#BeverageGrades

[cutecats2017]

So a few months ago the Clean Label Project (CLP) brought out a report that hundreds of pet foods that consumers thought were safe were probably poisoning their pets. You might have seen the AMA or saw the CBS coverage that they got, or perhaps their website came across your screen. Now there’s be no shortage of people who pointed out that the organization was not doing themselves any favors by their lack of transparency. Calls to release the data that their independent lab analysis have been dodged or avoided, and there’s also been a lot of people casting suspicion on the odd outlay of CLP’s in-house rating system offers great 5 star findings on a number of large corporate foods (Purina, Iams, etc.) which popular small manufacturers that are generally well-regarded as provided biologically appropriate foods were slammed with 1 star ratings (the bulk of the bottom 10 on CLP’s website are products from Champion brand’s Orijen and Acana lines). I don’t want to talk about CLP though, because I think there’s already been a lot of visibility thrown on them, and I want to point out some much more alarming things I found out when digging just a little bit.When I was reading over the AMA that CLP did in April I noticed someone had vocalized their incredulity that Ellipse Analytics (Ellipse), the lab that CLP claims did all their testing gratis, was registered almost exactly a month after CLP. I found that especially concerning so I started looking into it. I found the trademark registry for Ellipse was done by an LLC, Third Party Validation and Verification LLC. I also found a list of other trademarks they had, and they all seemed to relate to product grading or consumer review organizations, like BeverageGrades, which is going to come back up later. This started to set up my concern, since it looked like the lab was far from independent. So I started looking at Ellipse themselves, and who they were. Here something really stood out to about Ellipse’s CEO, Kevin Hicks:Kevin Hicks has a 25-year track record of growing and monetizing companies. In 1998, Hicks helped found HealthGrades, a physician, hospital and healthcare provider rating system which was acquired by Vestar Capital in 2010... In 2001, Hicks co-founded Baroness Wines, the largest independent wine distributor in Colorado which sold to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway-based Empire Distributor in 2014. In 2010, Kevin Hicks built an analytical chemistry lab in Denver, CO which would later become Ellipse Analytics, quality and superiority defined by science. So I decided to start checking out the unnamed “analytical chemistry lab in Denver, CO” that apparently was the precursor to Ellipse. Well, I didn’t have to look very far to find it, and what is interesting is it’s closer to Hick’s 2001 Baroness Wines than I expected.The lab that Hick started was BeverageGrades, one of the listed trademarks owned by Third Party Validation and Verification LLC. BeverageGrades has a bit of history itself, having drawn quite a bit of criticism for it’s questionable methodology in testing a variety of low-cost wines out of California. BeverageGrades made a lot of very alarming sounding claims about the wine with a lot of similar sounding issues with their methods: they claimed that a number of low-cost California wines had dangerous level of arsenic. Similar to the current CLP claims, they chose to compare their findings against the EPA’s drinking water guidelines, which really doesn’t make sense, since most people aren’t drinking several liters of wine a day, and if you are arsenic really should be on the back burner of problems you’re addressing. Once again they list all their findings in parts per billion despite the fact that parts per million is often the standard way of reporting them. Alarmingly this report was paired with a press release from BeverageGrades offering to provide winemakers with “independent testing certifying safety”, which sounds suspiciously like the mob offering you protection.Then the biggest red flag; Doris Charles v. The Wine Group LLC. After the controversial report that BeverageGrades released there was a class-action lawsuit filed against The Wine Group LLC, a Livermore, CA based company that describes themselves as the world’s second largest wine-producer by volumes. They own some of the popular brands like flipflop (spelling theirs), Cupcake, and Franzia. The class-action suit alleges that the The Wine Group misrepresented their wines as safe, and its primary source of evidence is the report brought forth by BeverageGrades. Now, it might not seem alarming that a supposedly independent lab group was being cited for a class-action suit, but remember that from 2001 until 2014 Hicks owned Baroness Wines all through the time that his other company was being courted by the attorneys putting together the 2015 class-action suit. BeverageGrades also isn’t just a cited lab, they’re a listed defendant.All of this is pretty obscene, but there’s one final thing that we haven’t even gotten to yet. Remember the 1998 company listed in Hick’s bio on Ellipse’s website, the similar sounding HealthGrades? So this was a company that compiled healthcare information and user reviews for doctors and hospitals. Basically Yelp for your doctor. Well HealthGrades has been plagued for years with allegations of not verifying user reviews, having provided incorrect data for various practices or doctors. In fact, in 2002 a study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, finding “Mortality rates were lower for patients treated at higher-rated than lower-rated hospitals. However, there was marked heterogeneity within rating groups and substantial overlap of individual hospitals across rating strata for mortality and process of care; only 3.1% of comparisons between 1-star and 5-star hospitals had statistically lower risk-standardized 30-day mortality rates in 5-star hospitals.” They concluded, “Hospital ratings published by [HealthGrades] identified groups of hospitals that, in the aggregate, differed in their quality of care and outcomes. However, the ratings poorly discriminated between any 2 individual hospitals's process of care or mortality rates during the study period.”So when you look at the history of the man in charge of Ellipse you see a horrifying pattern over nearly two decades of profiteering from questionable results amidst an ocean of allegations of misrepresenting what little data was found, combined with a pathological engagement in conflict of interests, and a habit of borderline blackmail by offering fee based “testing and certification” after releasing baseless alarmist findings. This is the lab that the Clean Label Project wants consumers to trust in. Kevin Hicks is the man behind that data you’re supposed to trust to keep your pets safe.Sources:CLP AMA Ellipse Analytics Kevin Hicks Bio Third Party Validation and Verification LLC Trademark ListDoris Charles v. The Wine Group LLCQuestions about BeverageGrades Methods BeverageGrades Offers Testing and CertificationJAMA Study Involving HealthGradesAlso posted this to r/Dogs and r/Pets as it seemed prudent for those, hope that's not violating a rule I didn't notice. The original post: http://ift.tt/2tamKDj via /r/cats

