Recently several direct email wine advertisers suggested I buy a “Tasting Room” set of wines. This is a manufacturer/product, new to me, with an interesting approach. Their angle is to provide mini-bottle sized wine samples as well as selling full-sized bottles to the end user. One of the ads on a Snooth.com email advertised the price drop from $35 to $18 as an introductory offer, I figured I’d take the plunge. I elected to try the world selection for $18 (plus shipping, total $22.99) which provided me six 50ml (or 1.69 oz) bottles of various wines: two white, four red.
A few days later, via UPS ground, arrived a compact box the size of a standard binder but 3” deep. The package seemed solid, and bore a large notice: Contains Alcoholic Beverages, Adult Signature Required.

Inside that box was a smaller, black cardboard box with an intricate design. I opened it, removed a to cover and found six mini bottles of wine:
-Spring Seed Wines Four O’Clock Chardonnay (Australia)
-Old Coach Road Sauvignon Blanc (Nelson, New Zealand)
-Stickybeak Pinot Noir (Sonoma, CA)
-Il Cuore Zinfandel (Mendocino CA)
-La Montesa Rioja, (Alfaro, Spain)
-Urraca Malbec, (Mendoza, Argentina)
The box inside lid says in large print and two different fonts, “DRINK ME life is good” (see picture at top). On the lower box left insert is printed a note that the included samples are not meant to be cellared but enjoyed today. On the right insert, I see a web address and suggestion to buy full-sized bottles from Tasting Room. Smart packaging. I’m curious who the specific demographic is for this company.
After a long day of travel and family obligations, we’ve elected Italian for dinner. So I’ll put the whites in the fridge and pull out the first red wine. I crack open the metal screw cap and pour a tiny bit into the glass, then a little more. Then I pour the entire mini-bottle; while more than my normal first taste, for a full sample it appears pitifully small in my glass (see picture). Yet the bottle is just enough for a fair assessment. The picture below demonstrates the bottle size and amount of wine in the glass:

Here are my first responses to the wines I tasted:
Stickybeak 2009 Pino Noir (Sonoma Coast) had a diluted ruby color with a nose of red fruit on the vine. The palate is gentle,
fruity and acidic with raspberry, cassis and spice. I probably would not buy again at the listed price of $20/bottle on Wine Spectator, $15/bottle on TastingRoom.com or at the web price of $13/bottle- there are much better choices out there for less.
http://www.stickybeakwines.com
Il Cuore “The Heart” Zinfandel, Mendocino CA, 2009: Deep garnet color. On the palate: Black cherry, some plum, pepper and
a note of wood (maybe redwood) on the abrupt finish. Tastes like part shiraz to me. Interestingly enough, after writing that I found the winemaker’s website and found this Zin is actually a blend of zinfandel and petite syrah grapes. Also the manufacturer lists their retail cost at $12.50, so it’s curious I’d find this online at $15.99/bottle by Tasting Room. Hmmm. Can you say ‘margin increase’, kids? I thought you could.
http://www.ilcuorewines.com
So far, considering what I’ve tasted from Tasting Room, I’m not rushing to my local providers to see if they can order by the case. But at an average of $3.84 per 1.69 oz taste, it’s a less expensive way to taste. At the $18/six bottle set price, it’s not a bad way to try wines.
But Tasting Room’s suggested retail cost of $35 per six bottle sampler, my gut response is that I would probably not partake unless there were specific bottles I really wanted to get my hands on. But YMMV, especially if you want to taste six wines for the cost of two decent glasses. Tasting Room currently has six bottle flights that cover specific wineries to a particular grape to a region or country and many more, including their take on “Hidden Gems” “Wine for Dudes” and “Premium Reds”.
