Metasip

A Wine, Beer, and Spirits Review Site

Dave Van de Walle

Quick Take: Mora’s Savvy Spirits Whiskey Club

Another Quick Take: and sorry if you whiskey lovers feel ignored. You shouldn’t be.

Ah, whiskey. Or whisky. Either way you spell it – well, Mora’s Savvy Spirits has a Whiskey Club to check out. NOTE: all the links below are affiliate links, so we’ll be compensated if you sign up.

Here goes…

Bourbon Club $72/month

Quick Take: Mora’s Savvy Spirits Whiskey Club

So we have a really hard time trying to keep track – Mora’s website has a crazy number of things on its website – all sorts of clubs to take advantage of, and here’s an affiliate link to the main site: Mora’s Fine Wine & Spirits. (Tequila club? Not for me…yet. But I’m starting to head down that road. One of these days…)

We’ll admit that our whiskey skills on the site – and Dave’s own whiskey sampling – remain to be, uh, refined. But we’re getting there – and some of these reviews from our Metasip community might help us along:

Bulleit Rye Whiskey

Auchtenoshan American Oak

Granted, we don’t know if these end up in the monthly club at Mora’s – but given their track record with these clubs, the staff knows what they’re doing there.

Take a spin through the site and, of course, if you order something, let us know how it is!

 

Quick Take: Plonk Wine Club

Back with another Quick Take. If you missed yesterday’s from Cameron Hughes, well, don’t fret. Here’s another thing you can take a look at.

Quick Take: Plonk Wine Club

Today’s Quick Take is on the Plonk Wine Club, and we’ll tell you up front this is an Affiliate Link. That means we will be compensated if you sign up using this particular link:

Plonk Wine Club Signup Form

Alas, this is one of those wine clubs that uses a combination of smarts, savvy, and, dare we say it, sex appeal; all done to make sure you get the best possible wine selection. Want an example of what we’re talking about? Check out the video and get to know Etty, who knows her stuff.

One of the cool features of this club – tasting notes with recipes, and they’re right on the website. For instance…here’s what they say about one of the wines available this month.

Brack Mountain Fable Charbono 2010
Napa Valley, California

Charbono, also known as Bonarda (in Argentina) or Douce Noir (in France), is an obscure red variety with historic roots in the Savoie region of France. This fantastic California grown example hails from the Napa Valley, is fermented with native yeasts, and aged in neutral oak barrels. You’ll see tons of black currant, blueberry and blackberry fruit here as well as a firm core of acidity that maintains a wonderful liveliness on the palate. Only 518 cases produced.

Pair with:

Recipes courtesy of
Fun, eh?
Check ’em out…we plan on sampling the wines in the near future and we’ll give you our review. But Etty has turned Plonk into a name you can trust, so, if the price point is up your alley, give it a whirl.
Cheers!

Quick Takes

Quick Take: Cameron Hughes Wine on Groupon

Starting a new feature here called “Quick Take.” We’re sharing a link – sometimes it’s an “affiliate link,” but today’s isn’t – because it’s something we think is a tremendous value. And it appears to be a “Limited Time Only” thing today. So, here it is…

Cameron Hughes WineCameron Hughes Wine on Groupon

Dave here, and, in the interest of full disclosure, I worked for the Cameron Hughes team for a couple years, mostly doing in-person wine events – “brand ambassador” stuff – and spent a ton of time talking up their stuff while standing at a table at a Costco.

[Hey, that reminds me, didn’t we do a post on buying alcohol at Costco? Yes, yes we did! Here’s a link.]

So this particular deal jumped out at me – because of what I know about their business model, and because of how I saw people BUY Cam’s wine at Costco, I can vouch for the following:

1. You’re getting more than $60 worth of wine

Supply, demand, etc. – there is a glut of expensive wine, especially in California, and Cam figured this out years ago. I used to tell people that the stuff will drink like it’s $30, but you’re buying it for much less.

