Cupcake Angel Food

Oh Cupcake, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways… one bottle, two bottles…

Ok, so this is the third bottle of Cupcake getting reviewed but I have a good excuse for my lack of variety: my mom picked this bottle up and who am I to turn down free wine? I was actually a little hesitant about this one because of the name – I just assumed it was going to be super sweet. (Which is, in fact, why my mom had picked it out.)

We were both surprised, and once my mom got over the shock of it NOT being sweet, she decided she liked it as much as I did. It was a little bit oaky and had some hints of vanilla and a little bit of a warm spice, like cinnamon or nutmeg. The aroma reminded me of walking into a bakery (or a cupcake shop, apropos as that would be.) Even though I could detect the oak, it didn’t have the heavy mouthfeel that Chardonnays sometime have – it was just a well balanced, light wine with a nice, creamy feel to it. It’s a white blend with a Chardonnay base, which is where some of those toasty notes come from (and why, despite the name, it is decidedly not a “dessert wine.”)

I think it would be a pretty good “universal white.” My mom tends to like whites that are semi-sweet wines and I tend to prefer more dry whites, and we were both pretty enamored with this wine. It’d be a wine I’d bring to a party, serve at book club or give as a hostess gift. Or, the perfect wine to kick off your beach vacation. Just sayin’.

Tasting Notes:

Wine Name: Cupcake Vineyards Angel Food (2011)

Grape: White blend, with a Chardonny base and other white varietals including viognier

Origin: California

Price: $11.99 at Food Lion (at Topsail Island, NC)

General impressions: slightly oaky, vanilla notes, creamy, well-balanced, moderately sweet

Recommendations: a white for most anyone!, a sipping white, pair with appetizers, take to a party, have at a party

Would you buy again? I definitely would!