Columbia Gorge Organic Apple Cider

Columbia Gorge Organic Apple CiderPrice: $2.50
Serving: 12oz., 1 bottle
Servings Per Container: 1
Calories: 180 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 3%, 67mg
Protein: 9g
Carbohydrates: 15%, 43g
Fiber: 7%, 2g
Sugar: 39g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

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Columbia Gorge says: Unparalleled in the world of apple ciders. We blend several different kinds of apples to achieve the tart yet sweet flavor of this cider. Making it from soil-enriched grown organic apples is the best way to taste the real apple flavor.

Abi Says: In Washington State, Fall means apples and apples mean cider. Okay, cider and apple sauce and deliciously cinnamony pies. But this is not a pie blog.

During a six-day visit to Seattle I figured that I’d just drink my way across every coffee shop in town. This is a good idea in theory, but in actuality it means jitters, possible tooth stains, and peeing all the freaking time.

In order to avoid the uncomfortable side-effects of diuretics, every noontime I switched to juices. Sometimes it was the blackberry version of an Izze sparkling soda and other days I turned to one of these adorable bottles of juice from the Columbia Gorge Juice Company.

The organic cider was lighter and clearer than I expected, a forewarning that the drink would exhibit few of the qualities of farm-fresh pressed cider. Columbia Gorge delivers a refreshing drink, made simply with organic apples. However, their cider walks a line between juice and true cider.

So, if you’re looking for something to mull with spices and wine, or spike with a bit of Jack Daniels and you have lots of cash to burn, you can’t go wrong with this cider.

March 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment 
Filed Under Vegan, Apple, United States, No Preservatives, Columbia Gorge Organics, No Genetically Modified Organisms, Organic, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, All Natural, Juice, Fat Free, Four Stars

Trader Joe's Defense UP

Trader JoePrice: $2.69 plus tax
Serving: 1/2 bottle, 8 oz.
Calories: 120 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 1%, 15mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 10%, 29g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 28g
Caffeine: 0mg

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Trader Joe says: A blend of juice, herbs & vitamin C combined to fortify you.

Abi says: Unsaid on the bottles, but definitely implied is that this beverage will protect you from colds and flus and all-around general illness. Check out this list (by the way, this product is NSFV or Not Safe For Vegans):

While I’m familiar with Vitamin C and highly skeptical (rightly so according to the National Institutes of Health) of Echinacea, I have no idea what Royal Jelly, Bee Propolis, and Lemon Bioflavenoids are supposed to do for me during cold and flu season.

I remember Royal Jelly from a Nancy Drew book that involved some runners and a Russian athletic diva (after considerable internet research it turned out to be Nancy Drew No. 96, The Case of the Photo Finish). Bee propolis is a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. The example in Wikipedia notes that it would be used if a mouse or lizard crawled into the hive and died there. Unable to carry out the invaders, the bees would seal it in with propolis. Yum!

I can’t find any literature on Lemon Bioflavonoids that isn’t produced by a Vitamin company, but it appears that a study performed in 2007 showed that the antioxidant properties of flavonoids so loved in test tubes didn’t actually perform in the human body. It appears that Trader Joe’s is actually selling us tasty juice full of wishful thinking.

Don’t worry, this stuff won’t hurt you. Plus, the juice tastes pretty darn good and completely lacks any ‘herb’ flavors. If you’re in the mood for some orange juice and your mom is in town and you’d like her to think that you’re taking good care of yourself, put a bottle of Trader Joe’s Defense UP in the fridge.

If you’re not that worried about appearances, regular old orange juice is just as effective as the additives in this beverage.

January 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment 
Filed Under Trader Joe's, Apple, Pineapple, No Preservatives, Fat Free, Orange, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, All Natural, Juice, Four Stars

Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva 2000

Marques de Caceres Rioja Reserva 2000Price: €18.99
Nutrition Information*
Serving: 5oz., 1/5 bottle
Calories: 105 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: <1%, 7mg
Sodium: 0%, 0mg
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrates: 1%, 3g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 23g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving

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Wine bottle says: Marques de Caceres GRAN RESERVA es un vino de alta calidad y reconcido prestigo. De distinguido aroma, aterciopelado y generoso al paladr, ha sido envejecido en barrica de roble y largamente afinado en botella para obtener un gran vino de calidad exceptional.

