The Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine is a $9.99 ALDI exclusive. ALDI owns the brand name and the still wines in this line are made by a family-owned winery in Monterey, California. The Sparkling wine has been made by a family-owned winery, since 1938, located in Lodi, California.
They are the largest Sparkling winemakers in Lodi and have been around long enough that they can call their own branded Sparkling wines Champagne. In 2006 the Champagne wine federation sued to stop California wineries from using Champagne on their labels, wine brands in existence before 2006 were grandfathered in and can use the term.
The I Don’t Mind If I Do line of wines are no sugar, low calorie, low alcohol, and gluten-free wines. The still wines made by the Monterey winery had a proprietary method for reaching zero sugar and low alcohol, but Sparkling wine has an extra step that can add sugar to wine, and there is no information on how it was made.
The Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine has 85 calories, zero sugar, 9% alcohol, and is gluten-free. This Bubbly is produced in the Charmat Method (same as Prosecco) which is where the wine is fermented once and then aged. After the desired time the wine is transferred to a large pressurized vat, then yeast and sugar are added. The vat is adjusted to the designated pressure and after a few weeks to a few months, you have Bubbly.
In Champagne, the wines labeled “Nature” have no sugar added, the preferred method for Prosecco is for the wines to be Extra Brut which means a little sweet or some added sugar. The sugar content after the first fermentation is also important. Producing Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine in these specifications was not easy.
The tasting notes for the Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine mention a nose of citrus, apple, and vanilla and flavors that are creamy and toasty. Vanilla, creamy and toasty should indicate that the wine saw some oak contact during the first fermentation.
The Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine Tasting Notes
The color is almost clear with a hint of silver. The nose is grapefruit, spice, vanilla cream, lemon, and apple, this is a very dry Bubbly so the aromas are subtle. The Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine is crisp and delicate, the flavors seem to evaporate on your tongue.
This Bubbly tastes like green apple, the flavor starts like it will be sweet but it never gets there, peach, lemon hard candy (but not sweet), and soft spice. The mid-palate mirrors the main body of the wine but does add a hint of tangerine and dried unsweetened pineapple.
The acidity for some inexpensive Sparkling wines can be a bit too much but the acidity for the Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine is well managed.
The Summary
- The Don’t Mind If I Do Sparkling Wine is a diet Bubbly with no trade-offs.
- If you were not aware that this Bubbly had no sugar and only 85 Calories you would never guess that this wine was low-cal and had no sugar.
- Prosecco wines typically have the same calories as a light beer, Prosecco wines rarely have zero sugar.
- This is a wine well worth buying.
Are they still making it? I can’t find it anywhere.
It is still available at my local Aldi, but if you can’t find Sunny With A Chance of Flowers brand is made by the same company using estate-grown grapes with the same low calories, sugar free and the rest
I can’t find the white sparkling wine, just the rose. Typical of Aldi, I get hooked on something and they quit carrying it.
Hi,
The brand Sunny with a Chance of Flowers is a very similar wine made by the same producer