Monday, April 4, 2022

Avaline NV White Wine, Spain

Avaline White SM

This checks the boxes for organic and vegan wine – but is it any good?

Clean Wine Comes To Town

I suppose it is what you call a fool’s errand – a task with little hope of a successful outcome. I was zipping around to a couple different grocery stores, hoping to find a bottle of Grüner Veltliner without making a drive to the wine shop. Some friends were coming over for a light dinner and some wine. I thought Grüner would be ideal.

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Well, my plan crumbled when I discovered that there is row upon row of budget-minded wine, but nary a bottle of Grüner. Instead I latched on to a bottle of Avaline. I had no prior knowledge of it, but I liked the way they put their vegan and organic status front and center.

Avaline has quite an interesting back story. It is the product of actress Cameron Diaz and fashion entrepreneur Katherine Power. As they chatted over a glass of wine, they realized that while they knew all the ingredients of the food they put into their bodies, they had no idea what was in the wine they were drinking. In terms of ingredients, only the alcohol level and sulfites are required to be disclosed in US wines.

What’s Not In Your Wine

Avaline has a full line of wines, including Pinot Noir, Syrah, a red blend, rosé (both still and sparkling), Grenache Blanc, a sparkling wine, and the white blend, which we sampled. All are made with organic grapes and are vegan friendly. All of the ingredients are disclosed. Some wine sippers may not realize that animal products (gelatin or egg whites) are occasionally used in the fining process of winemaking. A fining agent is used to remove unwanted particulates from wine. Avaline uses Bentonite clay, a naturally-occurring ultrafine clay. The clay binds to the proteins in the wine and then both are filtered out.

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Sulfites are naturally occurring in wine, but winemakers sometimes add more to help preserve the wine. Wineries can legally have up to 350ppm of sulfites, but Avaline keeps it at less than 100ppm. This is good news for those who are convinced that sulfites give them headaches. There are up to 70 additives that winemakers sometimes use in creating wines, but you won’t find them in Avaline wines.

A New Hollywood Hit?

I felt like I had really scored when I discovered the grapes (which aren’t clearly listed on the bottle): Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Malvasia. Xarel-lo isn’t the name of Superman’s father, rather it, along with Macabeo, is one of the primary grapes used in Spain’s famed sparkling wine, Cava. There are two Spanish wineries used to help produce the wine. Raventós i Blanc is one of the oldest wineries in the world. It is well known as a Spanish producer of Cava and sparkling wine. Can Ràfols dels Caus is a family-owned winery with Roman origins. Both are certified organic winemakers.

We found the wine to be a delightful drink. When I originally was seeking Grüner Veltliner, I wanted something different than Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. I was pleasantly surprised with how well Avaline filled the bill. It has stone fruit notes with lemon zest and threads of white flowers. Another great feature is that the ABV is only 11.6%, which is much less than most wines and even less than most Riesling. The Pinot Noir and Syrah clock in at 12.5%, which is certainly low for reds. We paired this with appetizers and salad.

At about $20, this is a big thumbs up for us. You have funky Spanish grapes, a low price point, and it’s food friendly. We salute Avaline’s clean wine ethic too. The jury is definitely out on Cameron’s “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” but she has a smash hit with Avaline white blend.

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