Palate Club is a unique wine service that has an online questionnaire where you can give them an idea of what you like, and they have a team and AI to help choose wines to send direct to your door! Palate Club recommends users begin with their Blind Taste Test kit to get a baseline of their palate without the influence of labels, so that is exactly how I got started. They also have an easy to use app available for download on both the Apple and Google store! The Blind Tasting Kit is currently $49.99 and the wines sent are from artisans from around the world.
Blind tasting is part of the experience. We hide the labels before shipping so you can taste objectively.
Rate the wine in our app to build your personal wine profile. Your shipments are blind and ready to party once they reach your door.
DEAL: Save $10 off your first Tasting Kit! Deal applies automatically, just use this link to grab the deal.
My wines arrived quickly after ordering and were delivered to my door. Keep in mind that someone 21 or older needs to be home to sign for the wine, or arrange to have the box delivered to a locker so you can pick it up on your terms. Mine was shipped via UPS and CVS is one of the pickup places.
I received a card…
…that told me all about the app. It’s easy to rate the wines.
A second card…
…gave me some ideas for hosting a blind tasting party. We’re not hosting parties at the moment so I shared my new wines with my husband and adult daughter to get their feedback too.
My wines arrived in perfect condition.
The wines were indeed “blind” but that makes for a boring post so I unmasked them for the sake of the review. Note the numbers – you will need them in order to rate your wines. I also ordered the red wine sampler, so those are labeled 1-4.
Everything in my box! Again, I know this was supposed to be a blind tasting but since I don’t know my pinot grigio from my pinot noir (at least, not very well) then it really didn’t have any bearing on my tasting notes or ratings. To be fair I tried not to look at the bottles before drinking.
Blind Bottle #5, Jed Steele’s Shooting 2016 Star Lake County Sauvignon Blanc I started my tasting with this California white and it was a stellar way to start! I gave it a big sniff and the luscious scent of ripe pineapple filled my senses, so tropical and fruity! My husband said it smelled like grapefruit and we both agreed that it was crisp and not too sweet, not too dry. Acidity was a bit on the high side but it was more fizzy than tart. Color is very pale.
Not much info on the back. I was very pleased with this wine!
Blind Bottle #6, Bonny Doon 2013 Le Cigare Blanc My second tasting was smooth but also dry, tropical, a touch tangy but not overly so. It seems pretty well balanced and although I prefer some sweetness this was a refreshing sip and don’t judge me if I mix it with lemonade and carbonated water, I like a spritzer.
This Rhone blend is made of Rousanne, Grenache Blanc, and Picpoul Blanc grapes. I’m not able to pick up a particular scent or flavor as with the last wine.
Blind Bottle #7, 2015 Qupé Chardonnay is the third bottle in my journey into the white wine world. The smell of this was quite strong, both fruity and sharp, and when I gave it a sip, it reminded me of licking a lemon. It isn’t heavy but it is dry, and the acidity was strong to my palate at first, but subsequent sips were milder.
My husband said he tasted apricot and thought it was a refreshing wine.
Blind Bottle #8, Alois Lageder 2016 Pinot Grigio is another crisp citrusy wine that is perfect on a hot summer day, since it’s refreshing and bright. It smells sweet and fruity but is acidic on my tongue, reminding me of not-quite-sweet lemonade.
The grapes here come from the base of the Dolomites, a mountain range in the north of Italy.
I was very excited to try 4 different white wines in my Palate Club White Wine Sampler! I am by no means a wine specialist which is why this is such a neat concept, because I can rate my wines and receive future shipments curated to my tastes. I may never get to the point where I can tell one style apart from another but I know what I like and these were all good wines. There is a red wine sampler that you can also try (review coming soon!) and I appreciate that the bottles came to my house so I didn’t have to spend lots of time in a store trying to figure out the difference between a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc.
What do you think of this box?
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