[charlesrosewines]

Certainly, Would You Like Arsenic With That?

In a class action lawsuit, filed in the USA on Thursday, 28 wineries producing 83 wines have been accused of producing wines containing high levels of arsenic. The lawsuit alleges that the wines contain up to five times the levels of arsenic than the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows for water. The varieties listed include bottles from prominent brands and all retail for less than…

[beveragegrades]

Solution for the Budget Savvy Wine-O

We’ve all been there – preparing to host a nice cocktail party with all of your friends, family and coworkers. The menu is set and you have all the groceries you’ll need to really “wow” your guests, all except for the accompanying wine. You arrive at the wine aisle at the grocery or liquor store, and stare aimlessly, overwhelmed by options and preoccupied by pricing. You’ve spent a fortune on all of the right appetizers and the main dish, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on alcohol.

Facing hundreds and hundreds of bottles in the store aisle, you start running through the questions in your head: 

“Which wine holds the best value?”

“What quality wine can I buy without breaking the bank?”

“Is that top-shelf brand really worth that much money?”

Copy Cat™ is here to help answer these questions.

Copy Cat™ can find beverages that are virtually identical in their chemistry composition, and therefore in taste. With this information you can be sure not to overspend on a bottle that has a lower-priced chemical twin! Simply select your favorite bottle of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or whatever your preference, and Copy Cat™ will find a handful of other bottles with near identical composition and flavor profile at a range of prices. You may find that your favorite bottle of wine has a taste match that is half the price!

Check out our mobile app for Copy Cat™ (on Android and Apple) to take as your shopping companion, so you’ll never fear the wine aisle again and neither will your wallet. 

[beveragegrades]

BeverageGrades Uncorked

Welcome to the new and improved BeverageGrades®! We have worked hard to redesign our site to give you the most helpful information when it comes to selecting and enjoying wine, beer and spirits.

Here’s a quick sample of how we have changed the site:

Easy to Navigate – whether you want to learn about the difference in sulfites in red versus white wine (spoiler alert – you might be surprised) or find less expensive beverages with the same flavor profiles as some of your favorites, easy-to-navigate drop down menus make finding the information as satisfying as an ice cold beer on a summer day.

Flavor Profiles – Our unique Copy Cat® TasteMatch™ tool allows you to enter your favorite wine and find other wines that have a similar flavor, aroma and taste profiles at a variety of price points. By using Copy Cat®, you just might find that your favorite bottle of wine has a twin at half the price.

Top Categories – we have analyzed thousands of wines, so finding what you are looking for can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. We’ve grouped together wines in popular categories, such as “Top Value Wines”, “Top Healthy Wines”, “Low Calories Wines” and more so you can find the information when you need it.

TRuPrice – If you are a believer that it’s what’s inside the bottle that matters, than look out for the TRuPrice. This is the price of the wine once you strip away its pretty label, brand name and advertising budget. The higher the TRuPrice is in relation to the retail price, the higher the value for that wine.

