Archive
Following Wine Till Sold Out – Cheapskate Wednesday, February 20th
About two weeks ago, on February 20th, WTSO (Wine Til Sold Out), one of my very favorite purveyors of great QPR wines, had another one of their Cheapskate events – all the wines are priced from $7.99 to $18.99, offered in the quantities of four, new wines are offered every 15 minutes or sooner, and all the notifications about new wines are only coming out on the Twitter. While I was on vacation and couldn’t take advantage of any offers, my faithful computer did its best to collect the information (which in the end of the day made me upset as I saw how many great deals I missed).
As I have done it before, I would like to share with you all the data, so you too can get upset – or not, as you can instead be happy about all the money you saved. Let me add few observations here. There were about 130 wines offered. Very few wines lasted 15 minutes, many wines disappeared in a matter of couple of minutes. I counted four very strange glitches, where the wine was seemingly offered at WTSO web site, but not showing up in the twitter stream – if you followed the event and saw that too, I would like to know what you think about it. This is definitely a first time for me observing such a discrepancy (not that this is all that essential though).
Before I will leave you with the data, here is the usual guide to rating abbreviations: WS – Wine Spectator, WA – Wine Advocate, ST – Steven Tanzer, WE – Wine Enthusiast, WRO – Wine Review Online, W&S – Wine and Spirits, JS – James Suckling, RP – Robert Parker, JHN – Jonathan H. Newman, D – Decanter Magazine, rating goes in stars ( 5 stars is max), JH – James Halliday, TRR – The Rhone Report, BH – Burghound.
Enjoy and cheers!
Following Wines Til Sold Out: October’s Full-On Marathon
121 wines (if my count is correct) during 18 hours, lots of 90+ wines, including 95-99 rated, great names (Joseph Phelps, Dominus, Antinori Solaia, Tattinger and many others) – “wow” is the only descriptor I can use here. Some (quite a few) of the wines lasted only 3 minutes – “you snooze, you lose” was in the full effect.
The event took place on Tuesday, October 2nd. As before, I did my best to collect the data, which is always challenging. Below is the table containing all (hopefully) wines offered during the event.
Guide to ratings: WS – Wine Spectator, WA – Wine Advocate, WE – Wine Enthusiast, W&S – Wine & Spirits, ST – Steven Tanzer, JHN – Jonathan H. Newman, WRO – Wine Review Online, RP – Robert Parker, JS – James Suckling, BH – Bourghound, IWC – International Wine Cellars, CG – Consumer Guide, IWR -International Wine Review, TWN – The Wine News.
Enjoy!
Wednesday’s Meritage
Hello and welcome to the special Wednesday – Wine Blogging Wednesday #79 it is, a.k.a. #WBW79.
Let’s start from the usual routine – the answer for the Wine Quiz #21 – Do you Know the King? Similar to the previous quiz, this one also had a diversity of opinion as to which wine is called a “King of the Wines”. And the answer is … Barolo!
Believe it or not, but until the middle of the 19th century Barolo was a sweet wine (it probably sounds funny for anyone who experienced the power of Barolo) due to the deficiencies of the winemaking process. In the second half of the 19th century, invited French oenologist managed to change the winemaking process which resulted in production of completely dry wine. This dry Barolo wine became so popular among nobility of Turin that it was often described as “the king of wine” (here is a link for you with more information on the subject). Now that you know the king, you can enjoy Barolo even more (but don’t forget to decant it!).
Now it is time for the wine news. Let’s start form the Wine Blogging Wednesday #79 – Summer Reading, Summer Wine. This is probably one of the more difficult WBW events, as you are required not to drink the wine yourself, but rather explain to the world what kind of wine your favorite fiction character should be drinking, and why. I’m still not decided if I will will be writing my blog post for #wbw79 – may be yes, may be no – but I’m sure it will be fun to read what the other people will have to say.
Now, all the wine lovers who like value – please pay special attention. Wine Till Sold Out (a.k.a. WTSO) Cheapskate Wednesday is coming up on August 8th. Starting at 6 am Eastern, deeply discounted wines will be offered for sale every 15 minutes or may be even faster. All the wines will be priced in the range of $7.99 to $18.99 and you will have to buy 4 bottles or more to get free shipping. These “marathon” events are usually offering great values and shouldn’t be missed – here are couple of reports (one and two) I compiled from the past events in case you want to have a frame of reference. Get your cellar ready!
