Wine Club FTW!

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Sonadora

I’ve been writing quite a bit about a wine club fail the last few days.  You can read all the sordid details here and here.  This time, I’m flipping the coin and telling you about a club that couldn’t be getting it more right, even if they tried.  Really, I have nothing to add to improve on the service offered by this club.

First, it’s a BRAND NEW wine club.  While the winery has been around for quite some time, they have not previously had a wine club.  Which was a shame, as their wine is fabulous and the opportunity to get it on a regular basis, and to get wines that are no longer available to the general public, is just a fabulous chance.  The winery is David Coffaro.  I’ve written about them before, and visited a couple times now.  As I was debating in my head and here on the wine blog about what to do with the Wine Club Fail winery, an email announcing the new Coffaro Club popped into my inbox. 

And it pretty much cinched my decision.  Since the other wine club didn’t want me, I ditched it, and jumped on the Coffaro boat.  I wrote earlier that there are hundreds of winery wine clubs and if you don’t treat your loyal customers well they will simply move to another.  That was not an empty threat on my part.

The enticing Coffaro offer? Let me tell you.

-3 bottles shipped 4 times a year.  AT A FIXED PRICE INCLUDING ALL TAXES AND SHIPPING.  Only $60 per shipment. That alone would have been enough, but it was followed with….

-40% off all your wine purchases!!!  And then….

-A free wine club bbq every year!!  And if you are sadly like me and live far far away, they will give you a $20 credit for not attending.  Plus….

-$3 off every bottle of futures you purchase.

Wow, just wow.  Overall, this is a screaming deal of a wine club offer.  In all my clubs, I’ve never seen anything like it.  I jumped, hard and fast, all over this offer.  So out with the old FAIL and in with the new Coffaro Club FTW.  I wish them the best of luck with their new club, and I’m happy to be a member of a club with such a consumer oriented focus.

Filed under: Wine | 6 Comments »

Walking in the Vineyards

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Sonadora

Back in September, Thea, Brittany, and I spent the better part of the day at Michel Schlumberger with Judd.  We really could have spent the rest of the day tasting the delicious Michel Schlumberger wines and just chatting with Judd, but the call of bacon at Bovolo proved too strong. Its siren song lured us away from our spot in the Michel Schlumberger private tasting room.

View from the top of the hill.

View from the top of the hill.

However, before it called us away, we toured all the way to the top of the hill in the vineyard, and back down through the barrel room and the bottling machine which hummed away as we passed.  Judd told us all about the different grape vines, when they were planted and some interesting facts about pre-phylloxera clones that they still have at Michel Schlumberger. It’s always fun to see the inner workings of a winery!

After our lovely stroll (sadly, the sheep that mow the vineyard were not out and about, I would love to see them! They are miniature sheep!!) we headed back to the private club tasting area to taste through the current line up and a vertical of Cabernet Sauvignon.

2006 La Brume Chardonnay: Apple, pear, yeast, fresh, slight oak, lemon.  Fermented in new oak for 2 months and then in old oak.

2007 Pinot Blanc: Honey, peach, nectar, pear, minerals, stone, light, citrus, orange blossom. I adore this wine.

2005 Pinot Noir: Strawberry, mint, mushroom, earthy, straw, leather, tart fruit, it smells like the Pinot Noir vineyards we walked through.

2005 Syrah: Vanilla, dark cherry, plums, spice, big, perfumed, dark berries, cedar, sandalwood, licorice, floral.  Love this one.

2004 Merlot: Berry, plum, spice, licorice, dark, has hints of red fruit.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon: Cherry, leather, earth.

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon: Smells delicious. Cherry, tart, leather, spice, dark, yummy, still tannic.

1999 Cabernet Sauvignon: Vegetal, herbal, earth, forest floor, not too fruit driven, some red fruit in the mid-palate.

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon: Strawberry, oak, berries, perfume, flowers, fresh fruit, dirt, earth.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon: Berry, big fruit, spice, vanilla, still needs time, blackberry, pepper, licorice, fruit driven, tannic.

2006 Cabernet Franc: Very new, can still smell the yeast, strawberry, dust, wood, currants, dark, herbs.

Many thanks to Judd for a fabulous day.  Any time you are out in Sonoma, make sure to give Michel Schlumberger a call to schedule an appointment to stop by!  And don’t forget to follow their award-winning and very well done blog!

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Filed under: California, Michel-Schlumberger, Vineyards, Wine, Wineries | 5 Comments »