Detailed Information – now when you view one particular wine, you can review all relevant information in our database, including its nutritional profile, average price and Copy Cat® flavor profile

We'll also be continuing to add news to the site so stay tuned. This blog will continue to serve as your resource for all things BeverageGrades, so keep checking back for more information.

[beveragegrades]

New research shows that moderated wine consumption may help your kidneys.

Doctors at the University of Colorado-Denver analyzed the wine consumption habits of 5,832 participants using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey (2003 – 2006). They found a correlation between moderate wine consumption and lower rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Participants who drank less than one glass of wine a day had healthier kidneys than non-drinkers. Moreover, participants who already had CKD and who drank less than a glass of wine per day had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease as compared to non-drinkers.

This does not mean that people who do not already drink should start now. This is also not a conclusive study. It simply shows that a correlation exists between moderate wine consumption and CKD, and thus, more research needs to be done to prove the hypothesis.

About 26 million Americans have CKD, often caused by high blood pressure and diabetes according to the National Kidney Foundation. With the increased incidence of diabetes, this number has been growing and is expected to grow significantly over the next 10 years.

According to one of the lead scientists, Dr. Tapan Mehta, “The polyphenols found in wine have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which may help explain the protective heart effects.” And, since heart disease is linked to kidney disease, there may be an association.

If you have heart disease or CKD, and are looking to find wines high in antioxidants, you can do so on our Website. It’s simple. Use our "Browse Guide" to find wines that have been lab tested as having the highest concentration of antioxidants.

[beveragegrades]

Not all beers and wines are created equal.

  Most people assume that a drink is just a drink. But, when you factor in the varying alcohol contents and pour sizes, this could not be further from the truth. With April being alcohol awareness month, we would like to educate our users about responsible drinking, which I must say, is no easy task.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines one standard drink based on a variety of factors including beverage type (e.g. beer, wine and spirit), pour size and alcohol by volume (ABV). So, a beer = a glass of wine = a distilled spirit at the following levels noted below:

Beer: 12 oz glass at 5% ABV

Wine: 5 oz glass at 12% ABV

Distilled spirit (e.g. whiskey, vodka): 1.5 oz shot at 40% ABV

Okay, so besides the math headache required to determine the number of drinks one consumes, let’s delve a bit deeper.

Fact: About 85% of the wines BeverageGrades has lab tested exceed 12% alcohol, with many wines having 15% and 16% alcohol levels.

Fact: Beers can be sold at up to 16% ABV. That’s more than 3 times the ABV drink equivalent.

Fact: Craft beers are springing up everywhere and the average ABV is usually more like 8% or 10%.

Fact: Most restaurant portion sizes are greater than the CDC standard. Wines are usually served at 6.4 oz and beers on tap at 16 oz. And, don’t get me started on whiskeys, vodkas and other distilled spirits. The fact that an average martini glass holds 7 ounces says it all.

All these facts lead to one major problem: people are drinking much more alcohol than they realize. And, the repercussions are devastating.

Alcohol is the #1 cause of death nationwide and worldwide. Alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable death. The key is to understand the trend towards higher alcohol drinks and larger serving sizes. Check our Website (and soon our phone app) to know the amount of alcohol in a given brand. Again, they vary widely, and, always factor in the size of the drinks.

Enjoy a nice glass of wine or beer tonight. But, remember the trend.

Cheers to a safe and festive weekend!

[beveragegrades]

Powdered alcohol for sale this fall.

The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) has approved a powered alcohol product called Palcohol. Is this a good idea or not? Forget about the irresponsible nature of the product, and the numerous reporters and bloggers out there, afraid that youngsters will snort this stuff or sprinkle it on their food. Yes, bad idea of course. Let’s instead focus on the business concept and what problem it intends to solve.

If you visit their Website, their pitch is simple, “Wouldn’t it be great to have alcohol in powder form so all one had to do is add water? Since it’s light and compact, it wouldn’t be a burden to carry.” Okay, so their key selling point is convenience. Well, boda bags and other liquid receptacles are fairly convenient too.

Then, there’s the Kool-Aid-like powder selling point. “Just add water.” Clearly, their demographic is young drinkers, probably in college. I cannot see 35+ year old adults sneaking this powdered substance into an event. It just seems too juvenile to me. Their Website does not include pricing, but I’d figure a packet to be between $5 or $10 – for powder. It just seems silly. It screams of fad. And, yes it’s irresponsible.