For the taster, the 1.69 ounce bottle is not a bad way to taste a reasonable amount of wine without over-imbibing (er, unless you foolishly drink all six bottles in one sitting.) TR does offer a “Super Flight” which includes two full-sized bottles at those additional prices, which might be of interest to some.
http://www.tastingroom.com/
Here’s an interesting link to a February 2012 article on Tim Bucher, the CEO of Tasting Room:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/business/tim-bucher-of-tastingroomcom-on-monday-night-strategizing.html
Last but not least, is the issue I’ve skirted so far. The mini bottle as a wine bottle? OK, we’ve all seen or experienced half bottles, maybe even the tenth on an airplane. Given the change in mood regarding synthetic corks and screwtop caps, why not try the mini bottle as a wine storage device? Tasting Room says they have a ‘sealed, zero-oxygen transfer chamber’ in their Northern California. Interested? More on that here: http://www.tastingroom.com/articles/TASTE/A+Matter+of+T.A.S.T.E.
À votre santé!
JvB does remind you to drink responsibly, use a dedicated driver when drinking outside your home, and never drink and drive!
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Tags: Commentary, Review, Wine, Wine Commentary, Wine Review
Wine Upgrades from Underground Cellar
19 MarThe modern marketplace is full of places where you can buy wine, and pitfalls that accompany them. When something interesting and trustworthy comes along, I want to share it with you!
I ordered from a wine website recently called Underground Cellar. They are not a wine club, but sell specific wines with a unique angle: any and every bottle you buy at one price from a producer enables you to get an upgrade to a significantly more expensive bottle. There’s a little bit of gamble to it, and a little bit of fun. I was intrigued by their site, and like everyone, I like a good bargain. So I took a chance!
I went online, signed up and reviewed the options. I saw an offer for a 90+ point $20 red& white blend with a possible $50 upgrade. It sounded too good to be true, but the optimist in me won over the New Yorker, so I signed up and purchased six bottles, selecting ground shipping. Within a week, the wines arrived at my door. I opened the box and found four bottles of Tess Winery’s Red & White Blend and two bottles of Napa Valley 2001 Peju Province, Estate Bottles Cab Sauvignon.
From a price perspective, I did a quick search and saw that one of my local wine merchants sells the Tess for $19.99 (cool) and I saw the Peju online for $66/bottle. Score one for value. Now, would I like them?
The Tess Proprietary Red Blend 2011 was a new one for me: a red and white grape mix. This blend actually features Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. I was curious and a tiny bit worried for just a moment, until I poured and tasted. Bright vivid red in the glass, with a nose of fresh cut flowers, berries and herbs. On the palate, a burst of raspberry, strawberry, and a hint of melon. This could be an ideal summer red, with far more body than a rosé wine yet with the whimsy of a great pinot or sauv blanc. After tasting the wine, I tried it with fish (great pairing) chicken (great pairing) red meat (good pairing) and veggies (great pairing) and was surprised that I haven’t seen this kind of wine before. Well, I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more from the winemaker Sarah Fowler and proprietors Ariana and Lisa Peju. With good depth for a younger wine, lots of notes with more than a dash of whimsy, you’ll drink this with friends and enjoy it time after time. Tess Winery joins the ranks of small California winemakers (organic certified, to note) to keep an eye on!
I waited until I had a red meat pairing on the menu at home to open the Peju Province 2001 Estate Cabernet. The color is a deep maroon with fading edges, while the nose showed cassis, dried rose petals, leather, earth, and oak. The age on this is apparent, and the first taste was an inspiration of classic Bordeaux. This teenager is mature, established, and a force to be reckoned with. Decanting half the bottle and letting it breathe for 30 minutes was a smart move. Another taste confirmed the first but time had allowed a huge amount of growth that might have required hours in the glass: excellent depth, complexity, showing relaxed floral notes, older fruit (cassis, red currants, cranberry) and mellowed tannins. Very nice winemaking, a pleasure to taste, and a huge bargain at $20 for the bottle. I furiously made cellar notes for the remaining bottles and plan to open them with friends at a beach party this summer.
I was happy to have met Tess and Peju wines for the first time, and tried the Underground Cellar. It was an exciting gamble, and one that paid off nicely. With a little research, you can get both stunning bargains, high quality, and good service. You know I’ll be going back for more.
As a parting note, I haven’t even mentioned Underground Cellar’s Influence Points, Referral Program, or free wine storage- until now. More reasons to check them out, just in case you needed them.
à votre santé!
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Tags: cabernet sauvignon, Independent Winemakers, Napa, Online Wine Merchants, red and white wine blend, red wine blend, Wine Commentary, Wine Review