Club W Wine Subscription Review + Coupon – February 2016

Club W is a wine subscription box that re-imagines the traditional wine club. They offer a regularly changing selection of unique, small production wines that are sourced directly from vineyards and winemakers.

When you sign up to join Club W, you take a short, fun “palate profile” quiz that helps determine your taste in wine. Based on your answers, Club W makes bottle recommendations for you every month. You can go along with their recommendations or choose your own bottles from their regularly changing selection.

If you don’t login to make your monthly bottle selection, your recommended wines will be sent by default. You can skip a month at any time.

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

The Subscription Box: Club W

The Cost: 3 bottles per month start at $39 + $6 flat rate shipping. (Shipping is free on orders of 6 or more bottles.)

COUPON: 50% off your first 3 bottles, no coupon required, just use this link.

The Products: Small-lot wines sourced directly from vineyards and wine makers.

Ships to: All US states EXCEPT: AK, AL, AR, DE, HI, KY, MS, OK, PA, RI, DS, and UT

Check out our previous Club W Reviews or visit the Drink Subscription Box Directory for more boozy boxes!

Club W includes a tasting card for each of the wines in your shipment. Each card includes a description of the wine, tasting notes, and information about the flavor profile.

Printed on the back of each tasting card is a suggested recipe pairing.

2014 Sapore Locale Falanghina- $13

Falanghina is new to me (I’d never heard of it before seeing it on Club W’s site.), but Club W claims that it’s a rising star. It’s a centuries-old white variety that’s believed to have been served in the time of Caesar, and it’s “garnering acclaim and popularity in the wine world thanks to a new wave of interest in native Italian varieties.” I think this is a really interesting bottle. With “fresh notes of green apple and lime,” this is a really bright, tasty wine!

2014 Piu Gioia Pinot Grigio- $13

I received a bottle of this Pinot Grigio in a previous box, and I loved it so much that I ordered another one. It’s refreshing and easy to drink, and Club W recommends pairing it with pasta, veggies, or seafood.

2014 L'Atelier du Sud Sauvignon Blanc- $13

While this box was en route to me, one of the bottles broke. FedEx halted the shipment and returned the box to the sender, and Club W was great about reaching out to me to resolve the issue. They replaced all of the bottles and sent me a new shipment; however, one of my original picks (a Sauvignon Blanc) had sold out by the time they went to pack my new box. They went ahead and replaced it with a different Sauvignon Blanc, and I’m pretty happy I ended up with this one. It’s a French-style Sauvignon Blanc (think Sancerre) with lots of “minerality, limestone, green apple, grass, cucumber, [and] green bell pepper.” I really like it!

2015 WKND Sparkling Riesling- $13

Club W recently released a line of WKND sparkling wines, and this sparkling riesling is the driest of them. The brut bubbly is “characterized by pleasant mineralogy, as well as tropical fruits and a touch of petrol.” It’s a bright and fun wine that’s made “in a Prosecco-style with the Charmat method for high-quality American bubbly.” I’m happy with this bottle- I think it’s perfect for Sunday brunch!

NV Paper Crane Blanc de Noirs- $30

I rarely splurge on Club W’s more expensive offerings, but I couldn’t resist this bottle. Sparkling wine is my absolute favorite, and I just had to try this Paper Crane Blanc de Noirs, Club W’s “fanciest sparkling wine yet!” It’s made using Methode Champenoise, the natural, traditional, and more time-consuming way to make wine bubbly. (Cheaper sparkling wine often gets its bubbles from an injection of carbon dioxide- like soda. I once toured a sparkling winery, and the guide pointed out that Methode Champenoise produces smaller, more delicate bubbles. She then quipped, “big bubbles = big hangover.” I now can’t help but notice the size of the bubbles in my sparkling wine!) In the glass, this wine “displays complex notes of apple, blackberry, and baked brioche, with a creamy texture and brightness.” This wine begs for a special occasion. It’s definitely the best wine I’ve ever received from Club W!!

2013 Au Fudge x Club W Pinot Noir- $22

Au Fudge, a kid-friendly restaurant set to open any day now in Los Angeles, is the brainchild of Jessica Biel and her culinary partners. Pinot Noir is their wine of choice, so they paired up with Club W to create one they’d be proud to pour for their diners. With aromas of “potpourri, blackberry, nutmeg, cinnamon, [and] chocolate-covered cherry,” this is a great, full-bodied wine that holds up very well to bold foods.

Club W regularly collaborates with different partners, and I always get a little excited about them. In addition the collaboration with Au Fudge, I’ve seen them pair with street artists, fashion designers, and culinary personalities. When I was poking around the Club W site doing research for this review, I noticed a brand new collaboration that I wanted to share.

It looks like Club W has paired up with Compartes, an LA-based chocolatier! Together, they’ve come up with a really fun wine & chocolate pairing: sparkling red wine with a dark chocolate & sourdough pretzel chocolate bar. How fun!

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Pine Nuts, and Dried Currants

Each month, I look forward to trying one of the Club W recipe pairings. This month, I decided to make Braised Chicken with Mushrooms, Pine Nuts, and Dried Currants, Club W’s pairing suggestion for the 2013 Au Fudge x Club W Pinot Noir.

I began by browning chicken (I used thighs) in a dutch oven. After about 10 minutes, I removed the chicken and cooked a yellow onion in butter. When the onion softened, I added mushrooms, followed by wine and broth. (Note: the recipe called for dry white wine, but I used a bit of the Au Fudge Pinot Noir.) I left this to reduce for about 10 minutes and then added pine nuts, currants, garlic, fresh rosemary and thyme, and the browned chicken. I let this continue to cook while I boiled some egg noodles, and, when everything was ready, I plated the chicken over the pasta.

My substitution of red wine for white caused this dish to look absolutely nothing like the photo on the recipe card, but I was still pleased with how it turned out.

I served the dish with a glass of Au Fudge, and I loved both the dish and the wine! The pine nuts and currants were a delicious addition to the chicken, and I really liked that it was served over pasta. This recipe is a keeper, for sure!

Verdict: I really loved this box from Club W! The wines were all great, and the braised chicken dish was a fantastic pairing for the Au Fudge Pinot Noir. If you like trying new small-production wines that you can’t find in the grocery store, I definitely recommend checking out Club W!

What do you think of Club W?