Lastly, the spirits business is highly competitive to say the least. So, beyond the niche market they are targeting, this company needs to find distributors and retailers to carry it. Distributors will be especially cautious since they also sell products like Smirnoff and Captain Morgan’s that will have a "small (uh hum)" say in their future. Good luck with that Palcohol!

I give this company a year at best. What do you think?

[beveragegrades]

Wine Drinkers Are Dabbling in Craft Beers

I wrote an article about a week ago referencing a wine tasting expo in England that for the first time in 34 years was bringing beer companies into the mix. I know there are a whole host of wine and beer festivals that take place today. My initial question was (for more the wine and beer purists), are you happy having wine and beer drinkers mix and mingle?

The Drinks Business may have helped to answer this question. With my background in data analytics, I always like to have information on my side. And, here are a few key points to consider:

- There are 101 million US wine consumers according to the Wine Market Council.

- 34 million of these consumers are considered “high frequency drinkers” and “are responsible for 85% of all wines consumed.”

- Of these 34 million, 11 million wine consumers are “high end buyers” meaning they purchase 90% of all wines over $20 and 40% of those between $10 and $20.

- High end wine consumers “are really and truly into craft beer” according to The Drinks Business.

It’s safe to assume that most people who attend these festivals are high end wine consumers and craft beer drinkers. So, it makes all the sense in the world that wine and beer festivals coexist today. And, with the explosion of craft beers, more than likely, this trend will continue.

So I ask you high end consumers: are you following this trend? Is it a good thing? Are you wine lovers starting to dabble into craft beers? Does the same trend apply to craft brew fans; are you drinking more wine?

Let me know your thoughts. Cheers!

[beveragegrades]

Top Cabernet vs. Chardonnay: A Friendly NCAA Wager

This is it! And, for many of you out there, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Finally.”

Tonight at 9:10 PM ET, The UConn Huskies take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the finals of the NCAA basketball tournament. In the spirit of March Madness, we will have our priciest white wine square off against our priciest red. The prize: bragging rights as to which wine is most healthy in the trophy wine section of our site. May the best wine win.

A few things to understand before I introduce our competitors. BeverageGrades has been lab testing fines for about a year now, and if there’s one truism that I can attest to, it’s that price has no correlation to quality. (In fact, it’s our expensive wines that we suggest you scour for Copy Cat TasteMatches—but that’s a separate topic for another day.) A couple of lab tips I can share as well about white wines versus red wines: 1) White’s typically have fewer calories than reds, and 2. Contrary to popular belief, a typical white has more sulfites than a typical red.

Without further ado, let’s check out the competition:

Far Niente Chardonnay (2012) - $49 171 calories | 1.1 g sugar per glass (6.4 oz typical serving)

VERSUS

Opus One Red Blend (2009) - $191 187 Calories | 2.5 g sugar per glass (6.4 oz typical serving)

From a price perspective, clearly you would put your money on Opus One; but, remember, like I said, lab testing has proven that price has NO correlation to quality. Since both wines are from Napa Valley, I’d say this is a pretty fair contest. And the winner is…

Far Niente Chardonnay, by a hair, with a health rating of 3.6 versus Opus One’s 3.4 (out of 5 stars).  

As for my hoops pick tonight, I’m going with the Vegas underdog and taking the UConn Huskies. I’m a sucker for underdogs.

Cheers and enjoy the game!

[beveragegrades]

Men drink beer and women drink wine?

It’s gotta be one of the most well-known books in the US, “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.” It’s even a saying now from both sides of the aisle. When my wife claims to not understand my behaviors, she will quote the title of this book.

To be completely honest, I’ve never read it. But, I started thinking about it today, when once again my wife shook her head in disbelief as I told her how important the upcoming last two games of the Elite Eight NCAA basketball games were to me. As a beverage blogger, I wondered, specifically, why don’t "BIG" beer companies do a better job of marketing beer to women? Every commercial I see when watching the games is clearly geared towards me. This is probably a bad example, since we are combining men’s basketball and beer. But, I truly have never seen a plain old beer commercial for women, on any channel.

I thought I’d ask an industry insider this very question. This unnamed source is a marketing manager from a large beer company. I asked him, in simple terms, “Why is all of your marketing geared towards men? Are you convinced that women prefer wine and will not switch to beer?” [Large beer company marketing manager] told me, “We understand the female market is a huge opportunity for us. We have lots of new products that are in the works to specifically market to women.”

