WIC here, reliving the glory days–the heady early months of wine club heaven!

So, there I was, mid-nineties, a newly minted wine nut, enjoying my free wine club gift, and boom, I found out that Sterling Wine Cellars had a wine club! (www.SterlingVineyards.com) I didn’t really even know who Sterling was, but I didn’t care. Larry vouched for the quality, and so, with one phone call and a credit card number, I purchased my own wine club membership, bringing me up to two… one free, one I paid for.

Now, when I heard the monthly price, I was a bit aghast, as one month’s worth was more than I had probably spent on wine in my whole life… total. The money wasn’t a huge issue, as I was doing okay, but it did open my eyes a bit. I was up to a whopping $70/month or so… huge money that surely put me in the “Big Leagues” of wine collectors… Ha! Little did I know, but more about that in days to come.

Less than three weeks later, just as Santa was making his way through Napa Valley, my first Sterling shipment arrived, with a bottle of Diamond Mountain Ranch Cabernet, and a bottle of Three Palms Vineyard Cabernet (Yes, I remember these ones!).

Well, I got to taste some “real” wine, and, I have to say, I wasn’t fully prepared for the effects of a huge, new, tannic Napa Cab. I had never even heard of tannins, and there I was with a mouth full! Thank goodness I turned out to be a quick study, and after the initial shock wore off, I began to detect the fruit, and the underlying hint of plum and ginger…

Actually, that’s a complete lie, as I couldn’t taste anything but wine, but what I tasted, I liked, and the romance was on.

Over the next year, I developed a pretty nice collection of Sterling wines, started buying wine at Lorenzo’s, and drank my way through my six months free. When that expired, I somehow saw my way to re-upping my membership for not just six months, but four more years, and, as fate would have it, I found them some new friends…

Join me tomorrow as we continue tripping down the dusty wine roads!

Cheers!

WCI

Fine Wine, USA Wine, Wine Cellar, Wine Club, Wine Club Gift, Wine Education, Wine Tasting developing a wine cellar, wine club gifts, wine clubs, Wine Tasting