Regular readers – don’t be too alarmed. There is a real trip report that will be continuing this evening. Right now, there is a matter to be settled… and wine to be drunk 😉
Over at Heels First Travel, writer Tiff was talking about wine in a can (and she’s written more here). Which is all right… I suppose. Considering it’s Spirit Airlines.
But at the back of my head I remembered that there you could get wine – sold by the glass. And after a quick review of who did it (Wine Innovations Ltd – or the company that got rejected out of Dragons Den and gone on to make real money… and win awards too).
But is it any good? GhettoIFE investigates!
My trip took me from the deepest darkest depths of West Bromwich Tram stop, direct to Birmingham Snow Hill Station. From there, it was a short walk to Birmingham New Street – and the branch of Marks and Spencer’s that had Le Froglet in stock.
The wines on display. See? Wine in Plastic Glasses.
The wines are offered in three varieties, a Shiraz, a Rose and a Sauvignon Blanc
The Shiraz
The Rose
The Sauvignon Blanc
All of the varieties were priced the same: £2.95 a glass (187ml). This compares well with the price of a glass of wine in a pub (£3.00 upwards in a 125ml glass), although quite badly compared to a bottle of wine (a cheapie Sauvignon Blanc is about £5-£6).
As usual, value is where you find it. If you’re heading on a train in a hurry, it’s not bad value at all.
After getting that, it was back to GhettoIFE towers for an inspection. Here’s some product shots and unboxing/uncorking/peeling off shots
On opening, there was that wonderful wine smell… and most importantly a “just been uncorked” smell, not a dry or off smell, which doesn’t put you off. In other words, like a normal glass of wine.
How does it taste? Well it’s a Sauvignon Blanc. Dry. It’s not exactly bad tasting, nor is it offensive. Maybe I just prefer Chardonnay as a wine tipple, but it tasted “good” (I’m not one for wine expletives… I’m a travel writer, not a wino). Put it like this, I wouldn’t say no to another glass of the stuff.
The glass itself seems very strong, and enough to survive knocks and dings. My only concern is that foil seal. If you’re not careful, that could be problematic.
Going….
Gone!
I’m not a fast wine drinker (Except in the air), and drunk the glass over an hour allowing me to enjoy it as opposed to feel rushed… and that’s a darn good thing.
Overall: For a convenient wine option, it’s better than swigging from a mini bottle. It’s well designed, packed and tastes reasonable. For those of you heading on train commutes home after a long week, or for trips – this is a darn good option. Yes, a normal bottle of wine is not much more, but are you going to sink that during a journey without getting tipsy?
The Italian job wines by the glass are available on Arriva Train services in the United Kingdom, whilst Le Froglet is in Marks and Spencer’s stores (which seem to pop up close to major UK rail stations).
And remember to be http://www.drinkaware.co.uk/. Enjoy your drink – don’t let it rule you.
Glad to hear your experiment went better than mine. =)
Thanks for the inspiration. Gotta admit wine in a pre-sealed plastic glass looks better than wine in a can 😉
Also.. I didn’t have to step aboard Spirit Airlines 😉