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The Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers Chardonnay 2019 is one of the new “fitness” wines with zero sugar, 85 calories, 9% alcohol content, gluten-free, and sustainably farmed. This is one of the brands from Scheid Family Vineyards from the Monterey AVA on the Central Coast of California.
This Chardonnay is sourced from Scheid’s sustainably farmed estate vineyards in Monterey County. Their winemaker, Casey DiCesare, has a proprietary process to remove alcohol from the wine. The grapes are picked at peak ripeness and are then crushed and fermented. The fermentation process continues until all the natural sugar in the grapes is gone.
You see this with the Champagne label “Nature” or zero residual sugar. Most still wines have some sugar left in the wine after fermentation and since the sugar in the wine is converted into alcohol it keeps the alcohol levels in check. The fermented wine then undergoes a 2-stage filtration process that removes some of the alcohol from the wine.
A typical Monterey AVA Chardonnay is around 13.5% alcohol so reducing the alcohol to 9% is substantial. The fermentation process removes the sugar and the filtering lessens the alcohol, but the grapes are farmed and picked like a typical Chardonnay.
Aldi had a version of the Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers Chardonnay 2019 called Don’t Mind If I Do, these wines had the same no-sugar and low-calorie specification but didn’t mention being estate grown or being sustainably farmed.
I do not know if Scheid Family Vineyards were testing the market for fitness wines by selling them at Aldi, these wines were very popular and I believe they are still available at Aldi.
The Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers Chardonnay 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is golden yellow, the tasting notes mention vanilla which is an oak barrel flavor and oak can color White wines. The nose is lemon, apple, melon, a little honey, pear, tangerine, green apple, and grapefruit. The Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers Chardonnay 2019 is a lighter mouthfeel but has full flavor.
This Chardonnay tastes like tart green apple, lemon, ripe pear, sharp but subdued spice, and Anjou pear. In the mid-palate, there is a little vanilla, dried apricot, and tart tangerine. The overall flavor profile is more tart citrus and rounded fruit flavors. The acidity is pronounced but adds to the flavor of the Chardonnay.
The Summary
- The Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers Chardonnay 2019 tastes like regular Chardonnay, it isn’t that much different than other Chardonnays in the price range.
- It is lighter on the palate and it has a tart personality, but if you didn’t know, you probably would not guess it had no sugar and 9% alcohol.
