Vegan Vine Wine!

I have a confession (okay, I've made this confession here before, but maybe you missed it): I'm not the best vegan when it comes to drinking wine.

Here's the deal: If I'm at an art show or an open-bar party, and there's wine there, I'm not going to grill the bartender and break out the Google or the Barnivore to determine the vino's vegan-ness. I'm just going to drink it — don't ask, don't tell-style.

But despite my poor judgement when it comes to free wine, I prefer to only have vegan wines in my home. I do use Barnivore in the liquor store, and I have a few brands that I know are safe. Around these parts, I can find Orleans Hill wines (makers of Our Daily Red) in several varietals, but for everything else, I have to stand in the aisles and pore over my "Is This Wine Vegan?" app. It's a pain in the ass. I wish I had access to Vegan Vine here. How much more obvious could it get? The word "vegan" is in the name!

Vegan Vine generously offered to send me four bottles of their animal-free wines. Best review schwag ever. There was Vegan Vine's Red Blend, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. Admittedly, that was way back in August, and I'm finally on the last bottle this week. I'm a little ashamed to admit it took me that long to finish four bottles of wine.

Anyway, Paul and I opened the first bottle — Chardonnay — in our hotel room in Chicago when we were there for Veggie Fest back in August. I'm a red wine girl, but Paul only drinks white. So I compromised (because I'll drink anything, really) for his sake. This a shot of the chard in our hotel window.

I thought it tasted peachy and dry with an oaky aftertaste. Paul said it had an initial Granny Smith apple flavor with a dry finish. Clearly, we have no idea what we're talking about. But it was lovely!

Next up, I opened the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy with some Trader Joe's crackers and Ste. Martean vegan muenster cheese. Nothing beats vegan cheese and red wine. Best snack in the world. I picked up this cheese in Chicago and toted it home. It was so perfect with the cab sauv. I'm kinda sad that cheese and wine didn't last forever.

I opened the Red Wine a few weeks back on a weekend night. When I open red wine, I get to drink the whole bottle by myself (not in one day!). So I think I had a glass of this for four days before it was all gone. Too bad I dropped the cork into bottle when I was opening it. I was digging out cork from my glasses for days. But nonetheless, best red blend I've ever had.

Finally, I opened the Sauvignon Blanc this week. Now remember when I said I'm not a white wine girl? Well, that's because I forgot about sauvignon blanc.

I love how it's not too sweet. It's just a tad dry. And it tastes like summer. Like an apple. Or a platter of delicious grapes. I have one glass left in the bottle, and I'm kind of sad it'll be over after that.

Lucky for all of us, you can order Vegan Vine wine online. And it's affordable. Each bottle ranges from $14 to $18. Or you can join the Wine Club and receive four bottles in the mail every quarter for about $54.