Moving along. Next, I want to bring to your attention two more interesting posts. First, W. Blake Gray wrote about the results of market research of consumers’ emotional attachment to the brand (of course primarily concerning alcohol brands). This is pretty short post (here is the link) – read it, some of the results are staggering and hilarious at the same time.
Last but not least: if you love wine and live in a close proximity of Boston (remember, airplanes are known to greatly shorten the distances), there is a restaurant you must visit until the end of August. Why? Because this restaurant (Troquet) is offering mind boggling dealson superbly aged wines (1966 Bordeaux for $75? unreal…) – for more details, please read this post by Richard Auffrey who writes The Passionate Foodie blog.
That’s all for today, folks. Hope you enjoyed this Meritage, and don’t worry – the next Wednesday will be here much sooner than you are expecting, so we will be talking again. And… don’t forget to leave a comment. And – think about your #WBW79 post. Cheers!
Following Wine Till Sold Out (Again) – Super Wednesday, February 15
Once again, Wine Till Sold Out (a.k.a WTSO), one of my favorite online wine stores, had its “Super Wednesday” – an event which takes place about 4 times a year where the wines are sold online in rapid succession. Compared to some of the past “Super Wednesday” events (here is the post about the one from about a year ago) WTSO changed the model slightly. Previously, during Super Wednesday WTSO was offering wines at any price range, but as of lately, the wines are limited in price up to $18.99, and therefore all the wines have the same minimum quantity requirements of 4 bottles (minimum quantity is required to receive a free shipping, you can technically buy wine in any quantity). Considering that limited cost, these events are even called “Cheapskate Wednesday” now.
Quite honestly, I like the old model more – when it comes to the unknown wines, even at a lower cost, I usually buy one bottle just to try, and then more if I like the first one – as I don’t know majority of the wines offered in the events such as this one, paying $40 to $76 for 4 bottles of wine I might not like is not a great proposition – my preference is to look for the gems (and WTSO is The Place to find them), and to get one or two bottles of the wine which looks more interesting instead of four bottles of unknown wine.But if you know the wines, then of course there are lots of values to be had – but you have to act fast – and you have to use Twitter, as it is the only place where each new wine is advertized.
Anyway, I collected information about all the wines which were offered. I used different approach this year, so between improved Twitter and automated web site snapshots, I was able to collect a lot more information compare to the previous posts. Before I will present the full table to you, here are some of the comments and notes. The whole event took about 18 hours, from 6 AM Eastern until midnight on the same day, February 15th. About 100 wines had being offered, from $7.99 to $18.99. Some wines lasted only for a couple of minutes, and some lasted for 20 minutes or a bit longer ( very few). A lot of wines had being rated on the 100 points scale. Here is a quick guide to the rating abbreviations: WS – Wine Spectator, WA – Wine Advocate, ST – Steven Tanzer, WE – Wine Enthusiast, WRO – Wine Review Online, W&S – Wine and Spirits, MS – Mari Stull, JHN – Jonathan H. Newman, D – Decanter Magazine, rating goes in stars ( 5 stars is max). And here is the table:
| Time | Wine Name | Rating | Orig. Price | WTSO Price | % off |
| 6:00a | Soda Rock Winery Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 | JHN91 | $35.00 | $14.99 | 57% |
| 6:08a | Bodegas Y Vinedos Pujanza Pujanza Rioja DOC 2007 | WA91 | $34.99 | $16.99 | 51% |
| 6:30a | Encantado (You Know The Winery!) Carneros Chardonnay 2010 | $32.00 | $13.99 | 56% | |
| 6:36a | I Greppi Greppicante Bolgheri, DOC 2008 | WS90 | $29.99 | $15 | 50% |
| 6:48a | Bodegas Silvano Garcia Vina Honda Crianza Jumilla, Spain 2006 | WA91, ST90 | $21.99 | $12.99 | 41% |
| 6:59a | St. Francis Winery & Vineyards Sonoma County Syrah 2006 | $20.00 | $12.99 | 35% | |
| 7:17a | Villa Andretti Napa Valley Chardonnay 2009 | $28.00 | $11.99 | 57% | |
| 7:24a | St. Francis Winery & Vineyards Claret Sonoma County Red Blend 2007 | 41% | |||
| 7:28a | Toad Hall Cellars Carneros, Napa Valley Pinot Noir 2007 | JHN91-92 | $25.00 | $14.99 | 40% |
| 7:32a | Clos Du Bois North Coast Chardonnay 2010 | 50% | |||
| 7:39a | Kenwood Vineyards Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 | WRO89 | $35.00 | $18.99 | 46% |
| 7:42a | Andre Farjon La Deveze Cotes du Rhone 2007 By Philippe Cabie | 40% | |||
| 7:47a | Thumbprint Cellars Three Some Winemaker’s Reserve Sonoma County 2008 | $45.00 | $17.99 | 60% | |
| 7:55a | Adobe Road Winery Alexander Valley Meritage 2005 | 62% | |||
| 7:59a | Chateau Galand Bordeaux Superieur AOC 2005 | $31.49 | $12.99 | 59% | |
| 8:04a | David Bruce Winery Los Gatos Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2009 | $24.99 | $14.99 | 40% | |
| 8:19a | Turn 4 Bennett Lane Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 | $25.99 | $15.99 | 38% | |
| 8:33a | Inman Faily Wines Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2006 | ST90 | $45.00 | $17.99 | 60% |
| 8:44a | Wine Guerrilla Coffaro Vineyards Block 1 Old Vine Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel 2009 | $40.00 | $17.99 | 55% | |
| 8:52a | Bouchaine Vineyards Napa Valley Carneros Estate Pinot Noir 2006 | 92 | 53% | ||
| 8:59a | Shadowood Alexander Valley Merlot Reserve 2008 | JHN92 | $31.99 | $13.99 | 56% |
| 9:03a | Chateau de Lyde Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux 2009 | $17.99 | $9.99 | 44% | |
| 9:15a | Mario Perelli-Minetti Winery Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2007 | 93 | 64% | ||
| 9:18a | Montes Limited Selection Leyda Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2010 #82 Top 100 2011 WE! | ||||
| 9:22a | Villa Petriolo Chianti DOCG 2008 | $19.99 | $9.99 | 50% | |
| 9:37a | Mathis Wines Sonoma Valley Grenache 2006 | MS90 | $39.99 | $15.99 | 60% |
| 9:53a | Starry Night Winery Lodi Zinfandel 2007 | 50% | |||
| 9:59a | Bodegas Ondarre Reserva Rioja 2004 #58 Top 100 Wines 2010! | WS91, D**** | $22.99 | $11.49 | 50% |
| 10:18a | Kingsford Manor Winery Napa Valley Rose Wine 2010 | JHN88 | $18.99 | $8.99 | 53% |
| 10:33a | Chateau Pavillon Bel-Air Lalande de Pomerol 2006 | 91 | 55% | ||
| 10:38a | Sergio Mionetto Valdobbiadene Extra Dry Sergio Rose N/V | $14.99 | $12.09 | 19% | |
| 10:55a | Oriel Wines Sygnet McLaren Vale Shiraz 2004 93WE! | 93 | 73% | ||