I took this as code for apricot or blueberry flavored beer. Why does a beer need to be some fruity beverage for women…like a chardonnay? Speaking of, there’s that too, a chardonnay-beer. Really? It’s as if beer companies see the female demographic as purely interested in wine and therefore developing beers that are more like wines. Why?

Why not just plain, everyday beer, e.g. lager beer, marketed directly to women? Let’s face it, big beer companies are getting crushed by microbreweries, so gaining more market share is likely a plus.

Marketing plain old beer to women doesn’t seem out of this world to me. It sure sounds like a better idea than a deliciously sweet raspberry light beer for women?

Is it me? What do you think? I’m just curious. What can I say, "I'm from Mars."

[beveragegrades]

Spain. The King of Wines.

That’s right Italy! That’s right France! Spain now reigns supreme as the biggest producer of wine in the world. According to the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, in 2013 they produced about 6.7 billion bottles of wine. That’s enough to provide 1 bottle to every man and woman on the planet.

There’s one tiny wrinkle. Spain prefers beer and spirits over wine by a huge margin. In fact, Spain has the second lowest per capita wine consumption in Europe, behind of all countries, Norway. Since the Norwegians clearly can’t take all this wine off of Spain’s hands, and their own kinsmen don’t want it either, I think it’s our honor and duty as Americans to pitch in.

Americans love wine. According to the State of the Wine Industry, “Wine has grown at a 3.4% rate [year over year] since 2005, outpacing all other [alcoholic] beverages sold.” So, let’s lend a helping hand and buy Spanish wine -- for their sake, by the caseload.

To do our small part, BeverageGrades would like to offer up some suggestions of highly rated Spanish wines to cart into your cellars. Salud!

Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava - $9                               This Spanish sparkling wine is a great bargain and has only 128 calories per serving. It’s a delicious 5 star healthy rated wine.

Martin Codax Albarino (2011) - $15 If you like Albarinos, than you’ll love this one. It’s a 5 star healthy find as well.

Blanc de Pacs White Blend (2010) - $15 This 4 star healthy rated wine is an excellent choice. It is rated very highly for persons with Diabetes or Heart Disease.

Congrats again to the mighty Spaniards, and game on next year for their friends to the North!  

[beveragegrades]

Sweet Wines for the Sweet 16? Fine Picks for Your Waistline.

There’s a reason they call the NCAA basketball tournament, March Madness. One look no further than your bracket to see the madness. Anyone out there have Stanford playing Dayton in the sweet sixteen? Not I! How about the first round; who, besides a few die hard Mercer alum had them knocking off Duke? Things were so crazy in this first weekend of play that Warren Buffet’s billion was safe before the end of round 1 (or 2 as they call it with the play in games; I’m still a little old school).

For those bracketologists who are shooting for small prizes in their office pools, best of luck to you. For those who are patiently waiting for the madness to continue this weekend, we’d like to provide you with four (sixteen seemed excessive), budget-friendly, low calorie “sweet” wines.

We’ve selected one Rieslings, two Moscatos and a flavored wine to enjoy with your hoopster friends without the fear of too many added calories.

[yellow tail] Reisling (2012) - $6 Our friends from down under have produced this sweet white wine with only 128 calories per serving. This 5 star low calorie wine is among the best of the Reislings.

Barefoot Bubbly Spumante Moscato - $9 Considering a glass of Moscato can be upwards of 225 calories per glass, this is a sweet choice at 143 calories per serving.

Alice White Lexia Moscato (2011) - $6 While it tips the scale at 154 calories per glass, it’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for a lower calorie Moscato.

Arbor Mist Chardonnay – Peach Flavored - $3.50 At only 131 calories per serving, we too were surprised that a flavored wine could be relatively low in calories, especially considering these types of wines can be nearly 500 calories per serving depending on the flavor.

PLEASE NOTE: Be sure to peruse our Website for other wines that interest you as the caloric content in wines ranges from about 110 to nearly 500 calories per 6.4oz serving.

Enjoy the sweet sixteen while responsibly sipping on these sweeter wines. And, best of luck to all those teams vying for a spot in the coveted Final Four in Dallas (Arlington to be more specific). 

[beveragegrades]

Low Calorie "Tasty" Wines for the New Year

Sipping skinny does not mean sacrificing taste...at all! Drink better wines with less juice concentrate and other additives. Read the whole story on our blog, The Spill, at BeverageGrades.

[beveragegrades]

It costs $80 to lab test a bottle of wine. Is it worth it?

