It’s a regular tradition in many American households to ring in certain holidays with a bubbly beverage. Some people will pop the cork on the 4th of July, others on Thanksgiving or Christmas. As holidays go, though, it’s hard to argue against ringing in the New Year with something sparkling.
In America, alcohol is a common fixture in these celebrations, but not universally. Some people, for a variety of reasons, prefer a non-alcoholic bubbly to pair with the moment. Fortunately, grocers have that corner covered, with sparkling grape juice being the alternative of choice.
During a holiday visit to Trader Joe’s, we spotted a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage that looked a little different than the standard sparkling grape juice fare. Leave it to Trader Joe’s to take a standard product and give it a twist.
We decided to find out if the twist was a hit or miss.
We found Trader Joe’s Sparkling White Chardonnay Grape Juice in the store’s beverage section, near the alcoholic options. This, of course, is a non-alcoholic beverage. It comes in a 25.36-ounce bottle and currently costs $3.99, or about 15.7 cents an ounce.
According to the bottle, the juice is a product of Spain. It contains white Chardonnay grape juice from concentrate, carbon dioxide, citric acid, and ascorbic acid. The bottle can be stored unopened at room temperature but should be refrigerated after opening.
Nutrition information and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
In most cases, our sparkling grape juice comes with a metal twist cap. This bottle came with a cork stopper. To open, you unscrew and remove the metal hood, then slowly twist the cork stopper until it comes out. The instructions emphasize that 1) you should not shake the bottle before opening and 2) you should point the stopper away from you when removing it. Out of an abundance of caution, I opened mine outside, but my stopper came out with little more than a pop.
We expected different from this juice. That’s what we got. It has a flavor that is altogether distinct from typical sparkling grape juice. It’s sweet, but it has undertones that are unique and were, for us, harder to quantify. There’s obviously no alcohol aftertaste. Our testers were divided on the taste, with some finding it okay and others taking one sip and then tapping out. It’s worth noting that our testers are not big alcohol consumers, so shoppers with more traditional Chardonnay tastes might like this better.
The Verdict:
Trader Joe’s Sparkling White Chardonnay Grape Juice is your typical TJ’s twist on a common formula, producing a sparkling grape juice that is different from the normal sparkling grape juice. What you make of this taste may depend on whether or not you’re a Chardonnay afficionado, but suffice to say that if you’re looking for a unique twist on a non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, this might be worth taking a flyer on.
