I love mail. Having the doorbell ring with your mail and packages too big for your box is an exciting part of my day. Those days when the delivery person hands you a pen for your signature, even better because I know it’s either money or wine! I’m thrilled to say that I’m a part of the California Wine Club’s 3-month Premier Club gift membership! I will be receiving 2 bottles a month for 3 months to taste, sample, enjoy with my friends and family, how’s that for a gift that continues to give?
Our Premier Club is a great way to learn about wine and the California wine scene, perfect for the wine novice or aficionado. Just $36.45 per month plus shipping, handling and applicable sales tax.
My first shipment came and I think I did a little dance. I wanted to call my husband home from work so we could enjoy it together, even though it was noon. I wanted to walk about the neighborhood to show off my goods, tweet about it (i’m sure I did) and put it on Facebook so my friends and I could make a date to get together, it brings you together with people! Now, I don’t have to stare at the shelves of wines in the stores for minutes upon minutes, going back 2 or 3 times to be sure I got the right wine for the right occasion, for the right price. The California Wine Club has already done the research, now they are sending the wines of the month for me to taste. Easy.
As a novice red wine drinker, I love that in the Premiere Club, each month you will get 2 wines to sample from the same vineyard, often one of each variety. I will always drink any whites, but reds I have to find the right flavors to really enjoy a glass that I would buy again. With membership you get a wine magazine, Uncorked, that offers an up-close and personal look at the family behind the wines plus tasting notes, recipes, wine luminary interviews, games and so much more. Before tasting my wines from Perry Creek Winery I learned that these award winners were from El Dorado County in the Sierra foothills close to where my husband and I went to college, while the Chardonnay was grown in the Carneros region of Sonoma/Napa where we biked backed in April. Having that connection immediately with the wines makes them that much more special.
Our Take: The 2009 El Dorado Chardonnay was the white selection whose aromas of tropical fruit was cool and crisp on first sip, but drier than sweet. Said to be drinking beautifully now, I am a more here and now wine drinker than saving them for later, probably always keeping me in the novice, less sophisticated group. Paired with our leftover chicken Genovese (prociutto/cheese wrapped breast) and fettucini the flavor felt right in my mouth with an acidic contrast to the pasta. With friends, we enjoyed the 2008 ZinMan Zinfandel with the ever soulful dancing figure on the bottle, “every winery has a soul..” says Perry Creek’s director of sales Stefan Tscheppe. With that good spirit, a pairing of raspberries and chocolate would have fit perfectly with this smooth selection. We drank prior to going to dinner, with the men in our 2-couple party having pot roast and they mentioned they wish they had that bottle with them! I’m still on the fence, the taste is overpowering in a meal, yet I do enjoy sipping slowly with company. I feel the zinfandel is more tannic that fruity with a full-bodied finish, I’m still in the search for the red I truly love.
**Especially for the Readers of Jen is on a Journey:
- A special 10% discount on every gift order they place. Have your readers use the code: momreviews at checkout.
- In addition to receiving a 10% discount on any gifts they order from the site, if your reader decides to sign-up for a Wine Club Membership themselves, they will receive a 10% discount on their first month of membership and a free bottle of wine in their first months shipment.
For more information follow @cawineclub @boringwineguy and The California Wine Club and The Boring Wine Guy’s Facebook page.
I was sent a 3-month Premiere membership thanks to CWC and Mom Spark Media. All opinions are my own.
