking age.
Who likes wine? Everyone? Obviously. That’s why I was so excited to try Brancott Estate Wines Flight Song. First of all, check out their website — I love the artwork/branding on this wine. It’s fun and quirky (just like me, right?). They sent me a Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio to try and before I even tasted it, I was immediately lured in by the fact that it was crafted to be 20% lighter in calories than similar wines. I also loved that they put the calories and carbs right on the bottle. I normally turn to wine as a lower calorie alcoholic option, as every healthy eating website pushes it as your best bet — but do you know how hard it is to find the nutritionals on wine and other alcohols? Hard! Brancott Estate has it right on their website + it’s printed on the bottle large enough that I noticed it without even looking for it. It was one of those “Oh hey Lauren, you accidentally drank 3 glasses, but no big deal it was still less than 270 calories, right?” kind of moments.
But a lower calorie wine is nothing if the taste isn’t there, right? Both of the wines tasted bright and summery, with a little tartness. I think they’d be perfect sitting outside in the sunshine, and they definitely paired well with the huge pile of cheese we ate them with, so they’d be great at a picnic. The Sauvignon Blanc had a very floral smell and was slightly more tart than the Pinot. It actually had a little bit of a tomato-y taste, but that mellowed out when paired with cheese into more of a grapefruit. It definitely tasted like springtime and in Michigan, where we had a fresh layer of snow on Tuesday, it was much needed. The Pinot Grigio was more fruity and sweet. We thought it had a high drinkability (If that’s something people measure? My friends apparently do…) because of it’s mild flavor.
I will never claim to be an expert in wine tasting/pairing, but I think I did a pretty good job. Bonus points because it involved standing near a cheese counter sampling like 40 (wish I was kidding but only kind of) kinds of cheese. The cheeses I served were a chevre, Piave Vecchio (similar to a young Parmigiano-Reggiano), balsamic Bellavitano (which I thought was similar to a balsamic vinegar flavored asiago), and a young gouda. I also bought some dates but forgot to share them with my guests — oops! The chevre, Piave, and gouda were perfect with the Sauvignon Blanc, and the Pinot (the crowd favorite) paired well with everything. There are even more pairing tips on Brancott Estates’s website, but for me, cheese is always the best place to start 😉
If you’re interested, you can like/follow Brancott Estate Wines on Facebook and Twitter! Do you like wine? I clearly do! Wish I would’ve invested in some matching wine glasses at some point — any suggestions on super cute ones?
Tagged with: Alcoholic • Party Food • Wine
Ooo I’ll have to keep an eye out for these! I like the idea of a skinnier wine that still tastes great! Plus, it makes room for more cheese tasting. And that’s always a good thing.