It’s actually $78.34, but who’s counting. And, this only includes our direct costs (e.g. our chemists’ and lab technicians’ salaries, instrumentation materials, chemical reagents, etc.) A bit of lab sticker shock to be sure!

So is it worthwhile? Well, we sure think so, as we’re building our business around this concept. Let’s drill into the details to be certain.

Source: BeverageGrades (Feb 1, 2013 – Jan 31, 2014)

BeverageGrades achieves economies of scale by providing two complementary services: 1. Nutrition & Health Grades, and 2. Copy Cat™ Ratings. You can see in the chart above that our commercial lab testing costs would be $75 if we only tested for health components and $57 if we only tested for Copy Cat components. Offering both services makes sense because almost all of the compounds we test contribute to wine ratings for nutrition and Copy Cat. Take sugar, tannins and antioxidants as examples. All three contribute to the health profile of a wine. Equally, they also contribute to the taste and aromas of a wine as well.

Getting precise, quantitative measurements of hundreds of compounds from over 1,000 bottles of wine (and counting) provides accurate health ratings and precise wine ratings. So, by offering both nutrition ratings and wine ratings based on science, our users can make smarter decisions based on what appeals to them. Whether it’s calories in wine, sulfites in wine, or saving $20 per bottle for a nearly identically tasting Napa Valley Cabernet in a retail store (and much more in a restaurant), we believe the value proposition is huge for our loyal user base.

So, while spending $75 to lab test a wine is expensive, the information is so powerful on so many levels for our BeverageGrades’ users, that we do indeed believe it’s incredibly worthwhile. What do you think?

[beveragegrades]

It's a Super Bowl Wine-Off

This weekend in New York, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will face off against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

While it is yet to be determined which state has a better football team (avoiding undeniably biased opinion on winner here) we can determine which state’s wines are winners.

Colorado wines are the new kids on the block in comparison to the many well-established vineyards in Washington State; but it’s never smart to underestimate youth, and we feel Colorado’s best vintages can hold their own in this healthy competition.

The Contenders:

Two Rivers Winery - Grand Junction, Colorado.

Cabernet Sauvingnon – 214 cal 1.9g carbs / 6.4oz serving

Merlot – 168.5 cal 3.4g carbs / 6.4oz serving

  Chateau Ste. Michelle – Woodinville Washington

Cabernet Sauvignon – 141.5 cal 0.6g carbs / 6.4oz serving

Merlot – 150 cal 3.7g carbs / 6.4oz serving

In this competition, Washington State’s team of wines JUST edged out the Colorado team. Chateau Ste. Michelle wines scored 4 out of 5 stars in the BeverageGrades system, while Two Rivers came in at a close second with 3 out of 5 stars overall.

Whichever wine you choose this Super weekend, make sure it’s a winner (which both of these wineries absolutely are!). Your health will thank you!

[beveragegrades]

Weekend Wine List January 24, 2014

For this weekend’s wine list, we’re going to focus on the bubbles!

From traditional French champagnes to Italian Prosecco, we hope you can find something delightfully sparkly to sip on this Saturday and Sunday!

Mumm Napa Brut Rose – 147 cal 2.6g sugar $17

Sparkling Rose wines are crisp, slightly sweet, effervescent and provide an excellent opportunity to try something new (and pink!). Mumm Napa’s Rose earns an impressive 4.7 stars in the SummaryGrade category. It has few, if any traces of heavy metals like lead and arsenic, and it has more antioxidants than other sparking wines tested by BeverageGrades. At $17, it’s an easy and relatively inexpensive way to add a little adventure to your weekend.

La Marca Prosecco – 126 cal 1.9g sugar $13

Prosecco is the title given to select sparkling white wines made in Italy.  We consider this bottle to be a winner based on its low calorie content and the absence of pesticides, lead and arsenic. In comparison to other sparkling wines, its also low in sugar, so it may be a bit dryer than the other wines on the list, but it can be nice to stay dry in the winter, no?

Dom Perignon (2003) – 142 cal 1.2g sugar $150

Yeah, we know, it’s pricey; but in this instance, you really do get what you pay for. Dom (as we all affectionately call it) gets a whopping 5 out of 5 stars in the SummaryGrade category, which means by our health standards, it’s pretty darn good. Dom is low in sugar, low in sodium and has minimal, if any, pesticide residue. So, if you’re feeling like splurging this weekend, or it’s a seriously special occasion, you really can’t go wrong with Dom.

As always, please drink responsibly!