Jukes Sparkling Collection
Jukes Sparkling Collection
Sparkling Wine / Jukes NA / 0.0%
Refreshing and healthy, this is the finest way to enjoy Jukes on the go. Jukes 1 is centred around a citrus, stone fruit and fresh herb theme, resulting in an aromatic, uplifting and dry style. The Jukes 6 is black fruit-themed with a deep, earthy, spicy feel and a mellow, long and savoury finish. Jukes 8 is a perfumed, delicate and refreshingly crisp rosé, inspired by the food, wine and countryside of Provence.
Jukes is the first brand we have reviewed that not only prides itself on being free from alcohol, but is also actually good for you. The second ingredient after carbonated water in the Jukes Sparkling collection is apple cider vinegar, which has long been reported to have health benefits such as modest blood sugar reduction and weight control. While not a panacea, we were intrigued to try Jukes because all of their drinks are centered around ACV and frankly we were interested to see how they tasted with ACV as a base ingredient.
If you are wondering where the name Jukes comes from, it is the last name of Matthew Jukes, a UK-based writer who’s been waxing poetic about wines for the past 35 years for a variety of publications. While he has plenty of accolades from the world of alcohol, he decided to create beverages that were still meant to be consumed and enjoyed like a fine wine, but without the alcohol.
It’s a general perception, at least in our world, that NA wines haven’t caught up to NA beers in terms of quality, taste, and originality. While some try to replicate the experience of their alcoholic siblings, it seems Jukes is out for something different. To create a category using novel, healthful ingredients and and experience that is altogether unique. The question we will try to answer in this review is “does Jukes hit the mark?”. Read on to hear more…
Jukes Sparkling Review
The first thing to note is that we are attempting to do a review across all three Jukes Sparkling varieties including white, red and rosé options. We feel this is appropriate as Jukes recommends purchasing the collection on their website. They also all use apple cider vinegar as a base and come in identical packaging aside from the label. The Jukes boxes and cans are minimally designed with bold black lettering and thin cans the size of a Red Bull. As these are sparkling beverages the cans have a pop of CO2 when you open them and almost encourage you to sit and relax with the drink.
The colors of each sparkling varietal are all true to form: the white is reminiscient of champagne, the rosé has a light pink coloring and the red is darker and ruby like that of a pinot noir. Upon each pour (and we do recommend pouring vs. drinking straight from the can), you will see a head that forms at the top and quickly recedes while the little carbonation bubbles continue to effervesce under the surface. It’s recommended to serve chilled, which we did, but we decided not to add ice so that we could experience the true flavor of the beverage. And just because we wanted to be classy in our consumption, we used white wine glasses, which helped pull the nose out more accurately for each varietal. Now onto the question of whether Jukes Sparkling is good.
Is Jukes Sparkling Good?
I’ll be honest, I am not a huge ACV fan. I am not one of those people that takes a shot of it every morning and I don’t use it in my cooking. I expected the Jukes drinks to be highly dependent on someones love of apple cider vinegar since I know how strong and overhwelming the smell and taste can be.
The initial nose on the drink is that of ACV for sure, especially on the white version. But when trying the rosé or the red, there is the initial scent of ACV, but then a secondary layer of fruitiness that I did not expect. It was a pleasant surprise to enjoy those subtle notes and I was sure hoping that they’d come out in the taste as well.
Starting with the white, it has a very good mouthfeel. It leads with balanced carbonation that tickles your tongue and then goes down with a slight bite, almost like an alcohol, but different given the apple cider vinegar. It’s sweet, but not overwhelming with 3.6 grams of sugar per 100ml. Overall a delicate balance of tart + sweet that really does remind you of a good sparkling wine.
The rosé has a similar mouthfeel and the same bit of ACV, but the rose totally could pull out the watermelon, which balances really well with the viengar. You can also taste some notes of the rhubarb and cucumber, which gives it a slight bit of the spa water refreshing taste.
Lastly onto the red, this is the most unique among the three options. It actually has a lower sugar content (3.4g per 100ml), but it tastes the sweetest. And I mean that positively. The notes of blackberry and strawberry came on strong for me, but there is also a delightful blend of blackcurrant, raspberry and plum. A fruit for everyone in the Juke’s red. When you combine that delicate sweetness with the effervescence, this is a drink you could see yourself reaching for most of the three and it could work in almost any setting from a romantic dinner to an outdoor BBQ.
Jukes Sparkling Rating
Jukes is unique among the crop of NA wines we have tasted here at Lo2No. Many of these wines try to replicate and to give the drinker the closest taste to an alcoholic wine that they can provide. And many of them fail because they miss the mark on that comparison. Jukes took a different (and dare I say brave) route and decided to make ACV a core ingredient. In my opinion they didn’t just do this to tout its health benefits, but also to give a “bite” that you just can’t get with grape juice. They have succeeded well beyond my expectations in creating a drink that I would 100% be comfortable ordering out at a restuarant, bringing to a party or winding down with on the couch.
The Juke’s team clearly put time into the appearance and created drinks with unique noses, mouthfeels and of course, tastes. This attention to detail shows and I think any casual NA drinker would notice that there’s something different and delightful about Jukes. For this reason, I am giving it our highest rating, 5/5. I recommend grabbing this wherever you can (and quickly!), including their website.
Photos Credit:
https://us.jukescordialities.com/
