Archive for the ‘Pinot Noir Series’ Category
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
It’s that time of year again. The twinkly lights are out, the décor is up, the festive music is on, and the malls are packed – everyone is out and about and searching for that perfect gift for everyone on their gift list. It’s the Holiday Season, and time to do something special for the loved ones in your life. If you’re tired of resorting to the cliché gift ideas (or if you have no idea where to begin), then why not step outside the box and surprise your friends and family with something different?
This year, Gold Medal Wine Club helps solve the dilemma with an assortment of new gift packages and wine clubs designed especially for everyone from the wine novice to aficionado. Wine makes a great gift because it’s not something that will be put away and forgotten about – it will immediately be opened, shared, and enjoyed with friends and family. What’s more is with a wine club gift, your recipients will have something to look forward to not just during the holidays, but throughout the year.
Wine Clubs also make a great gift for your boss in the office – or if you are the boss, think about giving wine to your best accounts, employees, and business partners. The Holiday Season is a time to look back on the success you’ve had over the past year, and thank those important people who helped you get there. What better way to show your appreciation and commemorate the year than with a special bottle of award-winning wine?
With a multitude of wine clubs out there, it can be hard to decide which one is the best fit – maybe your Dad is into those really prestigious wines with small production and top-of-the-line ratings, whereas your Son or Daughter might benefit from a wine club more catered to featuring “everyday wines” that still introduce their palates to nicer wines, but without the intimidation factor. With five different wine clubs to choose from, ranging in price point, wine varieties, and quality level, Gold Medal Wine Club is a one-stop-shop for everyone on your holiday gift list.
The most popular gift choice from Gold Medal Wine Club is the Gold Series wine club, featuring hard-to-find, medal-winning wines from small, family-owned California wineries. Each month, your recipient will receive two outstanding bottles, beautifully presented in gift-wrapped tissue and bows and a full color newsletter publication called “The Wine Press.” This exclusive publication presents information about the wines, the fascinating backgrounds of the winery owners, a behind-the-scenes tour of the vineyards, and special food pairing recipes direct from the winemakers themselves. Starting at just $35 per month, the Gold Series is a great value and truly an impressive gift.
Gold Medal Wine Club also offers upper-level and international wine clubs to help you find the right fit for everyone on your gift list. The Platinum Series features 90+ rated, ultra premium wines from California; the International Series highlights a different country with each shipment and offers a special add-on option of gourmet imported food items; the Pinot Noir Series is the perfect choice for the Pinot lovers in your life; and the Diamond Series selects only those most prestigious bottlings with legendary 93+ rated marks and serious “wow” factor. Sure to be enjoyed by any wine enthusiast on your list, the wine club offerings from Gold Medal Wine Club are just plain hard to beat.
For a limited time, find FREE Bonus Gifts (stainless steel corkscrews, neoprene totes, and Vinturi Aerators – just to name a few) included with various wine club gift options (www.GoldMedalWineClub.com/gift_guide). It’s an easy way to make that holiday gift extra special.
In business since 1992, Gold Medal Wine Club has the reputation as one of the leading independent wine clubs in the world – and for good reason. With unbeatable standards for quality and customer satisfaction, and consistency in offering simply incredible wines to their members at unbelievable discounts, this wine club gift is the choice for this year’s Holiday Season.
Place your orders by logging on to www.GoldMedalWineClub.com or calling 1-800-266-8888 to be sure your gifts will arrive in time for the Holiday.
Posted in About Gold Medal Wine Club, about the wines, Corporate Gifts, Diamond Series, gifts, Gold Series, International Series, Pinot Noir Series, Platinum Series | No Comments »
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
Have you tried your Ampelos 2006 Pinot Noir, recently featured as December’s Pinot Noir Series wine? If not, try pairing it with the vegetarian recipe below!
Couscous & Feta-Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients:
Vegetable or Olive Oil Cooking Spray
1 1/4 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth
2/3 Cup Couscous
4 Extra Large Red Bell Peppers
2 tsp EVOO (*Extra-Virgin Olive Oil)
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
6 oz zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced across
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 Cup Cherry tomatoes, halved
15 oz Canned Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 oz Crumbled Feta Cheese
3 Tbs. Tomato Paste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat a small baking dish with cooking spray. In medium saucepan, bring the broth to a boil, add the couscous, cover and remove from heat. Set aside. Cut the stems and top 1/2 inch off the bell peppers and scoop out the seeds and white membrane. Place peppers upright in a baking dish and roast them for 15 minutes or until they soften, then remove from oven and set aside.
