Coravin, New wine club, Go Rutgers

Wine accessory

Received a Coravin Three+. Love it so far. It is simple to use and worked well. I tried 2 bottles and poured small amounts from each. Now I need to see how the wines taste in a week. The device opens up new horizons for our wine drinking. I hesitate to open some big, high  ABV wines. With this I can pour a glass or 2 and see how things go. If my wife wants some wine when I am not around, she can open a bottle and not feel obligated to finish it the next day or 2. Not yet sure of the durability. Will report as I use it more and more.

New wine club

A friend introduced me to a wine club that I had never heard of before. It has been around since 2011. Winestyr is the name.https://www.winestyr.com/wine They are trying to bring small wineries in the US directly to consumers. You can buy wines from their collection or you can enroll in a club which sends you 2 or 3  bottles periodically. You can choose white , red or mixed. Shipping appears to be included in the club shipments (not sure) but is added to the wines you purchase from their collection. Buy 6 bottles and get free shipping.

As you know shipping is a big issue for me in buying wine as it can negate any price advantage one gets from ordering wine from a club or winery. For example, getting a 15% discount on a $50 wine from a winery is offset when it costs $8 per bottle to ship.

What caught my attention about Winestyr was the wines that I received from them. They were both very good wines(good reviews) and were from wineries that I had never heard of before. One bottle was Sauvignon Blanc from Lail Vineyards.  The winery has a top winemaker and produces very expensive Napa wines that the critics seem to adore. I really enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc although it was by far the most expensive Sauvignon Blanc I had ever tasted.

As an aside, I am finding that Napa Valley wineries can produce some of the best Sauvignon Blanc wines that I have tasted. Check out the one produced by Cliff Lede.

I reviewed the wines that they offer and I found some top of the line wines from wineries that are hard to find. They are offering a wine from Helen Keplinger(another winemaker celebrity of the critics) that I thought was only available from her mailing list. I have not had a chance to investigate other wines from wineries that I know nothing about, but I would think that there are some gems in their collection.

Wines of the year and other goodies will be upcoming. Looking forward to our New Year's Eve tradition of Peking duck, dumplings, veggies, Champagne and Italian pastries. 

Good luck to Rutgers in the Gator Bowl as they will need it. 14.5 point spread seems low but hey, the basketball team beat  Purdue,  which was #1 at the time.

Enjoy!