Portable and Somewhat Potable (Reviewing Volute's New Single Serving Wines)

It's not often that one receives three small (187 ml) aluminum shatterproof bottles of French wine in the mail. Even for someone who is used to getting media samples of wine, this was a first.

So when a package arrived for me from Volute Wine, containing three bottles of their new "single-serve premium wine" from the Bordeaux AOC in France... well, there was no way wasn't going to review them...

What's in a name? In the case of Volute, I'm not sure. Volute either means curl, spiral, or mollusk, depending on where you look. Anyway, Volute's wines have sleek brushed aluminum packaging, which might score them points with the 'green is great' crowd (for the high recyclable factor).

The idea behind Volute, from what I garnered from their press release, is to provide a convenient, portable single-serving packaging of French wine, targeting a relatively young, active wine consumer.

And there's no doubt that Volute nailed the portability factor. You'd need to stand on one of these bottles to crush it, and even then the wine inside might remain intact and unscathed. The brushed aluminum also looks attractive, and there's little chance of inadvertently mistaking Volute for a bottle of beer. Volute is offered in three 'flavors': White (85% Sauvignon Blanc + 15% Semillon), Rose (85% Cabernet Sauvignon + 15% Merlot) and Red (85% Merlot + 15% Cabernet Sauvignon).

So how do the wines taste?...

Okay.

As in, they were drinkable, and didn't suck, but certainly nothing to write home about.

I found the Volute White offered some stone and apricot, but the fruit flavors were muted and the mouthfeel was flabby. The Rose had the most promise, with good strawberry on the nose, and red fruit dominating the palate, but it tasted out of balance, lacking a cohesive overall structure. As for the Red, it was my least favorite - some plum on the nose, but muted cherries on the palate, and not enough fruit to carry it through even to the modest finish.

Considering the modest flavor profiles of the wines, but the high green and portability factor of Volute's packaging, I thought I might offer up a potential alternative for those seeking the green and portable cache factor of Volute, but are looking for something tastier:

At $4 a pop, you'd need to shell out $16 to get enough servings of Volute for a full wine bottle. There are plenty of tasty wines out there that go for $16 or less per full bottle. If you're concerned about maximizing your environmental friendliness while traveling with a single-serving amounts of your budget vino, you can always pick up a reusable aluminum bottle (such as the ones offered by Sigg).

Open Sigg bottle, pour in wine, travel, and enjoy...

Cheers!
(images: volutewine.com, sigg.com)