Review: California Wine Club!

Hi everyone! I'm back with another wine review! This time it is for the California Wine Club and their Premium Club Membership!

If their first delivery is any indication of the quality that they try to achieve with each monthly shipment then I can highly recommend them for yourself or for a friend who is a wine lover!

Each month you get two wines from a boutique family winemaker located in California that have been personally hand selected by owners Bruce and Pam Boring. They discover these wines during monthly trips across California's wine country, bringing you wines that never make it to local stores. As a novice wine lover, it was so great to have two experts choosing the wines for me. I love that these are not the typical wines you would find anywhere, but only by a recommendation from a friend.

Each shipment comes with a beautiful magazine they produce called appropriately enough Uncorked. Inside you will find a complete description of each of the wines you received and even suggestions on what types of food to pair with each wine. You will also find a history of the winery and get to know the winery owners. There is also a personal recipe provided by the winery owners. You will also find information if you want to visit the winery, what to do in the area, and even a suggestion of a wonderful place to stay. I love the magazine and all the detailed information. It really helped me get to know the winery owners as well as really help me understand each of the wines in the shipment.

So, as you can see from the photo above, the wine's for the month are from the Robledo Family Winery in Sonoma County. Below is the story of the winery from their web site:

The Robledo Story

"In 1968 at the young age of 16, Reynaldo Robledo, left his home state of Michoacan, Mexico to work the beautiful vineyards of Napa Valley.  It was at the Christian Brothers Winery that Reynaldo met his first vineyard.  That same day he learned to prune his first vine.  He spent the following three decades working in several vineyards learning more and more about this unique type of farming.  His experience grew until he was eventually managing vineyards with hundreds of acres and many men.  In 1996, Reynaldo formed his own vineyard managment business, Robledo Vineyard Managment, LLC.  As his skills in the vineyards continued to evolve so did his affection for the product he was producing.
During those first years the family purchased fourteen vineyards, totaling approximately 350 acres, in Sonoma, Napa and Lake Counties.  Together, the Robledo family opened the first winery established by a former Mexican migrant worker in October 2003.  Although they still sell most of their fruit to other wineries, they now produce an impressive portfolio of premium wines.

We think every bottle of wine produced by Robledo Family Winery is a small triumph.  The quality of our wine displays viticulturalist Reynaldo Robledo's skills of grape culture.  He overcame his humble beginnings as an immigrant field worker to become one of the msot successful vineyard consultants and winery owners in California Wine Country.  More than anything, Robledo Family Winery, is a success because Reynaldo shares his knowledge and passion with his children and grandchildren."

The first bottle of wine is their Award Winning 2008 Lake County Sauvignon Blanc! You can pick up notes of mango as you inhale the aroma from the wine. As you sip the wine, you can taste hints of green tea as well as citrus. Even though it was suggested to pair the wine with ahi tuna, oysters, ceviche or light salads, I ended up pairing it with a linguine alfredo. It went perfect together in my opinion.

The second bottle of wine is their 2009 Napa Valley Tempranillo. This wine is made in such small quantities that they do not even submit it to competition. I'm thankful that they do not because this is a new favorite for me. I loved the aromas of cranberries and cinnamon. I could taste the oakiness (is that a word?) as well as some tobacco and dried fruit. Just a great rich wine. It was suggested to go with grilled meat and vegetables or even a pizza. I paired it with a grilled new york steak. The heartiness of both complimented each other well.

I am a fan of the California Wine Club's ease of selecting wines that I never would have heard of, how informative each issue of Uncorked is, and of course I am looking forward to next month's selection!

And the California Wine Club is offering Reader's of Sasaki Time and Budget Savvy Diva a discount of 10% with the Coupon Code: Blog10 club memberships! Use the link below to learn more about each club membership:

California Wine Club Fun and Unique Holiday Gift!