Abi says: Yes, I know: that is an enormous glass of wine. It was modest until I decided that certain people in my home should be studying economics rather than drinking wine. Thus, I would finish the bottle of Rioja.

My decision to start reviewing wine on Imbibable.com led to a near-argument with my fiance (and not just because I took the last of the wine). He claimed that there were many people out there with much more significant (okay, real) qualifications out there who were better qualified to write about Temperanillos and Chiantis and Pinot Grigios.

I agree with him. Those people all have better palates. The problem with them is twofold threefold:

  1. Availability. When you read about a wine in Wine Spectator or Bon Appetit, how easy is it for you to walk over to your local wine store and pick up a bottle of that wine? It isn’t. It sucks. You basically have to call people to ask if they have what you want and then you feel sort of like an idiot for being the person that requests the wine that they talk about in a magazine. You might as well wait until InStyle comes out every month before you do any shopping with your own judgment. I’m going to talk about wines that are available, wines that you pick up at Trader Joe’s and your local grocery store and Total Beverage and BevMo and Costco. The real wine of the people.
  2. Price. Sure, you get six servings in a 750ml bottle of wine, so overall a bottle is a good deal. But is it really a good deal? Is that 92 point $28.99 bottle of wine significantly better than that 83 point $12.99 bottle of wine? Most of us can’t tell. I’m going to make an effort to drink wines from a crazy-insane price range (yes, including Two-Buck Chuck) so that I can find the best wine for the money.
  3. Nutrition Information Who is going to tell you that port is full of calories or that a glass of Bordeaux is just 2 Weight Watchers Points while giving you actual opinions on the taste of the wine? Only Imbibable.com, that’s who.

So, What do I have to say about this wine? Well, before I ever looked at a description of the wine, I noted that it had notes of spice, red fruits, and a heavy, almost tongue-coating mouthfeel. Compared to some younger Chiantis I’ve been drinking recently, this wine seemed to have spent quite awhile in oak.

Now, what did the Winemaker’s Notes from Wine.com have to say?

Spicy, rich, complex Rioja drinking beautifully right now. Deep ruby in color, it is full and intense with a complex bouquet and a depth of ripe fruit which later matches its elegance, richness and full flavor. Marques de Caceras Reserva Red is produced from grapes that are specially selected in certain years for their outstanding quality. It spends just over two years in oak and at least three in the bottle before release.

I am a wine-reviewing genius.

So, will this bottle be available to you? Who knows. I bought it in a duty free shop in the Madrid airport as I was trying to shed the last of my Euros. I spent the equivalent of US $30.00 on this bottle and I can heartily say that I’ve had just as good wine for half that price. Don’t feel like you need to spend $30.00 on a bottle of wine. Even if your friends can read Spanish, they probably won’t mind if you break out something a bit less overpriced.

*Obviously, there’s no ingredients or nutrition label on the wine to let you know about calories and fat and all of those things, so we at Imbibable have taken the liberty of using a variety of data sources (including the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and wineries (when they answer our emails) to get a fairly accurate read on the ‘nutrition’ information in a glass of wine. We might be off by a few calories now and then, but most of the time we’ll be pretty darn close.

October 22, 2007 | 1 Comment 
Filed Under Wine, Marques de Caceres, Alcohol, Fat Free, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Three Stars

Izze Sparkling Blackberry

Izze Sparkling BlackberryPrice: $1.69
Serving: 12oz., 1 bottle
Servings Per Container: 1
Calories: 135 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 1%, 30mg
Protein: 9g
Carbohydrates: 10%, 33g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 33g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

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Izze says: In some folklore blackberries symbolize generosity, in others, grief. Ancient Europeans used blackberrie in spells to create wealth, and in old England, a walk underneath blackerry runners was said to be curative. All very interesting, but we just love them because they taste so good.

Abi says: My mom gives me a hard time for drinking soda. Specifically, I have a Diet Coke problem. According to her, the carbonation leaches calcium from my bones and makes osteoporosis and broken hips much more likely in my future.

