Club W Wine Subscription Box Review & 50% Off Coupon- February 2016

Club W is a wine subscription service that sends wine directly to you each month based on your personalized palate profile.  A “global winery,” Club W advertises that it has “direct relationships with vineyards and farmers to make exceptional small lot wines at prices impossible to achieve at retail.”

If you’re like me, you find yourself buying the same wines every time you go to the store–you’ve found those bottles you like, and it seems too risky and expensive to buy something else just to try it.  Plus, those store employees are either clueless about wine or make YOU feel clueless about wine.  Club W is the perfect solution!  You fill out a quick survey about what tastes you like–black coffee, citrus, etc., and Club W makes a customized recommendation of 3 bottles that fits what you like.  Then, for $6 flat shipping (or free if you pick a 4th bottle), it comes to your house!  What could be easier than that?

My box contained 4 bottles, adorably and securely packaged in a classy-looking box.  This thing doesn’t scream “I get wine sent in the mail!” so it’s safe for receiving at work.  Keep in mind that someone 21+ will have to sign for it.

My box had 2 whites and two reds; a nice mix to get me out of my pinot noir rut.  The 3 recommended bottles came with cool information cards about the wines, with coordinating recipes on the back.  I had some girlfriends over to taste all the wines at once (forced to have a party to get you my review?  So hard to be me!)  We had a nice spread of apps to help us along.

We decided to try the wines from lightest to heaviest.  The first wine was the 2015 Pacificana Sauvignon Blanc.

Cute label on this one.  The wine is a pretty light straw color and, no lie, smells like summer in a bottle.  I was immediately put in mind of sitting on my back porch with gorgeous early evening sunshine pouring through and a big cold glass of this in my hand.  It has a light body and mouthfeel, tastes of citrusy melon and grass, and a pleasant tartness to the finish that makes you want to take another sip.  This was great with my friend Elizabeth’s herbed cheese, and it would be just as good with fish, chicken, or chilled pastas.  Heck, the acidity and freshness is so nice that it would also be great with a backyard burger.  I really liked this one, as you could tell.  You’ll want to drink this as cold as you can get it.

The next white was the the 2013 Wayward Wine Company’s California White Wine blend.

The bottle didn’t reveal the wines in the mix, but it clearly had a big dollop of Chardonnay inside.  This wine was slightly fatter in body and more golden than the Pacificana.  The first sip was a little tight, but it mellowed in the glass to a creamy, oaky, pleasant wine.  This style of wine is not my favorite, but Elizabeth enjoyed it.  It went nicely with the brie and apricots in our spread.  This would hold up well to grilled foods or a nice fat alfredo dish.  I’d drink this one slightly off-chill, in a nice big glass to swirl some air into it.

The first red we tried was the 2014 Les Bobos Carignane.

Club W says you’ll want to drink this with your wine snob friends, so you can talk about the not-well-known Carignane varietal.  This was probably a blend, maybe with some syrah, but the label didn’t indicate such.  I hate to play into stereotypes (“les bobos” means “hipster” in French), but this wine was delicious and just unusual enough to make me feel like I’m a cool kid.  You could take this to any party and feel good about it.  The wine is thin in body and a medium cherry color, but not as light as a Pinot Noir.  The taste fruity at first but with a nice olivey finish with mild tannins that leaves you feeling refreshed.  This is an easy-drinking wine that would play nicely with lots of foods, from pasta to burgers to pork.  It has a little spice that would go terrifically with pizza.  We drank this off-chill, which is how I drink Pinot Noir, and that seemed right.

Our last wine was the 2014 Meraki Cabernet Sauvignon.

My friend Amy likes a cab, and she was pretty enthusiastic about this one.  It’s beautiful in the glass, with a deep berry color and smooth body.  This is a bit fruity in the mouth with an oaky finish, like many cabs at this price point.  It has a strong alcohol smell, and I thought it tasted a bit like bourbon.  This would be a decent dessert wine, especially with dark chocolate and blue cheese.  Or, say, those delicious cookies only available once a year from a certain girl-centric outdoorsy leadership organization.  Drink this one at cool room temperature.

And that was my wine box!  I can’t emphasize enough how FUN this was.  It was great to try some new things, and it was an awesome excuse for a girls’ night.  We all had a favorite bottle, and it was great fun to discuss the different flavors in the wines.  I can’t wait for next month’s selections.

Visit Club W to subscribe or find out more! Just use this link for 50% off your first three bottles – no coupon code required!