A couple of months ago, Eric had published his review of the Pinot Noir Series, by Gold Medal Wine Club.
Soon thereafter, I was contacted by a guy named “Dave the Wine Merchant“, asking if we'd be willing to do a review of his Pinot Selections wine club.
I went to his site, and at first glance – I already liked him.
His site has great “feel” to it, with a personalized video, a good story about how he got into this business (on his “about page”) and a blog that shows his personality.
For me, wine is fine on its own. I don't really care if I pair it with food.
But when I see someone focusing on how well a particular wine pairs with a specific recipe or meal, I must admit — I think they're more sophisticated than me.
And Dave The Wine Merchant is clearly more sophisticated than me, as he has an entire section of his site dedicated to such recipes.
Now, after tasting the wine he sent to Eric and I to review his wine club, I can solidify my perspective of his sophistication: The man knows good wine.
Dave the Wine Merchant Wine Clubs
On his site, you can see the different wine clubs available. They range in price from $35 – $150 per shipment, and come in 4 different options to appeal to varying personal tastes. They are:
- Crowd Pleasing Selections – “Crowd pleasing wines intended for immediate consumption”
- Collectible Selections – “Serious wines for today, that often reward cellaring”
- Pinot Selections – “All pinot, all the time!”
- Grand Cru Selections – “For the experienced or budding collector seeking to build a cellar based on great wine and deeper knowledge”
The Pinot Selections Series
Dave sent a shipment of his $75 / delivery Pinot Selections Wine Club to be reviewed. And I must say, although I haven't been much of a Pinot Noir drinker before, Dave's wine changed my mind. (Since my review, I've picked up a few bottles of Pinot Noir, but none as good as the Banshee he sent.)
Unfortunately, due to the State of Indiana laws, Tricia was unable to receive a shipment; thus, Dave shipped this Pinot Selections Series wine club only to Eric (New York) and me (Michigan).
The Pinot Selections Series runs $75 a shipment and includes two bottles of Pinot Noir.
The shipment we received had a bottle of Coho ($45 list price) and Banshee ($25 list price). That comes to $70. I'm not sure how the math works, but I'm sure there's an explanation that I simply didn't request yet.
Regardless of the price question: The wine is phenominal.
Seriously. It's really good.
In the video below, Eric and I both opened the same bottle, the $25 Banshee. (I just couldn't open a $45 bottle of wine without someone to drink it with me. Seemed like such a waste!)
What you don't see, is after the video. The wine really opened up and became remarkable.
During the video – yes, it was quite good. But after? Wowsers.
If you're a lover of great wine, check out Dave The Wine Merchant.
Many of the Wine Club Reviews that we do are geared towards people sending wine as a gift, so our “unboxing videos” show you what you'd get if you received the wine as the recipient.
This wine club feels a little different.
It feels like it's geared more toward the wine connoisseur who wants to have delicious wines shipped directly to themselves, not as a gift. (I'm sure someone would love to recive this as a gift, but it just feels like this is one of those boutique, high quality clubs that you would typically order for yourself.)
Our Video of Dave The Wine Merchant's Pinot Selections
In this video, Eric and I tried something new: A two-way skype video recording, with Dave's website up on my screen.
We had a lot of fun making this video, and I personally enjoy the format more than when I do a video on my own. One thing we tried (but failed miserably at), was to keep the video under 7 minutes.
After the video was over, I told Eric that we were already at 15 minutes. His response: “I was wondering why you were wrapping up so soon!”.
I guess time flies when you're having fun.
Time certainly flies when you're tasting great wine.
