Honestly, who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to take a big ol’ swig out of an opaque brown bottle with no label whatsoever?
It’s not the most appetizing thought in the world. That said, you can find one of the best beverages for a warm summer day in just such a disturbing bottle. The Winemaker’s Shop has been producing and selling non-alcoholic sodas for a couple years now: from the tap, from growlers, or from mysterious brown bottles acquired at a farmer’s market.
Here’s how you know it’s good: one sip of the Green Apple Riesling systematically inspired an on-the-spot religious conversion from a die-hard, committed Diet Coke drinker.
While the shop’s soda is non-alcoholic, the green apple offering does have that piquant background flavor associated with wine. It’s there, I swear, in spite of the fact that the business does not actually ferment the fruit in these sodas. What really matters is this: the aforementioned soda hits you with the most crisp, fresh apple taste ever. It’s how you want all of your apples to taste, but they seldom do. This beverage delivers quality in every light, refreshing gulp.
The sodas come in several flavors. The Peach Raspberry Sangria was equally well-received. The fruit combo is pretty interesting. The raspberry takes a definite front seat, but the peach element takes some of the berry’s characteristic tart bite away. It makes the beverage smoother and more mellow. It seems to hold more bubbly carbonation than the green apple version too. The Winemaker’s Shop’s website lists some other goodies such as Strawberry White Merlot, Pomegranate Zinfandel and Peach Apricot Chardonnay. The latter is on the next get-list.
And while the bottles in this trial bore no paper labels, the lids have letters on them (“GA” means Green Apple, for example), so you can keep track of what’s inside.
For more information, visit winemakersshop.com.