My Review of WineCollective.ca: "Extraordinary Wine to Your Door"
At my first Calgary Demo Camp a while back, I discovered a web site service called WineCollective.ca. The idea is simple: for a monthly fee, they select and deliver their favourite wines directly to you. The amount (and bottle price) depends on the package you select: two bottles in the $17 range will run you $42.50, and four bottles in the $72 range is $295. There is no extra cost for shipping.
I was very excited about this service. Being a wine ignoramous, I have spent many hours wandering up and down the aisles of wine stores, hoping for some kind of insight to strike, like lightning, to help me differentiate the good bottles from the bad. Now, for what works out to be a couple extra dollars per bottle, I can get expert-approved bottles, and spend my time enjoying (rather than selecting) my wine.
I signed up for their most inexpensive offering (the "Jacques Cartier"), and thought I should share my experience.
The package arrived in a sturdy, discrete cardboard box. I had the box delivered to my place of work, and the person who signed for it had to first prove they were of legal age. I opened my package to find two elegant bottles-- one red, one white-- and a well-designed set of cardstock-printed inserts; one of the inserts was a welcome message, while each of the remaining two contained a description of one of the wines, and a section to record your tasting experience. The WineCollective.ca web site features a "My Wines" section where you can review your wines, record your ratings, and see the "community" rating.
Of course, what we all really care about is, "how is the wine?"
The white bottle was Man Vintners Chardonnay, and I paired it with a bag of salty potato chips (as recommended by Man Vintners). It was crisp and tasty; I had difficulty distinguishing any subtle fruit or nut flavours through the acidity, but remember I have the palate of a gorilla.
The red bottle was Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz Cabernet, and I saved this to enjoy with my pepper steak. I made the mistake of storing this red in the fridge before I opened it, and so my first glass did not have a chance to develop its full flavour: it was acidic and a bit flat. I left the bottle to breathe and warm up, and the second tasting was much richer, with a full body, earthy texture, lots of spice and slight hint of berry flavours.
Overall, I highly recommend this service to folks who enjoy wine, but don't have the time, interest, or expertise to find engaging, quality bottles. WineCollective.ca has overcome several challenging hurdles, including legal and logistic issues with the procurement and delivery of their product, and I have confidence in their creative abilities to continue to grow and improve their service.
What WineCollective.ca Are Doing Right
- Quality product
- Reliable delivery and packaging
- Creative solutions to tricky legal issues
What WineCollective.ca Should Improve
- The writing on the inserts needs serious improvement (you can read my pedantic editing suggestions on my writing blog).
- Let me track my comments on the web site along with my rating (EDIT: You can add comments to your bottles if you scroll down the bottle profile page)
- Expand the community to allow users to publicly suggest successful food pairings, and any other comments (such as similar wines)
