Hi friends! I am back this week with another canned wine review. But first I want to talk about the major landscape change in the OKC Grocery Store Scene.
On October 1, all Oklahoma grocery stores will be able to carry wine, “high” point beer, and refrigerated beer. This is going to be huge for convenience, and most likely stressful for smaller liquor stores. Even though I am excited to have a Trader Joe’s less than a mile from me that carries WINE, I will continue to support local liquor stores like Freemans (where I purchased the wine below) and Grand Cru, two of my favorite liquor/wine stores with a great selection and really great service. That being said, I plan on being on the front lines for grocery store wine selection, so watch this space for more details.
I have been wanting to do this review for awhile, but honestly I couldn’t find a liquor store that stocks this brand! I searched high and low for a few weeks and came up with nothing. I was out this weekend picking up a few bottles, and noticed that Freemans had a few varieties of this brand, so I snagged some. I attended a tasting with Essentially Geared at The Pritchard a few months ago, and I really loved all the offerings that they had.
WHO IS ESSENTIALLY GEARED?
Essentially Geared is based out of California and boasts local California wine offerings. First of all, they have the coolest website of any canned wine company I have researched, and that’s important to a web geek like me. I have said this a million times, but for me and products that I buy, marketing makes a huge difference. Also – fonts. Nothing worse than a bad font and I love the font choices they make on the design of the can. It’s been said before that cans are a 360-degree marketing tool, and they are not wrong.
Just like I am a weak millennial that is drawn to cool wine labels, I am enamored with all the info that they have fit in on this can. For each wine, they suggest fun pairings, tasting notes, and even a mini-fantasy/suggestion on where you should drink their wine. It automatically draws your brain to a happy place that makes you want to pick up a can and drink. Wow, 400 words in and I haven’t even talked about the taste yet! Bleh.
OKAY, BUT HOW DOES IT TASTE?
So I don’t have the memory to recall what the other flavors tasted like, so I am reviewing the two I bought – the Chardonnay and the Bubbles. I do remember really loving the Rose, so if you can find that near you I suggest trying it!
The Essentially Geared website boasts the Chardonnay pairs well with fried chicken, ramen noodles and nachos supreme (a nod to Taco Bell, I think). I tend to think of most Chardonnays on the buttery side, but this variety is mild in it’s flavor. It’s crisp and bright, but still sweet and easy to drink. I paired this some noodles with butter and two eggs on top courtesy Shannon’s chickens (yes this was a hangover meal and I was desperately trying to feel better and usually hair of the dog works for me). I really loved this wine and could see myself repurchasing it.
The other wine I tried was the Bubbles, and let me tell you, this girl loves her champagne. One thing that I look for in a drinkable champagne is looser bubbles, almost more on the side of a prosecco. The can suggests you pair this champagne with spring rolls, chicken and waffles, and creamsicles, which sounds like a super balanced meal to me. I would love to stock the bar for a girls night in with this champagne. It’s 11% alcohol, so super drinkable and really tasty.
The prices of the cans are decent, but not cheap. I snagged them for around $8 at Freemans, which two cans = 1 bottle of wine. $16 is a little more than I would spend for casual drinking, but I think it’s a pretty decent price for the product.
All in all, I really love the offerings of Essentially Geared Wine Co, their branding and mainly their product. They have been one of the best canned wine companies that I have found when it comes to hitting the mark on all three. You can visit their website here to find where you can purchase their products.
