Posts Tagged ‘Wine’

Vino Solo

2 comments Written on September 20th, 2012 by
Categories: Drinks
Tags: , ,

Product: Vino Solo (2008 Cabernet Merlot, Petit Verdot)
Purchased at: Grocery Outlet (North Tacoma/6th Ave.)
Price:
$0.99

I’m writing this post at 2am because nighttime is the right time to write blog posts. Not the mention the bars right below my apartment start closing and the bleary-eyed, yelling-prone tipsy patrons start filtering into the alley just thirty feet below my window. Nothing like the smell of cheap cigarette smoke and drunken yells to lull your from a blissful, dream-filled sleep.

But I digress; I’m not bitter. In fact, one of the only reality shows I actually enjoy started back up again last Friday: Shark Tank. I’ll spare you the details about the premise (it’s like Dragons’ Den, for you international readers) since Wikipedia does a good job explaining. It’s my little dose of ABC television-produced schadenfreude – because what reader wouldn’t get a guilty chuckle from an “inventor” that says they’ve invested their life savings in a pillow for woman with breast implants or a product lineup for “cougars” (no, not the animal). Or if you’re looking for amusement, look up a little game called “BulletBall”.

One of the most infamous entrepreneurs is a guy who’s come back asking for money twice – for his single serve plastic wine cups with peel back foil tops.  Every time I saw a clip of him, I would eye my little plastic bottle of Vino Solo that’s been sitting on our shelf for probably about six months now. Why drink a single serve glass when you can drink the whole darn (little) bottle? I decided to test the bottle out last weekend.

According to the paper label, Vino Solo is “South Eastern Australian Wine” composed of “52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot [and] 6% Petit Verdot” or in my language “Cheap Red Wine” (it’s 13.5% alcohol by volume). Tangentially related, here is a reference image describing myself for your viewing pleasure:

The wine surprisingly isn’t offensive for a plastic bottled petit, just a bit mediocre (this coming from a strictly occasional Two Buck Chuck drinker). I don’t really see the practicality of drinking a single serve wine, though the argument of drinking one glass of wine and let the rest go bad always seems to come up. However, which is more depressing – having the remainder of a bottle spoil or drinking cheap red wine alone out of a glorified Solo Cup?

This Week at Grocery Outlet – Wino Edition!

6 comments Written on March 12th, 2012 by
Categories: Deals, Drinks, Food
Tags: , , , , , ,

This post comes on the heels of Grocery Outlet wrapping up their semi-annual wine sale, where every wine in stock is 20% off the normal price. Since we were stopping by on a fine Daylight Savings Sunday anyway to pick up our usual stash of Corn Nuts and energy drinks, we figured we might as well browse the bubbly and see what was up for grabs.

While I’m hardly a wine connoisseur (as you’ll see in a bit by the bottles I picked up), there are loads to choose from. If you can’t decide, there’s even a handy Grocery Outlet specific guide here (using GO’s other nickname “Gross Out”). You can tell how cheap Ben and I are when he scoffed that $6 was still too much for a bottle; guess he’s used to the $3 Chuck at Trader Joe’s. In addition to my normal shopping, I did end up splurging on a couple of bottles to tide me over in the meantime. Here’s some goods we ended up spotting and documenting for your reading pleasure:

1. Sweet Pea Apple Wine with Blackberry Flavor ($2.99 + 20% off) and Chocolate Shop – The Chocolate Lover’s Wine, Red Wine with Natural Dark Chocolate Flavor ($9.99 + 20% off)

As you can tell, I’m a sucker for novelty labels and things that may or may not fall under the defintion of “wine”. While I figure that the apple-blackberry wine is probably akin to a tart, slightly alcoholic juice, I’ve been duped before (Google “Chocovine Reviews” for more fun). Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

2. Chorizo Chipotle Corn Nuts, 4 oz bag – 69 cents

Because we haven’t seen the likes of these since we did one of our very first reviews on the same product back in January 2011. I don’t really expect these to last long in our cupboard since we’re not reviewing them again and they are full of spicy, meaty deliciousness.

 

3. Crying Tiger Ramen Noodle Soup, Beef Flavor – 15 cents

I’d be lying if I said we purchased it for reasons other that the name “Crying Tiger” but it looks like a standard beef ramen (a taste test will tell the truth). Oddly enough, the tiger on the package isn’t even crying, much less is he even disappointed that his face and species is attributed to a pack of cheap ramen.

 

4. BetterOats Mom’s Best Naturals Maple & Brown Sugar flavor and Lavish Dark Chocolate Oatmeal with Flax – 50 cents each

Next to the wholesome Mom-approved/”Mom’s Best” brand, the Lavish oatmeal looks downright seductive. Ben buys snacks for his co-workers to sample from his workspace so he figured he’d get a healthy alternative to the norm of Super Mario & My Little Pony fruit snacks, though I can’t say how healthy dark chocolate oatmeal (with flax!) might be.

5. Belly Flops Irregular Jelly Beans (aka Jelly Belly factory rejects), one pound – $2.99

Nothing like buying a product with the word “irregular” in the name (besides Metamucil and Ex-Lax). On closer inspection, the bag contains things like conjoined twin Buttered Popcorns and snake-like Green Apples, so if anything you’re getting more candy per bite! Jelly Belly says: “Belly Flops are no less flavorful, or lovable, than regular Jelly Belly jelly beans; they just come in wild shapes and sizes. You may find one that’s round, one that’s square, or you may even find a bunch stuck together. On very rare occasions, a flavor may not match a color. A red Belly Flop might taste like Blueberry, or a white one might taste like Chocolate Pudding. Crazy!”

BONUS: THE NOTEBOOK LIMITED EDITION GIFT SET – $9.99

Stickers! Stationery! Bookmarks! Ryan Gosling! Here’s a great one star review I found on Amazon.com:

“I borrowed my sister in laws DVD of this movie cause everyone told me how romantic it was. What they neglectecd to inform me was that it was an emotional roller coaster through out the movie in which I wanted to kick my tv, plus I didnt know I’d need to watch it with a whole box of tissues. I was either mad or cried throughout the entire movie! But I figured it was ok as long as it had a happy ending. I’m not gonna say too much there for those of you who hasnt see it yet, but what the heck was that ending about? That was soooo sad I was blubbering like a baby. Needless to say, after the movie I was so upset I actually threw the remote control. I have now boycotted the movie from my house. A little drastic you say? Not to somebody who used an entire box of kleenex throughout the movie. In closing, hated the movie! Watch at your own risk. (and with tissues)”

Have a great week everyone. Enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, don’t imbibe too much and we’ll be back next week with another review.