In a nonstick skillet, heat the EVOO, add the onion, zucchini, yellow squash, fennel seeds, oregano, and salt. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Remove skillet from heat, and stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas, and tomato paste. With a fork, scrape the couscous into the skillet and toss with the vegetables. Stir in the feta cheese. Fill the peppers with the couscous/vegetable mixture. Place on the coated baking dish, and bake for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.
Tags: Ampelos Vineyard, pinot noir, recipe, Vegetarian Recipe Posted in Food & Wine, Pinot Noir Series, Wine and Food | No Comments »
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
What do we love? We love wine, of course! But we also love viticulture. We love the stories that develop over a bottle of wine. We love visiting wineries. We love food and wine. We love the living, breathing qualities of wine. We love that feeling we get after a frazzling day of work and finally having the chance to plop down on the couch with a glass of wine. But what we really love, what truly makes our hearts sing, is sharing these experiences with others! Its why we do what we do – because sharing wine with others can be one of the most rewarding experiences out there, especially when what we’re sharing is a truly fabulous bottle. We’re in the business of bringing high quality wines to your door; this much is obvious from our website. But what’s not so obvious is the amount we’re willing to bend our memberships to make them something that suits your needs. Which brings us to our last love, giving you what you really want.
I’ll use the Gold Series to set an example of the kind of tweaking we can do to your membership. The Gold Series is the most popular of our five wine club memberships. It is the least expensive of the selections, but the wines are high quality and very versatile. The website explains that the standard membership consists of two highly sought after small production, California wines, sent out on a monthly basis. Generally, it is one red and one white, but sometimes two different reds. The website also offers a Red only or White only option. But, what’s not advertised are alterations to this: if it is your preference, we can make sure that we always send you one red and one white, even in the months when “two reds” is the standard mix. Or, maybe you like red wine, but only Cabernet and Merlot, and in terms of white, you want to avoid Chardonnay and Viognier? (This is all hypothetical, of course. I can’t imagine why anyone would limit himself or herself in this way, but I do understand people have their preferences, and sometimes you just know what you like!) Well, to sum it up, we can accommodate these requests as well. Perhaps location is your thing. We can send you a shipment only when we feature wines from a particular area like Napa Valley. We’ll work with you to find out your particular preferences. In months that we feature something you’d rather not receive, we can send you something from a previous month’s selection, or we can skip that month entirely, or maybe there’s something else you want to do. Fine by us!
And what if two bottles each month just isn’t enough for you? (Now, we’re speaking my language…) The website offers a four bottle membership, which is essentially two of each of the featured wines from the month. But, believe me, by no means does it have to stop there. If you’d like to have four bottles each month but want three reds and one white, we can do that. Or three whites and one red? Yes! Like to try six wines each shipment? Yep, we can do that too. There is virtually no limit to the number of bottles we send you in a month.
And here’s another thing. Moving from the topic of wine selection to frequency of shipments, the website offers monthly, every-other, or quarterly shipments. But we actually can send shipments any time and as often as you like. If you want to have shipments only in months ending in “y”, we can do that. Or, only with the months with a major holiday, we can do that, too. As often as you would like a shipment, we’ll send one your way.
Want to save a few bucks on shipping costs? How about joining a club membership on a quarterly basis, but receiving all the wines from that quarter at once? Keeping to the example of the Gold Series, you could receive the wines we featured in January, February and March all together in March (totaling 6 different wines in March), then continue on a quarterly basis from there. It will save you money on shipping, but the only downside is that you’ll have to wait two months in between shipments…
Like the look of two of our Series, but can’t decide which one to choose and joining both is going to be too much wine? How about alternating? You could join the Gold Series every other month of the year, and in the alternate months, receive one of our premium clubs, like the Platinum or Diamond Series. You could even receive the Platinum Series on a monthly basis, but in your and your partner’s birthday months, treat yourselves to our highest rated wines club membership, the Diamond Series. Don’t let us stop you…Go wild! Get creative!
