Hi Everyone,

I reluctantly have to announce that our little online community has been purchased by Constellation Wines. The change will be affective tomorrow. It’s been many years that we’ve been bringing you the latest and greatest wine clubs, but tomorrow it all comes to an end. It’s been a blast and I’ll miss you all!

Regards,

Wine Club Insider

P.S. April fools! Okay it’s one day early. But I always write on Wednesday’s so I had to do it one day early. We’re not going anywhere! See you next week.

Uncategorized april fools

What if you bring your own bottle? Well, first, call ahead and see if it’s even possible. Some places do not allow it; others discourage it with a hefty “corkage fee,” a charge (typically around $15, though it ranges wildly) for bringing your own instead of ordering off the restaurant’s wine list.

That corkage fee makes business sense. After all, a restaurant makes a hefty portion of its profit (not to mention covers glassware and service costs) on alcohol sales so that food costs can be kept in line. If diners bring their own wine, they are cheating that system.

A good wine list is also part of the whole dining experience, and the diner who brings his own bottle is missing out on that part of the experience. The restaurant (hopefully) is proud of its wine list, and wants to share its finds with you; bringing a bottle takes away that opportunity.

If you do have a special bottle or bottles you’d like to bring, let the restaurant know what they are; if the wines are special enough, they may give you a deal on the corkage fee. (For example, say you wanted to open up an array of Romanee-Conti Burgundies from 1945 and have some of the chefs fine food to accompany it. That might be justification for some leniency.) Either way, though, remember to tip as if you had purchased full bottles of wine. Your bill may not be as high, but the staff worked just as hard.

The range of sommeliers is so wide in talent and experience and the array of pay scales that restaurants use are so huge that there’s no clear answer to the question of whether to tip the sommelier. Generally, if the sommelier went out of his way to accommodate you (like found some special bottle of wine for someone’s birthday, or decanted old wines you brought in from home), then do offer a tip.

If you’ve brought wines, do add the cost of the bottles to the final bill and tip on that total; each one of those bottles did add work for dining room staff and dishwashers alike.

Otherwise, it’s up to you, but my advice is not to feel obliged to tip the sommelier separately from the staff unless he’s gone out of his way for you. A nice alternative gesture, when you’ve brought or ordered a special bottle, is to save a glass for the sommelier or the kitchen. It’s not like most restaurant workers can afford to open such bottles that often for themselves.

Uncategorized bring wine to a restaurant, bringing your own bottle

It seems like everyone does red wine clubs 99% of the time. Most of us wine lovers are all about the red wine. But what about a gift for someone that isn’t crazy about wine? Or what about getting your wine lover friend something a little different? I think in both of these cases a Sparkling Wine Club is a great alternative.  Who doesn’t like opening a bottle of bubbly and celebrating with friends? Even when you have nothing to celebrate, just by opening a bottle of champagne you everything suddenly feels a little merrier. There a couple sparkling wine clubs I’d recommend. First is the Cellars Sparkling Wine Club. They actually do a combination of true Champagne from France and some California + Australian sparking wine… which in my opinion can be just as enjoyable as actual ‘champagne’. If you’re looking for a California only sparkling wine club option I would recommend the Schramsbery Sparkling Wine Club. They are known for the sparkling wine and have been making it since around 1965. If anyone is looking for a 100% champagne wine club you may be out of luck. I have yet to find one. There must be one out there somewhere… so if you find one please let me know.

Cheers,
Wine Club Insider

Sparkling Wine champagne wine club, sparkling wine club

I’ve always wondered if you can truly do organic wine. There’s been a lot of debate lately in the news about organics in general and whether or not they are any ‘better’. Well there’s one winery that has been pushing the limits trying to make the most organic wine possible. They are called PureVineWines. They actually prefer a term called Biodynamic wines. Basically they look at the winery as a closed system and don’t bring anything in or out of the winery. So they consider the vines, soil, insects, etc. Obviously they don’t use any pesticides. But in addition they use homeopathic mixtures on the vines and a several other techniques that have been passed down through the generations. And their finished wine contains no sulfates or chemicals. If you didn’t already guess… they are located in Portland, OR. The home of organics foods. So if you have any friends that are into sustainability and organic foods the PureVineWindes Wine Club would be a perfect gift. They’ll receive two great wines every month for around $45 to $55 a month (depending on the wine selection). The founders Andria, Tom, and Joe are definitely creating something unique at PureVineWines.

So let’s have a toast to organic wine,
Wine Club Insider

Organic Wine biodynamic wine, Organic Wine, portland wines, Wine Club

Wine in Texas? Absolutely! In fact Texas Hill is the second fastest growing wine country in the USA. It’s located near Austin. For those of you that haven’t ventured down to Texas Hill yet here is a map of the local Austin wineries. They have Wine Trail events on a regular basis where people can go on a self guided tour of the Hill wineries. It’s a fine time down there. You get a mix of southern charm and some fairly distinctive wines. One that I tried is the Texas Hills Vineyard. They focus on growing wine in an organic sustainable manor. And surprisingly the local area looks a lot like the Tuscan hills of Italy. All of their wines also have an Italian influence. They were the first to produce a Pinot Grigio in Texas and they are especially proud of their Cabernet Sauvignon called “Kick Butt Cab”. Oh, and they have a wine club! Another winery I tried was Rancho Ponte. This place was much more ‘Texas’ and was a fun twist on what you expect from a winery. The Ranch Ponte wine club does six shipments a year.  So if you’re looking to try some Texas wine for the first time I’d suggest looking up Texas Hills.

Uncategorized fast growing wine country, texas, texas hill, wine country