Oh, Meghan… here we go again!
Meghan’s As Ever rosé wine has finally arrived to our offices after weeks of anticipation – and it may have been a ‘pour decision’ on her end.
Meghan, 43, first released her line of lifestyle products in April, off the heels of her cooking show on Netflix titled With Love, Meghan, before deciding to add wine to the range of mostly pantry items.
FEMAIL tried all of the items when they were first released, as did columnist Maureen Callahan, and we weren’t fans.
But it’s a new day for Meghan and her As Ever brand, so it’s a new day for us, too.
The wine went on sale on July 1 on her official branded website. Customers were able to purchase three bottles for $90, six bottles for $159, and 12 bottles for $300 – but it was sold out within the hour.
If you bought the six-bottle package, Meghan promised that you were receiving 12 percent off, while a 12-pack gets you a 17 percent saving.
Last month, Daily Mail exclusively revealed that the alcoholic beverage is made by Fairwinds Estate, a California winery that creates bespoke wines for celebrities, as they’ve now added Meghan to their list of clients.
Meghan’s As Ever rosé wine has finally arrived to our offices after weeks of anticipation – and it may have been a ‘pour decision’ on her end
Last month, Daily Mail exclusively revealed that the alcoholic beverage is made by Fairwinds Estate, a California winery that creates bespoke wines for celebrities, as they’ve now added Meghan to their list of clients
The wine went on sale July 1 on her As Ever website, and was sold out within the hour. Customers able to purchase three bottles for $90, six bottles for $159, and 12 bottles for $300
The wine was shipped out to buyers on July 9, and the three bottles we ordered with expedited $60 shipping arrived at our offices July 10.
The brown cardboard box it arrived in was unassuming, unlike the typical white box that she has previously sent her As Ever orders in.
Upon opening the package, we discovered our three bottles of wine nestled in between two egg crate cartons that were shaped like bottles. We’ll give it to the Duchess – nothing broke on its way from California to New York, but for nearly $30 per bottle, we would hope that wouldn’t be the case.
Each bottle was wrapped in a piece of thin white tissue paper, which, frankly, felt a little cheap, and sealed with a gold-and-white sticker with the As Ever logo stamped on it.
The bottle featured a white sticker on the front which read ‘As Ever’ in the brand’s signature gold script, the logo once again, and gold wrapping at the neck of the bottle – chic.
But enough about the packaging, let’s get to the good stuff – the wine itself.
Now, Meghan is no stranger to wine, as she named her once-popular lifestyle blog, The Tig, after Tiganello, an Italian red wine known to be the mom-of-two’s favorite.
Her As Ever rosé is described on the bottle as a ‘delicately balanced rosé with soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality, and a lasting finish.’ It also has a 14.5 per cent alcohol by volume for the 750ML bottle.
The brown cardboard box it shipped in was unassuming, unlike the typical white box that she has previously sent her As Ever orders in
Upon opening the package, we discovered our three bottles of wine nestled in between two egg crate cartons that were shaped like bottles
Each bottle was wrapped in a piece of thin white tissue paper, which, frankly, felt a little bit cheap, and sealed with a gold-and-white sticker with the As Ever logo stamped on it
Now, Meghan is no stranger to wine, as she named her once-popular lifestyle blog, The Tig, after Tiganello, an Italian red wine that is the Duchess’ favorite
Our first sip left a lot to be desired, as it honestly didn’t taste like much. The wine was smooth, but we couldn’t easily detect the notes of stone fruit.
It also managed to taste quite bland, and almost water-y. Despite the lack of flavor, the rosé managed to taste quite acidic, and like a really strong, alcoholic wine.
Many sippers on the FEMAIL team agreed, and we noticed that it left a somewhat uncomfortable sensation at the back of our throats after swallowing.
The wine didn’t taste like you bought it at a fancy vineyard, where it’s supposed to be made. Instead, it tasted affordable and ordinary.
It’s not bad, but it’s not great. Overall, it was pretty commonplace, like a wine you would be served at a work happy hour.
But Meghan’s wine wasn’t the only thing FEMAIL tried from her recent As Ever drops.
And, once we took a sip, it honestly didn’t taste like much. It was smooth, but we couldn’t easily detect the notes of stone fruit, that much is for sure
Many sippers on the FEMAIL team agreed, and we noticed that it left a somewhat uncomfortable sensation at the back of our throats after swallowing and left a strong, acidic taste in our mouths well after tasting
In late June, the Duchess of Sussex finally released new pantry items under her As Ever lifestyle brand – an apricot spread and a limited-edition orange blossom honey.