What I’m trying to make obvious for you is that this is YOUR membership. Don’t let the website fool you – we are YES people and we want you to have a great experience with the wine club. If that means you want only 92+ rated wines from Monterey and Napa Valley and you want them only in the months of the year when you visit your Aunt Sadie at her home in Boulder, Colorado, well, that’s just peachy with us. We’ll send ‘em your way. Just tell Aunt Sadie to share!
Call our Customer Service phone number to customize your membership or to talk about your options for a gift: (800) 266 – 8888.
Tags: wine, wine club, wine of the month club Posted in About Gold Medal Wine Club, about the wines, Diamond Series, Gold Series, International Series, Pinot Noir Series, Platinum Series | No Comments »
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
 Up to 40% off Winery Direct Prices with FREE SHIPPING on orders of 2 Cases or More!
Welcome to the Wine Sale 2010! This year, its bigger and badder than ever, with up to 40% off winery direct prices! If that wasn’t enough, you can also save more by ordering 2 or more cases to receive FREE SHIPPING! The wines included in this sale were recent features of the club’s Pinot Noir, Platinum, Diamond, and International Series — the upper level memberships that feature 90+ rated wines. There’s a three bottle minimum per wine to achieve the sale price, but at these amounts, you’ll want to order much more than simply three of each, which is why there is no maximum per wine (inventory pending, of course!)
You won’t want to miss out on the sale; it is your chance to stock up on some fabulous wines. But, you’ll have to hurry! Inventory is moving quickly and the sale will be over by the end of the month!
Tags: free shipping, wine gift, wine sale, Wine Store Posted in Diamond Series, International Series, Pinot Noir Series, Platinum Series, SALE!, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, August 28th, 2009
Both Pinot Noir selections this month have roots overseas and a commitment to sustainability. For the Pey’s of Scenic Root Wine Growers (of which Pey-Lucia Vineyards is one of five entities) their initial bond was forged at the University of Arizona where they both connected over stories of living abroad and their love of the European cultures surrounded by fine wines. Laetitia Vineyards was started in 1982 by French enologists and viticulturalists from Champagne Deutz who wanted to expand their production of sparkling wines into the United States. The property was then purchased by Jean-Claude Tardivat, who shifted the winery’s focus to Burgundian-style varietals. Laetitia is now owned by Selim Zilkha, who was born in Baghdadm and raised in Egypt, Lebanon and New York.
Jonathan Pey of Pey-Lucia began his career working for a number of wine industry giants: Lousi Jadot, Pomerol’s Chateau Petrus, Penfolds and Robert Mondavi. Susan was raised in wine country and caught the wine bug at an early age. Her first job was as a Wine Director for Spectrum Foods and Il Fornaio restaurant groups where she would taste, evaluate and purchase hundreds of wines from around the world. She continues to buy wine as a career, professionally evaluating hundreds of wines each week. The Pey’s settled in Marin County, California. Inspired by the area’s wine growing history, they produced their first vintage in 1999- a Pey-Marin Merlot. Together, Jonathan and Susan share all of the work that goes on at the winery, he in the vineyard, she in the cellar. Their wines are beginning to earn some serious recognition due to their location in the ultra-cool Santa Lucia Highlands (perfect for Pinot Noir), their self-proclaimed ‘pickiness’ about the grapes they choose, and their sustainable, organic winegrowing practices.
The Pey-Lucia 2006 ‘Frisquet’ Pinot Noir has earned 94 points and an ‘outstanding’ distinction from Pinot Report and 90 points from Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar.
Selim Zilkha is nearly 70 years old and has enjoyed several highly successful business ventures in his lifetime. His love for agriculture, food and fine wines brought him into the wine business and ultimately to Laetitia Vineyard and Winery. At the winery, he is joined by his son, daughter and an all-star viticultural team including father-son team Dave and Eric Hickey. The vineyard is located in Arroyo Grande, one of California’s coolest grape growing regions well suited for Pinot Noir and the sparkling wines they continue to produce in honor of the first owner.