| 10:58a | Chateau De Ribebon Bordeaux Superieur 2009 By Aelie Aubert | WS89 | $18.99 | $10.99 | 42% |
| 11:15a | Spicerack Vineyards Punchdown Sonoma Coast Syrah 2008 | ST88+ | $29.99 | $13.99 | 53% |
| 11:30a | Soda Rock Winery Alexander Valley Chardonnay 2009 | $28.00 | $14.99 | 46% | |
| 11:45a | Bodegas Rejadorada Rosum Joven 2009 | $12.99 | $7.99 | 38% | |
| 12:00p | Pessagno Winery Idyll Times Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 | WE90, CG90 | $40.00 | $17.99 | 55% |
| 12:05p | Brancott Estate Classic Range Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2010 | WRO91 | $13.99 | $8.49 | 39% |
| 12:15p | Veraonte Winery Ritual Casablanca Valley, Chile Pinot Noir 2007 | 40% | |||
| 12:22p | Grupo Bodegas Olarra Ondarre Cava Brut Millenium N/V | $21.99 | $10.99 | 50% | |
| 12:43p | Rouvre Saint Leger Laudun Cotes du Rhone Villages Blanc 2009 by Philippe Cabie | $30.00 | $17.99 | 40% | |
| 12:57p | Kunde Faily Estate Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 | WS87 | $20.99 | $9.99 | 52% |
| 1:15p | Azienda Agricola Piancornello Rosso di Montalcino DOCG 2009 | 90 | 45% | ||
| 1:21p | Terre Domini Solare Prosecco N/V | $12.99 | $8.99 | 31% | |
| 1:38p | Infinity Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 | $24.99 | $12.99 | 48% | |
| 1:53p | Thumbprint Cellars Winemakers Reserve Four Play Alexander Valley Red 2009 | JHN91-92 | $45.00 | $17.99 | 60% |
| 2:09p | Juslyn Vineyards Spring Mountain Sauvignon Blanc 2008 | WA87 | $34.99 | $14.99 | 57% |
| 2:17p | Bodegas Poesia Clos Des Andes Malbec Reserva 2006 92 WA! 90-92 ST! | WA92, ST90-92 | $36.99 | $16.99 | 54% |
| 2:33p | Nord Vineyards Estate Wines Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 | 90 | 68% | ||
| 2:37p | Boisset Faily Estates Lyeth Sonoma County Meritage 2008 | $19.99 | $10.99 | 45% | |
| 2:52p | Petizos Mendoza Malbec 2007 | $14.99 | $9.99 | 33% | |
| 3:00p | Bodegas Beronia Rioja Rosado Tempranillo 2010 | $21.99 | $10.99 | 50% | |
| 3:15p | Mockingbird Hill Winery Sonoma County Chardonnay Reserve 2010 By Zach Long | JHN91+ | $27.00 | $12.99 | 52% |
| 3:27p | Chateau Le Gardera Bordeaux Superieur Grand Vin De Bordeaux 2008 | WS89 | $15.99 | $8.99 | 44% |
| 3:36p | Sola Winery Napa Valley Zinfandel 2006 | 58% | |||
| 3:41p | Clos des Miran Cuvee Speciale Cotes Du Rhone 2009 | $15.99 | $9.99 | 44% | |
| 3:51p | The Barrister Sonoma County Red Wine 2010 | JHN92 | $35.00 | $14.99 | 57% |
| 4:04p | Bodegas Resalte de Penafiel Pena Roble Ribera del Duero Joven 2007 | 90 | 56% | ||
| 4:13p | Maxwell Creek Winery Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2009 | $22.99 | $11.49 | 50% | |
| 4:18p | Chateau Tanesse Cadillac Cotes de Bordeaux 2009 | $20.99 | $10.99 | 48% | |
| 4:33p | Doolittle Farms Moniz Vineyards St Helena, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 | JHN92 | $40.00 | $17.99 | 55% |
| 4:38p | Noyes Wines Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2007 | JHN91-92 | $34.99 | $18.99 | 46% |
| 4:54p | Bodegas Poesia Pasodoble Mendoza Proprietary Blend 2007 | WA89 | $15.99 | $9.99 | 38% |
| 5:09p | Lincourt Vineyards Santa Rita Hills Unoaked Chardonnay 2010 | JS90 | $19.99 | $12.09 | 40% |
| 5:23p | Yokayo Wines Buteo Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 | 50% | |||
| 5:31p | Pope Valley Winery Eakle Ranch, Napa Valley Red 2007 | JHN91 | $30.00 | $13.49 | 55% |
| 5:38p | Cline Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2007 | ||||
