Wine For Misfits

A quintessential summer sip: Espiral Vinho Verde.

This wine is like Betty White: everyone loves it. 

Why It’s Awesome

It’s slightly effervescent with lower alcohol. At only 9% ABV, it’s a great day-drinking wine for all-day fun in the sun.

And, it’s only $5 at Trader Joe’s, which means if you’re throwing a small party, you can get everyone their own bottle so you don’t have to share.

Ditch the Corkscrew

This baby is a twist-off! If you’re going to the beach or sneaking it into a movie, you have one less thing to pack.

What it Tastes Like

Have you ever woken up on a Saturday thinking it’s a Monday and freaked out because you slept in but then realized it’s the weekend and are immediately stoked?

It tastes like that stoked feeling. 

With citrus notes of grapefruit and lemon this is a crowd-pleaser sipper that even non-wine drinkers can get behind. 

Proceed with Caution

If you have bad acid reflux (where all my elder millennials at?!), prep accordingly.

This is a high-acid wine, and it will cause a few disruptions (especially if you’re a coffee on an empty stomach kinda person).

Just make sure you take your morning antacids or have a few Tums on hand so you can return to your original programming should disruptions occur.

What to Pair it With

Pair it with the Minnidip Inflatable Fountain. It’s one of the more disappointing purchases I’ve made.

But also one of the most hilarious. 

The Minnidip website is glittered with stoic, fashionable, millennial women enjoying their inflatable pools. So when I saw the well-photographed gif of their inflatable fountain, I didn’t realize models were absent from the product page. 

After I bought it, I was surprised the image on the back of the box showed a silhouette of a woman next to an ankle-high fountain.

Of course, my first thought was that their design team screwed up on the scale of the image.  

Based on the images of their full collection, their pools can comfortably fit two adults. Naturally, I assumed the fountain would be Fontana di Trevi deep.

When I started to inflate it, my hopes of having a large fountain slowly deflated, but I couldn’t stop laughing. 

This thing is maybe a foot deep and the spraying part requires a little extra finagling to ensure water actually gets inside the pool part. 

The ridiculousness of the product absolutely outweighed my disappointment. 

10/10 would buy again. 

What Food to Pair it With

Since it’s citrusy and acidic, stick with things that have citrus and acid like guacamole, ceviche, or salsa. 

If you like spice, this will also pair well with fried chicken covered in chili sauce.

Here’s a recipe I just googled. Let me know how it is.

Kitty Rating Score

TL;DR 

Espiral Vinho Verde is a refreshing Portuguese wine that fits all the criteria for a delicious summer drink: refreshing, low-alc., crowd-pleaser, and only $5.

Because it’s highly acidic, it gets bumped down only slightly to 8 kitties since it may require a little indigestion intervention. 

Espiral gets 8/10 Kitties.