With wines like Skinnygirl, Naked Grape and Skinny Grape lining our shelves, it is clear that there is a shift toward ‘lighter wines,’ wines with lower alcohol content that leave us feeling less…well…drunk, after a glass or two. As alcohol is essentially sugar, not only are we feeling more alert, we are consuming less calories and less sugar. Awesome right? Well it depends.

These wines are very much lifestyle based wines. They are made for the ‘Skinny Girl’ on the bottle. They make us feel ‘Bethenny Frankel-esque’ (the reality show diva and creator of Skinnygirl products). We too can drink this wine and be beautiful, rich, charismatic and skinny! I’m not saying that this is negative, no. (Good on their marketers!)  Skinnygirl wine just has a specific place in the wine world.

I decided to try Skinnygirl White and Skinny Girl Red, both Californian blends. The white wine was 10.5% alcohol and described itself as being peachy with hints of apricot. Initially, my fellow wine taster and I could smell Jolly Rancher candies- yummy. We paused, swirled and sipped. This white tasted of green apple, pear, peach- yes, apricot- maybe. It was very approachable, drinkable and smooth: I can see how this could be enjoyed at a patio lunch while eating a goats cheese salad and chatting about Oprah’s latest life class..(or whatever it is you like to talk about). You could even put ice in this…I think.

We moved onto the red, a mere 9% alcohol. Again we caught a whiff of candy but this time, a red, juicy, gummy berry that when sipped, tasted of a Welch’s grape cocktail. It wasn’t the most complex wine we had ever tried but again, it was very drinkable and went down easily. We didn’t stay long on the red  and headed back to the white to finish off the evening.

These wines aren’t for your discerning wine-o friends but there is definitely a place for Skinnygirl in our wine market. Life is all about feeling good, right?! So if you want drink two glasses of wine in the afternoon and head back to work feeling clear headed and guilt free, then this is definitely a wine to consider. These wines are made with us Girls of TO in mind, tailored to our busy, eventful lifestyles and helping us enjoy the journey, one sip at a time.

But if it is the full fat buzz you are going for, I recommend looking elsewhere….

Skinnygirl wine is available for $14.95 at the LCBO.

***Definitely check out the Skinnygirl vodkas whether you are drinking guilt free or not. They are delicious and beautiful in a number of cocktail recipes.

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