Club W April 2016 Subscription Box Review & $20 Off Coupon

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?  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.

Another month, another box of wine!  Two of my girlfriends gave up wine for Lent (dedication!) and now they’re ready to drink some spring wine.  My box had 2 whites and two reds to try.  Because I updated my profile on the Club W website after trying the wines last month, these wines reflected those preferences, giving me dryer, less heavy choices.  All 4 wines had cool information cards about each wine, with coordinating recipes on the back.  We had a little tasting party to try the wines, but I banned hummus after last month’s chickpea explosion, so it was all crudité this month.

We decided to try the wines from lightest to heaviest.  The first wine was the 2015 One From the Quiver Torrontes.

Torrontes is a tasty little grape from Argentina.  It blows in that delicious Southern Hemisphere wind all day and makes a bright, fresh wine that is ready to drink pretty much immediately.  One From the Quiver also made the rich and drinkable Malbec we reviewed last month.  This wine is a pretty light gold with a limey nose and a crisp mouthfeel.  It’s fruity, with shades of peach and almost a rose flavor.  It has a decent acidity to balance out the fruit and moderate the alcohol bite at the finish.  This went great with our crudité and would be a nice wine for a fancy weekend lunch with the ladies.  Drink it super cold.

The next white was the 2014 Passarola Vinho Branco.

From Argentina we jump the pond to Portugal for this fun, light white.  One of my favorite wine discoveries in the last couple of years has been vinho verde, the fizzy, low-alcohol Portuguese wine that you can get a decent bottle of for, seriously, $4.  This wine is like the older sister of vinho verde–it’s been to college and it’s thinking about being a grownup.  It’s a still wine, and has a rounder body than vinho verde, but it retains the bright freshness you want in a Portuguese wine.  It’s pale yellow in the glass and not much of a nose.  It’s a little austere on first taste but widens into a grapefuity flavor with a mineral finish.  This wine is low alcohol, only 12% according to the label, so it’s a terrific apertif or weekend picnic wine.  Crudité, anyone?  Drink it cold!

The first red we tried was the 2015 Pacificana Pinot Noir.

First of all, can we talk about that gorgeous recipe pairing?!  Just look at that meat.  I want someone to make that for me immediately.  Anyway, the wine.  This is Pacificana, a label we’ve had and enjoyed in our two previous boxes.  Pinot noir is the wine I ask for when put on the spot at fancy dinners, so I’m always happy to try a new one.  Like a lot of California Pinots, this wine is a beautiful purple color with a velvety mouthfeel.  This wine was aged in oak, and that definitely comes through in a woodsy sweetness, almost like a bourbon, followed by some nice tart tannins to balance the finish.  This almost felt more Cab than Pinot to me, so it would be a great transition wine for you Cab lovers looking to branch out.  Heavier than a lot of Pinots, this wine would be awesome with grilled meats (like that picture, seriously, wow).  I normally drink Pinot off-chill but this one is better at full room temperature.

Our last wine was the 2014 Forma de Vida Graciano.

Club W is super excited about this wine, and after trying it, I can tell you that I am, too.  This wine is gorgeous in the glass, with a bright burgundy color and an unusual nose, like flowers and oak and even a little mint.  It has a nice medium body and the flavor changes as you drink it from a tart cherry to dark violet to a bitter chocolate finish.  This wine is what you would drink sitting outside on the porch after the rest of the party guests have gone home and it’s just you and two friends and great conversation.  But while you’re having that great conversation, keep in mind that this wine packs a punch with 14.5% alcohol content, and it’s so delicious you won’t notice.  Share that bottle!  Obviously, this was our favorite wine of the night, and it went really well with the blue cheese and dark chocolate I snuck in with the crudite.  Room temperature for this one.

And that’s it for March!  We had a bunch of fun and got to try some new things.  Grapes from Argentina, Portugal, and Spain–pretty cool for one month!  I can’t wait to see what we get next time!

Visit Club W to subscribe or find out more! Just use this link for $20 off your first order – no coupon code required! ($25 total for 3 bottles, but you can grab an extra bottle and get free shipping!)