| 5:42p | Villa Rocca IGT Pinot Grigio 2011 | $15.00 | $9.99 | 33% | |
| 5:56p | Orentano Wines Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2005 | $36.00 | $17.99 | 50% | |
| 6:14p | Fitch Mountain Cellars Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 by Mike Duffy | pp | |||
| 6:18p | Cantina Pieve Vecchia Chorum Montecucco Sangiovese DOC 2007 | WE88 | $18.99 | $9.99 | 47% |
| 6:36p | Madonna Estate Carneros, Napa Valley Pinot Noir Reserve 2008 | JHN92 | $40.00 | $17.99 | 55% |
| 6:52p | Conti Serristori Chianti Classico DOCG 2007 | $19.99 | $10.99 | 45% | |
| 7:08p | Vina Almirante Albarino Vanidade Rias Baixas 2010 | WA90 | $23.99 | $12.99 | 46% |
| 7:19p | Mumm Napa Carneros Pinot Noir 2007 | $32.99 | $16.49 | 50% | |
| 7:26p | Bell Canyon Cellars Napa Valley Estate Vineyards Red Blend 2009 | JHN91-92 | $27.99 | $12.99 | 54% |
| 7:33p | Bodega LuzDivina Aigo Vinademoya Mencia 2006 | WA90 | $21.99 | $9.99 | 55% |
| 7:54p | Mazzocco Winery Mendocino County Hopland, California Sauvignon Blanc 2009 | JHN88-89 | $16.99 | $9.99 | 41% |
| 8:04p | Massimo Rivetti Serraboella Barbera d’Alba Red Wine 2005 | 91 | 65% | ||
| 8:09p | Thumbprint Cellars Winemakers Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 | ||||
| 8:11p | Ottimino Ottimino Vineyard Russian River Valley Zinfandel 2006 | WE89 | $32.99 | $13.99 | 58% |
| 8:27p | Abadia da Cova Ribeira Sacra Barrica Mencia 2008 93 W&S! | W&S93 | $28.99 | $13.99 | 52% |
| 8:43p | Stonehedge Winery Terroir Select Pallini Ranch, Mendocino Zinfandel 2006 | JHN90 | $30.00 | $13.99 | 53% |
| 8:56p | Vinedos de Villaester Taurus Toro Tempranillo 2005 | WA88, ST88 | $14.99 | $8.99 | 40% |
| 9:15p | Maison Alain Paret Valvigneyre Cotes-Du-Rhone Viognier 2009 | WS88 | $22.00 | $10.99 | 50% |
| 9:27p | Abelis Carthago Lui Selection Castilla Leon Red 2005 | WA90 | $28.00 | $14.49 | 50% |
| 9:50p | Jermann Venezia Giulia IGT Sauvignon Blanc 2008 | WA88 | $35.00 | $15.99 | 54% |
| 10:06p | Oriel Wines Midnight Rabler Rutherford, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 | WS88, WE87 | $35.00 | $16.99 | 51% |
| 10:16p | Carles Andreu Cava Brut Nature Reserve N/V | WA87 | $33.00 | $13.29 | 60% |
| 10:31p | Benessere Vineyards Napa Valley Rosato 2009 | JHN88 | $18.99 | $8.99 | 53% |
| 10:47p | Trinity Hill Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2007 | 89 | 58% | ||
| 10:53p | Passalacqua Heritage EstateGia Domella Cabernet2006 by Nick Goldschmidt | WE90 | $39.99 | $14.99 | 63% |
| 10:57p | St. Francis Winery Behler Vineyard Sonoma County Estate Merlot Blend 2005 | JHN92+ | $45.00 | $18.99 | 58% |
| 11:04p | Bodega Catena Zapata Catena Malbec Mendoza 2009 #58 Top 100 Wines 2011 WS! | ||||
| 11:10p | Croix de Basson Cotes de Provence Organic Red Wine 2007 | $16.99 | $9.99 | 41% | |
| 11:26p | Bodegas Vistalba Tomero Malbec Mendoza 2010 | $19.99 | $9.99 | 50% | |
| 11:33p | Valley Gate Vineyards Versada Vineyard, Napa Valley Chardonnay 2009 | JHN93-94 | $39.99 | $15.99 | 60% |
| 11:49p | Sonoma Acres Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2009 | JHN92+ | $29.99 | $13.99 | 53% |
| 11:55p | Fattoria Vignavecchia Chianti Classico Riserva 2007 | 91 | 53% |
Happy analysis! Enjoy! And don’t forget to grab a glass of your favorite wine while you will be at it. Cheers!
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