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The California Wine Club review

monthly wine delivery club

The holidays are here. Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas will be here before we know it. Have you ever given a bottle of wine as a gift? I know of a couple family members and friends who would be very happy if I gave them wine as a gift. Other than having wine tastings here and there with my Mom and having a glass or 2 with my girl Stacey I'm not much of a wine drinker. I don't know what wines are good to pair with what foods or any of that. I just know what I like to drink. Not knowing a lot about wines I was glad that The California Wine Club took the guess work out of picking wine for me as they hand pick wine selections and send them out to you. Who is the "they" that picks the wines?

They are the founders of the California Wine Club, Bruce & Pam Boring, who started the wine club in 1990 after going through the struggle of finding truly great wine. They seek, taste, select and deliver the best of the best from California's "mom and pop" wineries. What do you get with this monthly wine delivery club? Each month (for however many months that were purchased) you will receive 2 bottles of award winning wine. You can choose to have all red or all white wines but most shipments are 1 red and 1 white unless specified. Like most products every wine has a story, and the California Wine Club magazine, Uncorked, gives you that story as well as recipes, wine tips and a look at the winery in which the wine that you received came from. My favorite part of the wine club (besides the wine) is their 100% satisfaction guarantee. The California Wine Club stands behind every bottle of wine that they ship out. Wine tastes will vary from person to person, but the wines are still guaranteed.

The California Wine Club Gift Pricing (price includes shipping and handling):

1 month- $49.95
3 months- $145 ($5 savings)
6 months- $288 ($12 savings)
9 months- $423 ($23 savings)
12 months- $564 ($35 savings)

My first shipment from The California Wine Club came a few weeks ago. I received 2 bottles of wine for the Robledo Family Winery from Sonoma. The CWC selections were the 2009 "Seven Brothers" Napa Valley Tempranillo (red wine) and the 2008 "Seven Brothers" Lake County Sauvignon Blanc (white wine). UPS delivered my box and I tore right in to it. The bottles come secured in a styrofoam box. I noticed my bottles did not feel cold but I figured they were shelf stabled and had no need to be refrigerated. I put them in the fridge for a week so I could take them to a family gathering (costume birthday party) to share with some wine-o's that knew more about the taste of wine than I did. None of us had ever heard of either wines from the Robledo Family Winery. We opened the Sauvignon Blanc first. I am the one in the giant pink bow (Daisy Duck) and the lovely red head beside me is Ginger from Gillegan's Island aka the wine-o and my girl Stacey.

To me it smelled a little odd but I thought that was what it was supposed to smell like, I didn't know any better. After sampling the first bottle we attempted to try the Tempranillo. It smelled like bad vinegar. It smelled so bad we didn't want to drink it. Being the reviewer I took a sip just to see what it tasted like but it was not drinkable. It turned out that the bottles of wine had soured or gotten too hot during shipment to me (I have had issues with cold food deliveries with UPS before). I informed the CWC of my dilemma and with their 100% guarantee they (no questions asked) over-nighted me a second box of wine

The second shipment was cold when I opened it and I put them to the fridge. I tried the Sauvignon Blanc again first. It was a much improved taste than the first time I tried it. The Sauvignon Blanc was very tart. I have learned that I prefer the more fruity tasting wines but I still drank a glass of the white wine with my lunch. The Sauvignon Blanc is also good to cook with. The Tempranillo was better the second time around as well. I enjoyed the fruity flavor very much. The Tempranillo paired with my pork tenderloin very well for dinner. See, I am learning how to be a wine-o, Stace!

I have another month of completely different wines from another winery to come next month from the California Wine Club. I'll also have a nice holiday gift giveaway to go with it so if wine is on your to buy list for your wine-o you'll want to stick around.

 

disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. I received a 2 month Membership to the California Wine Club for the purpose of this review.