All farming on the Laetitia vineyard is done with the goal of long-term sustainability and overall vine health and was recently awarded certification by the Sustainability in Practice (SIP) program.
The Laetitia 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir is a premier blend of hand selected old and new Pinot Noir vines from Arroyo Grande. Awarded 95 points by Wine Enthusiast, this Pinot is described as “Laetitia’s best reserve ever”.
Gold Medal Wine Club has selected these two exceptional Pinot Noir’s for the Pinot Series Wine Club. We are very pleased to be able to present these highly-acclaimed wines to our members. As you taste the wines, please let us know what you think. Leave a comment here or go to “Judge the Wines“. All wine reviewers are automatically entered for a chance to win the quarterly drawing for 1/2 case of wine. Additionally, if we publish your comments about an individual wine, we will send you a complimentary gift.
Remember that Gold Medal Wine Club makes a great gift. Consider ordering a wine club membership for birthdays, anniversaries, or any other important events. Consider ordering a memberships for those on your holiday shopping list. It’s easy- and it makes a fabulous, exciting gift that keeps on giving month after month.
Tags: Laetitia Vineyards, Pey-Lucia Vineyards, pinot noir, wine, wine club, wine of the month club Posted in Pinot Noir Series | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 1st, 2009
Ex-computer software salesman Craig Haserot decided to move to Sonoma County after the infamous dot-com crash of 2000, hoping to pursue a new career path while escaping the cold weather of San Francisco. Haserot began playing tennis and formed a friendship with doubles partner, Erich Bradley, who was then the winemaker at Arrowood Winery and Audellsa. It was the beginning of a wonderfully successful friendship and business partnership built on a passion for Pinot Noir. They began producing Pinots in 2004. The choice of grape and excellent timing (the movie “Sideways” was released) paid off. The chose the name Soujourn as both meanings of the word embodied their feelings and attitudes about wine drinking. The French sojourner refers to a journey, vacation or road trip, while the English sojourn implies rest, relax and respite. For their label, they chose the lawnchair, reflecting the relaxed and personable feel of their winery, and their intimate leisurely tastings.
The 2006 Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir marks the third vintage for Sojourn’s flagship Pinot Noir with fruit from Sonoma’s Sangiacomo Vineyards. Medium ruby in color, the nose exudes floral overtones with ripe cherries health partners pharmacies and hints of spice. On the palate, sweet cherries and raspberries dominate, along with rich spice and complex earthiness. This wine is a bit more elegant and reserved in style than its predecessors, and you will love it’s silky texture and deep flavor profile. No wonder it earned a 96(!) from the Pinot Report. We are proud to offer it to you as one of the Pinot Noir Series selections.
Tags: Arrowood, Audellsa, pinot noir, wine, wine of the month club, wines Posted in Pinot Noir Series | No Comments »
Monday, March 23rd, 2009
In today’s shipment of the Pinot Noir Series, the Gold Medal Wine Club is pleased to feature the 2006 Anderson Valley Pinot from Londer Vineyards. Londer Vineyards has been named ‘One of the Four Wineries to Visit in Anderson Valley’ by top wine publication, Wine Spectator. Owned and managed by Shirlee and Larry Londer, the vineyard and winemaking is a labor of love and a second career for the Londer’s. They began producing wine in 2001 with the help of winemaker Greg LaFollette health services pharmacy and that first release received promising reviews encouraging them to fulfill their dreams. Rick Davis, a former top producing winemaker on the Sonoma Coast, joined Londer Vineyards in 2005 and is behind this latest offering. Approximately 120 miles north of San Francisco, Anderson Valley is one of the coolest of California’s wine growing regions making it perfect for Pinot Noir varietals. The Londer 2006 Pinot beautifully expresses the region’s flavor potential with aromas of cranberry-raspberry cocktail, cinnamon sticks, fresh raspberries and strawberries. Gold Medal Wine Club selected the wine based on a 91 score from Connoisseur’s Guide, 90 points from Wine Spectator and an 88 plus a best buy from Wine & Spirits Magazine. Please enjoy this offering and tell us what you think.
Tags: Londer Vineyards, pinot noir, wine club, wine clubs, wine of the month club, wine of the month clubs Posted in Pinot Noir Series | No Comments »
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