Can a sparkling wine priced at just $7.99 truly hold its own against higher-end bottles? Listen to our latest episode as we pop the cork on a bottle of Colby California Brut Sparkling Wine from Aldi, exploring its surprisingly delightful taste profile and dispelling preconceptions about budget-friendly bubbly. Crafted by the renowned Rack and Riddle using the Charmat method, this wine offers a unique blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc flavors, providing an experience akin to a California Prosecco. Discover the intriguing world of private-label wines and how Rack and Riddle’s expertise plays a crucial role in bringing these hidden gems to our glasses.
Join us as we sip through a tasting experience that features light, persistent bubbles and subtle hints of stone fruit, lemon, apple, and melon. While complexity might not be its forte, this easy-drinking sparkler is perfect for casual occasions, striking a balance between dryness and a hint of sweetness. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or simply seeking a wallet-friendly option, this episode reveals how good taste doesn’t have to come with a hefty price tag. Uncover the charm of this $8 sparkling wine that promises a pleasant surprise for your palate without leaving a dent in your budget.
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0:06
Welcome. It's Domain, dave. Cheapwinefindercom Again, another podcast for reasonably priced wine. This one's literally cheap. It's a 799 sparkling wine from Aldi. It's the Colby California Brute Sparkling Wine. I don't know what Aldi's been having wines. This is kind of Colby Corbel. The last few wines, or some of the wines they've had, are reasonably close in name to other brands for some reason, and it's usually a brand that's not all that expensive in the first place. So I'm not sure why that's happening. Or is it just like a suggestion as an alternative? Or maybe it's accidental. I don't know, but this isn't Corbel, this is Colby.
Speaker 1:
0:56
It's made in the Charmette method, which is how they make Prosecco. I don't know the grapes, they didn't say but it tastes pretty good. I don't know the grapes, they didn't say, but it tastes pretty good. And it tastes like there's Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and that kind of stuff in there. Charmette Method, in case you don't know. And it's made by Rack and Riddle. Rack and Riddle is a huge sparkling wine producer out of Northern California and they do private brands. If you see an American bubbly for Trader Joe's, aldi, maybe even Costco, that type of thing, they probably make it. Plus, they make their bubbly for famous brands. They make any winery that doesn't have their own facility to make sparkling wine, well, it's probably bad at rack and riddle. And they had a Charmat facility open in Sonoma, like two years ago. And this is a Charmat method and that means after they ferment the grapes the first time to taste, age it a little bit and then they put it in these huge in prosecco. They're huge. Here that's probably going to be a little bit smaller because this is a private brand. You don't need 100 million bottles of this um and put the, put them, put it in the this pressurized vat with a little bit of sugar, a little bit of yeast, measured out, and after 30 to 45 days, depending on what they're doing with it or what they wanted to do, you got yourself some bubbly. So that's what this is. That's what charmat is and it's uh.
Speaker 1:
2:34
I'm gonna take a sip. I gotta say that the bubbles are a little bit light. They're still going, but they're not. Uh, and they're teeny tiny. They're still going. I mean, I've had the glass sitting here for a little, but they're not. They're teeny tiny, but they're still going. I've had the glass sitting here for a little bit, but they're.
Speaker 1:
2:50
What am I complaining for it's an $8 bubbly that tastes pretty good. Forget my complaint. It's not complex, it's a dry. The root means dry, but there is a little bit of sweetness in there somewhere. I'm not sure what grape they used if they, uh, the scotto or something they added in there just to give it that little rounded edge to it or how they did that. But it's not sugar sweet, it's just a little bit of that nectar sweetness to it.
Speaker 1:
3:27
It's not complex, it's not, doesn't have sharpness to it. It tastes fine. It's not a, it's not a uh, it's a very easy wine to drink. It's not not one of these kind of fine wines that disappear at your taste or change every single sip. But no, for an $8 bubbly you're doing fine. Yeah, I mean Now I'm getting a little bit of stone fruit, which I wasn't getting before. You're getting lemon, getting some, getting some apple, maybe some melon, little candy spice. It tastes great.
Speaker 1:
4:18
Like I said, it's just not that complex, it's just, it is what it is, but it tastes fine. And for an $8 sparkling wine charmette method. You know that. Complex it just it is what it is, but it tastes fine. And for an eight dollar sparkling wine charmette method, you know the california prosecco, as it were. It does really well. I'm I'm happy with it.
Speaker 1:
4:34
I would buy it again, you know, if you're really looking to, um, get, you know, get into a wine, kind of kind of wine nerd out on a wine, this is just fun to drink. This is actually probably way better off as an outside If you've got a pool sitting around the pool, sitting in the pool out on the deck at night, kind of bubbly, rather than where you're just drinking a wine just to relax and sip, rather than celebrating really Not that you can't celebrate with an $8 wine, but that's really not what this is. This is just sip it and like it and everything's good. So that's it for me. Domain Dave cheapwinefightercom.
Speaker 1:
5:21
This is a Colby, not Corbell, california Brute Sparkling Wine. It's $7.99 at Aldi and it's not bad at all. It's very drinkable, not great sparkling wine. You're not going to impress your wine snob friends, but you'll like it. So, adios, not that you're not a wine snob. So, adios, keep it cheap, stay warm, stay that you're not a wine snub. So, adios, keep it cheap, stay warm, stay. Whatever you got to do out there. I think we're getting eight inches of snow or something. It probably won't happen, but maybe. So keep it cheap. I've got a Chenin Blanc coming up and a kind of a fun Pinot Noir, so I'll be talking to everybody in a couple of days. We've got, I got, I got, I planned ahead. So, adios, keep it cheap and I'll be talking Bye-bye.