We’d felt like her raspberry spread was too thin, sweet, and very runny – and we found that her apricot version was just as lackluster.
Per Food & Wine, jam is regulated by the FDA, and it must come from a single fruit, containing at least 45 percent fruit and 55 percent sugar.
What Meghan is selling under As Ever is not called a jam or a preserve – it’s a spread, with ingredients of apricots, organic pure cane sugar, dried organic apricots, organic lemon juice concentrate, filtered water, and fruit pectin.
We bought the $14 apricot spread with keepsake packaging and expedited shipping, and it arrived to us promptly in packaging that Meghan hasn’t changed up at all.
Like the raspberry spread, it arrived in a small FedEx box, with the same ‘handwritten’ As Ever-branded postcard from Meghan herself sitting right on top of the huge amount of packing peanuts.
Again, all that the note said was ‘enjoy.’
The raspberry spread was very liquid and quite thin – a bit ‘loose,’ if you will. If we hadn’t known better, we’d have thought it melted during its expedited journey to us
What Meghan is selling under As Ever is not called a jam or a preserve – it’s a spread, with ingredients of apricots, organic pure cane sugar, dried organic apricots, organic lemon juice concentrate, filtered water, and fruit pectin
The 7.6oz jar came in a tan, cylinder-shaped package, embossed with the As Ever logo on its front, just like the raspberry spread – reminding us more of a luxury candle or party favor than packaging suited for an apricot spread.
Pretty much everything was the same as the raspberry spread, except for the jar’s contents, of course.
When we opened up the jar, we were immediately taken by how liquid-y and runny it was. It was quickly likened by our testers to ‘baby food’ and resembled a caramel sauce more than an apricot spread.
When you think apricot spread, you think that it’ll be gelatinous, or even have chunks of apricot in it. Meghan’s As Ever spread was the total opposite – instead more wet and sugary.
Fortunately, the consistency is the spread’s weakest point. We tried it on a piece of toasted sourdough bread first, and were pleasantly surprised by the taste.
This time around, Meghan definitely nailed the flavor, with the sweet apricot coming through immediately. It was pleasantly delicious, and we could also taste the tang of the organic lemon juice concentrate.
However, it’s definitely not a spread. Like the raspberry version, it’s not so much a spread but a sauce.
The Duchess of Sussex finally released new items for her As Ever lifestyle brand, an apricot spread
And, warning ahead: the apricot spread stood out when compared to the raspberry spread… and this one’s a drip
Meghan first released her line of lifestyle products in April, off the heels of her cooking show on Netflix , With Love, Meghan
When we opened up the jar, we were immediately taken by how liquid-y- and runny it was. It almost looked like baby food or even a caramel sauce rather than an apricot spread
The product left our piece of bread soaking wet, as it immediately absorbed into the sourdough. Meghan suggests eating it with butter on bread, but that’s not easy because the apricot mixture is so thin.
There’s nothing that holds this spread together.
After the sourdough, we tried it drizzled on a piece of brie cheese and toast, which wasn’t such a great pairing. The sweet taste of the apricot spread overpowered the cheese, so you couldn’t even taste the tang – instead, it was all about the fruity condiment.
If we could, we’d re-label the apricot spread a dessert sauce, because the taste is wonderful and it would be great on vanilla ice cream, on top of a pie, or even on a cheesecake.
But alone? It definitely needs some work on the texture.
This time around, Meghan nailed the taste, but the actual formula was a fruitless endeavor.
Out of five stars, we would give it a two point five, as compared to the two we gave the raspberry spread. It gets an extra half-point for the taste, which is where the Duchess really shined.
Out of five stars, we would give it a two point five, as compared to the two we gave the raspberry spread. It gets an extra half-point for the taste, which is where the Duchess really shined
When you think apricot spread, you think that it’ll be gelatinous, or even have chunks of apricot in it. Meghan’s As Ever spread was the total opposite of this, as it was purely just wet and sugary
So this time around, it’s safe to say that we didn’t necessarily have high hopes for this apricot spread, which Meghan released after teasing that she was putting some of her As Ever items ‘on pause’
FEMAIL also tried her new $28 orange blossom honey, which left much to be desired.
The honey didn’t come with a honeycomb this time – which had made it slightly worth the price the first time around – and tasted like sweet, artificial orange.
It’s not something that FEMAIL would buy again.
As of right now, it seems like As Ever is hanging on by a spread.
