Cycles Gladiator Central Coast 2006 Merlot $9.50

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I was watching highlights of the Tour de Drugs, sorry… Tour de France action for the day late at night, I was also working on a presentation that had to be ready in the morning. After seeing a picture of some spectator ringing a cowbell (I thought they just did this for downhill skiers!) I remembered… I have a new wine to review! (much better than working on a PowerPoint, thank you Pavlov) This one even had a great artistic rendition of a naked blond sprite barely holding onto the handlebars of a speeding, run-a-way bike. How very fortunate!

I had just bought this cheap merlot wine strictly because of the label (again). I know, a fatal flaw. I am a sucker for a cool label. (see The Show) Yet, just like always falling for blonds in my younger days (single days darling), I carry this flaw with little burden. Though most times, looks alone do not make a compatible dating relationship for your heart or your palate, sometimes..you get lucky and you find that you are just right for each other! Same here, everyone may not like my choice of Cycles Gladiator but I love her. I plan to introduce her to my family. At least to brother Dave. Oh heck, I’d share her with everyone. (another fatal flaw!) This was a good cheap wine worthy of the Wine Quest! (and ten bucks.)

W hat Others Say: Jericho Wines

Supple and elegant, with a decidedly spicy nose of black cherry, cassis and cedar. Mouth-filling flavors of plums, cherries and wild red berries exhibit excellent richness and concentration. A good seam of acidity complements the soft tannins.
What I Thought: A surprisingly rich tasting wine for the price. Great nose, great look and good balanced flavor. (Also the very uninhibited lady on the label will add to the conversation.) We’ll have a second date together.

Cheers from the Wine Oaf

PS: Cycles Gladiator is really into cycling. They also have a wine club and some very cool racing jerseys. Check this out! All Posters – Wine Art sells this poster of Cycles Gladiator!

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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!

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