2. Costco did “dry tastings;” the stuff STILL sold

You can’t sample wine at Costco – it’s a policy they may have tried to relax from time to time, but, for the most part, you have to take a chance.

When I did “dry tastings,” I often was politely ignored by people in the know; they’d reach right past me and take a few bottles or even a case. Without having sampled the particular wine before.

Word of Mouth and/or Cam’s marketing newsletter had told them it was coming to Costco. And because of the track record, spending $12-$15 on a bottle of wine was a worthwhile investment. THIS ONE IS $10 a bottle.

Enough already…where’s the link?

Again, this is not an affiliate link – I just found this and wanted to share it with the Metasip community. You should totally take a chance on this. Trust me.

Cameron Hughes Wine on Groupon.

PS – a number of different samplers. Red-only, white-only, and a mix. I’m not a huge Chardonnay guy, and any mention of the word “Meritage” gets me rather excited. So I’m going with the red.

Final note: I penned this on Thursday afternoon, November 20. You’ve got til midnight Central Time – TODAY – to take advantage.

La Finca 2013 Tempranillo

Trader Joe’s strikes with this big, bold red.

La Finca TempranilloHere’s one of those times where I’m almost certain I’ve had something before – and I had to search my own site to find out whether or not that’s true. (Answer: False; I have not had this wine before.) La Finca 2013 Tempranillo has everything you want in a Spanish Tempranillo.

Except it’s from Argentina.

La Finca 2013 Tempranillo Review

Had a long chat with my local Trader Joe’s wine guy and I have no doubt that their wine buyers know what they’re doing. (And you can expect a few more reviews on this site thanks to their recommendations.)

Taste

Fruit: plum, blackberry. Solid, everyday-drinking red wine.

Profile

13% Alcohol. “Oak Aged.”

Value

Under $5 if memory serves.

Metasip Grade: B+

So this falls into the “everyday” category – but it’s also a “tweener.” You could spend more and get something that drinks a lot more expensively. You could spend less and get something just as good – in fact, some of the Charles Shaw stuff (see our recent review) is probably a better value in the grand scheme.

Why spend $5 when you can spend $3 on the same thing? Or, why spend $5 when you can spend $8 and have something three times as good?

It’s a conundrum – and this wine probably gets left off our “buy it again” list.

Charles Shaw 2013 Shiraz

Inevitable Trader Joe’s Tasting…

Charles Shaw 2013 Shiraz

You knew this day was coming, right? The famous – or infamous – “Three Buck Chuck.” (I don’t think ANYWHERE sells it for $2.00, so we’re sticking with that name, not “Two Buck Chuck.”) If you have a Trader Joe’s near you, you’ve seen this brand of wine over along the wall and you’ve likely thought…”Really?” In this case, the Charles Shaw 2013 Shiraz is up for review, and, well…”Really?”

A few things before we get to the review itself: yes, we think in terms of overall score – Taste, Profile, Value – when coming up with our grades. No, we don’t grade on a curve. Yes, you might take issue with what appears to be a relatively low grade for this wine (at least in comparison to other similarly inexpensive vinos, e.g. Oak Leaf Merlot from Walmart).

Watch the video above, or read the review below. And let us know what you think in the comments.

Charles Shaw 2013 Shiraz Review

This likely falls into the “expectations” category for me – in that my expectations clouded my review. I was expecting cheap wine. And I got, well, cheap wine.

Taste

It did not taste bad – earthy, peppery, fruit-forward. But it did not taste expensive.

Profile

Shiraz from California, it says “Napa & Sonoma” on the bottle. 2013. ABV of 12.5%.

Value

$2.97. A fine everyday table wine, but not sure that it’s worth much more than that.

Metasip Grade: B

This didn’t ace any one category – you could do a lot worse in the $3 category. But you can also do a lot better – see Walmart – and thus we can only grant Chuck a grade of B.