It turns out that non-caffeinated beverages are not the culprit in bone loss, thus it is safe to continue drinking Izze’s Sparkling Blackberry Juice. This vibrantly colored beverage is available at the following places: coffee shops.

Yes, that’s all. Okay, okay, so once I also saw it in a bar. But I did not order it. Thus it may or may not have existed. Izze beverages are the Schroedinger’s Cats of the juice world.

With a barely discernible blackberry flavor, this Izze juice lacked the tart punch I expected from such a prickly cane berry. Fortunately, the carbonation gives the drink additional zing, rescuing what might otherwise be described as watered-down blackberry juice and elevating it to the ideal mixer for a cheap white wine cocktail.

October 21, 2007 | 1 Comment 
Filed Under United States, Izze, Blackberry, Juice Cocktails, Fat Free, High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Soda, All Natural, Four Stars

Honest Tea Pomegranate Red Tea with Goji Berry

Honest Tea Pomegranate Red Tea with Goji BerryPrice: $0.99
Serving: 8 fl. oz. (236 mL)
Servings Per Container: 2
Calories: 40 per serving
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 0%, 5mg
Protein: 0g
Carbohydrates: 3%, 10g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 10g
Caffeine: 0mg

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Honest Tea says: Red is the color of passion, and this red tea combines three of our strongest passions: great taste, good health, and social impact. There’s the antioxidant power of pomegranates, sweet goji berries from China, and caffeine-free red tea from a community-owned farmer’s co-op in South Africa. It isn’t just tasty tea with a long name. It’s passion with a purpose.

Honestly yours, Seth and Berry

P.S. When Seth and his son went to South Africa to meet our red tea farmers, they climbed Table Mountain where his 9-year-old wondered “Is this what heaven is supposed to look like?” This organic tea has a heavenly taste and you don’t have to climb a really steep mountain to enjoy it. Just take a sip.

Joe says: As one of Honest Tea’s nine new flavors for 2007, the Pomegranate Red Tea with Goji Berry is a little rough around the edges but is clearly ahead of other tea brand offerings.

First, this tea is downright delicious. The flavors complement each other beautifully, demonstrating that pomegranate and red tea were destined to be together. However, a delicate balance exists in the tea flavorsphere when it comes to flavored teas, and this one barely walks the line between too fruity and too tea-y. The pomegranate doesn’t quite overpower the unique red tea flavor, but it almost does. In each sip, you get the sweetness of the sugar and pomegranate up front, and the earthiness of the red tea at the end and in the aftertaste. If I were to design this tea, I would bring the pomegranate level down just a skosh… but then they would probably have to call it “Red Tea with Pomegranate and Goji Berry.”

Speaking of goji berries, what the heck are those things anyway? As it turns out, they come from places like China where they have been used for centuries as medicine. That’s right, these exotic little superfruits are said to “enhance immune system function, improve eyesight, protect the liver, boost sperm production and improve circulation, among other effects” (Wikipedia). The supposed tartness of the fruit was understated, although I admit I don’t know what they actually taste like. It’s only a shame that they are the last ingredient on the list. Medicine in my tea? Sounds great! I probably would have amped up the berries a notch.

I would also bring down the sugar content a little bit. Although it is labeled as “a tad sweet,” it is definitely a tad too sweet for my tastes, especially compared to many of their other teas. I would have liked to see a tad more flavor instead. Toward the end of the bottle it almost tastes like not much more than sugar water. If you are used to drinking Mountain Dew, this is your tea.

In fact, this is probably the perfect crossover tea for fans of sugary sodas and very sweet teas, like Lipton Brisk, Nestea Cool, or the Snapple varieties, so it makes a lot of sense in Honest Tea’s tea lineup. And, since they are such a socially conscious company, purchasing their teas with organic and fair trade stamps of approval instead of another company’s almost seems like a no-brainer.

From a marketing perspective, the fact that they feature pomegranate so prominently makes me wonder if Honest Tea is trying to ride the pomegranate popularity wave a little. Honestly, I can’t blame them.

October 16, 2007 | 2 Comments 
Filed Under Honest Tea, United States, Pomegranate, Organic, Fat Free, Tea, All Natural, Four Stars

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