CONGRATS TO MY FRIENDS AT WINE NECESSITIES ON TWO YEARS OF DOING WHAT THEY LOVE! WAY TO GO GIRLS

ShareThis

Wine and Wine Club Gifts for Mother’s Day!

Every once in a while…I am a genius. I know, it’s hard to believe, but ask anyone (besides my wife. Is “Dip” a term of endearment?) After being bombarded with Mother’s Day ads for everything from pearl pendants to carbon offset coupons I hit upon an idea that merited some investigation, why not wine! Mother’s Day is all about being pampered, right? Mother’s Day is all about being appreciated, right? So why not give something that shows your appreciation and love and is a gift you don’t have to go to a mall to buy! Why not wine! Picture your mom (or your long suffering wife) sitting comfortably on the patio enjoying a light crisp chardonnay that YOU (now the favorite child or appreciated husband) gave them as a personal token of your appreciation. Genius!

The only trouble is, many of us probably have no clue as to our mom’s favorite wine and dad’s are notoriously little help in a situation like this. (Caution, they may even steal your idea! Can’t you hear it, “Hey son, that’s great…thanks”… click) So what to do? Why not give a trial membership in a wine club? Again, Genius. But which one?

Maybe Google can help? 

A quick Google search revealed this to be a real simple task: “Results 1 – 10 of about 708,000 for wine clubs. (0.13 seconds)” A quick Google search…hmmm… So let’s see, 708,000 results to review will take about 3 minutes per review which equals…yikes.  Maybe we’ll just look at the ads on page one instead.  Doing so, in my first Wine Club Quest…I found three different clubs I really like. Take a look.

Wine Club One: California Wine Club- Delivering hand-selected, boutique wines each month.

What’s to like? First of all I want an authority dealing with the tastebuds of those I love. California Wine Club looks like that authority. Some good write-ups on wineries , books, gift baskets, different types of clubs to join and short-term membership trial. Good varietals in reds and whites as well as ability to select a wine color preference of all red, all white or mixed. Also there is a Mother’ Day Gift package available. A good choice. But wait…there are more!

Wine Club Two: Cellars Wine Club 

What’s to like? Well…the term “discount” is very close to the term “cheap” and , well… that’s not all bad. Mom would want you to save money! It gets even better. Cellars actually is starting a “Champagne Club” and they feature it on their Mother’s Day ad! Certainly your mother celebrates every single day that she gave birth to such a wonderful thoughtful child so why not help her celebrate with a little bubbly? Cellars, like California Wine Club, has short term programs, various price ranges (from $29.95 to $299.95) and good wine information. Most importantly, I like their selection. Another good choice. So that’s two clubs to buy from.

So far this is simple, one could buy a Cellars club membership for mom and a California club membership for the wife and we are done. Time to fire up the grill. That is unless you like confusion and decide to check out…
Wine Club Three: wine.com

What’s to like? Simply put, like the first two clubs, wine.com is pretty awesome. Gift baskets, great selection, great themes like “Tour de France”, good wine information available… Also check out this offer: Save 15% off any gift basket at Wine.com. Enter coupon
code LSGIFT15 at checkout. Offer valid 5.1.08 - 6.30.08.

If I had only checked out two clubs this would be easy. Now, you have to make a choice!

And…Oh NO… how about local options, our friends at Wine Necessities also have a great wine club. They will even custom design a label for Mom. (You could use your baby picture!)

Maybe grandmother would like a gift of wine? Mother-in-law? Somebody female over the age of 21? Well, let’s figure it out soon because next up..Father’s Day – and in this life you only get as good as you give!

Have wine clubs or wine gifts you like? Share the word! But not until I’m done shopping please.

Cheers and Happy Mother’s Day shopping from the wine oaf! Good luck!

ShareThis

Wine Necessities in Ballwin, MO

Well, last Saturday I made wine at a great little winery in Ballwin, MO named Wine Necessities! Well, I mostly made a batch of  wine…technically I performed the first few stages of the wine making process. I put the batch through primary fermentation. Technically… I did what owner Jacque James told me to do. (She allowed me no creativity.) And I guess it really wasn’t home-made since we made it in their very sterile and organized winery area, so anyway…It was fun to be hands on and see the process. Wine Necessities had a great variety of wines in various stages of production and actually a great many varieties ready to be sampled, which….of course… I did. I sampled a 2006 Domestic Cabernet that was really smooth yet also full bodied. I like the reds you know. Also, sampled a Chilean Merlot that was really excellent. I would rate both as:

SERVE TO GUESTS!

My friends (tip:always make friends with people who make wine) that own the shop, Jacque and Jen, were fun, energetic and passionate about their trade. How cool was that to find! They also were throwing a wine tasting party when I was there and everyone was having a riot. Wine Necessities throws parties, tasting events, wine and food pairing parties and bottles special wine for special events like grand openings, weddings etc… where you can pop on your own label (tastefully designed by Jen). The wine may be a little above my $10 Quest focus but hey, entertainment costs money and I was entertained! Also check out the stores cool wine gadgets on the shelves. Great stuff for all wine lovers. (HINT!)

Neat discovery. Check out their entire inventory. For my next visit, (Oh yes…there will be a next visit!) I am making a sign to display , “Will Work For Wine”. What do you think? Could work, right?

Cheers.

ShareThis