Chocovine: Wine Review

Let me say upfront that I'm a big fan of Baileys. Sure, it's not the kind of thing you want to drink all the time since it's approximately 83% fat-ass. But there are times when nothing is quite as nice as a glass of Baileys. Actually, Baileys sells more liqueur than any other company in the world. That means is there are now about 100 different Baileys Irish Cream clones on the market to choose from. ChocoVine is the latest contender for Baileys' melted-alcoholic-ice-cream-in-a-bottle crown.

Chocovine tries to avoid the downfall of every other liqueur that simply tries to recreate Baileys taste and undercut its price. Here's the thing: the taste of Baileys isn't exactly nuanced and the irish cream recipe isn't rocket science anyway. But by changing the base spirit from Irish Whiskey to Red Wine, Chocovine has taken the taste of Baileys into the wine market. Chocovine's strength then is that its classified as a Dessert Wine rather than just another liqueur trying to steal some of Baileys' market share. That distinction is advantageous for two reasons: first, Chocovine will not be sold on the same shelf as Baileys and, second, it's classified by stores and in people's minds as a wine. When you're going to a dinner party with friends you don't bring Baileys, you bring wine.

Regardless of what's in it, any cream-based alcoholic beverage is going to be measured by the Baileys standard. So here's how they differ:

The first thing you'll notice is the color difference. As you might have guessed Chocovine has a much deeper, reddish hue to it versus Baileys off beige color (mm...creamy beige). Second is the viscosity. Baileys is a fairly thick beverage but Chocovine is actually a bit thicker. Now, I think both drinks are looking to mask their alcoholic content as much as possible. Even Baileys with its high price tag (which would suggest a quality Irish whisky is used in its production) is not very forward with the booze flavor. Chocovine's alcohol content is even more subdued  but you can still tell that the base is definitely something other than whisky (even though I don't detect any red wine flavor either). The biggest difference between the two is flavor and, for me, this is where Chocovine stands out. It tastes like a melted chocolate shake with just the tiniest bit of alcohol. It's as if a slightly disgruntled Wendy's employee decided to spike your Frosty.

None of that matters. Baileys has nothing to fear from Chocovine. (Put the knife down, man. Everything's cool.) Baileys' brand recognition is unassailable at this point. It is an icon of the liqueur world and it will not be dethroned so easily. The thing is, I think the makers of Chocovine realized this. That's why they positioned themselves not to pick up some of Baileys' table scraps but to take a piece of the market that Baileys currently can't touch. Classified as a Dessert Wine, Chocovine will be considered in situations where Baileys is not. As for my own conclusion: if I'm choosing a cream-based alcoholic beverage based solely on taste, from now on I'm choosing Chocovine.

The bottom line: In terms of both price and taste Chocovine is the closest you can get to Baileys without getting your eyeballs wet.

Our Rating: **** (Highly Recommended) $10-15       www.chocovine.com