Back in 1992, when the Gallup Poll first started asking consumers about their alcohol drinking habits just 27% of consumers preferred wine over beer. This trend has been steadily reversing. Beer drinking has been more or less steadily declining, while wine consumption continues to grow.

>Learning about wine can be an intimidating process and unlike beer, wine consumption requires that you know a bit about what you are drinking. Wine is a complex beverage which can enhance any dining experience if the wine/food pairing is correct. For novice wine drinkers, the task of learning about grapes, vintages, regions, wineries and pairings can be overwhelming. It doesn’t help that the choices are seemingly endless, there is an entire vocabulary that needs to be acquired. Historically there has been a bit of ‘snobbery’ associated with the knowledge of wine making the acquisition of knowledge sometimes uncomfortable.

Here at Gold Medal Wine Club, we love new wine drinkers, and we work hard to provide interesting, informative facts, tasting notes and musings with each wine shipment. In the comfort of your own home, you can taste our selections while reading about the wine, the winery, the wine region, and the grapes. Additionally, most of our wines now have video tasting notes that you can view on our website. Our staff collectively reviews each and every selection and provides to you notes on aromas and flavors to look for in each bottle. Each one of our newsletters contains enough information for you to get a sense of time, place and work that goes into the art of winemaking. After actively participating in tasting and reading for a few consecutive months, you will see trends emerge, start making connections and be on your way to becoming knowledgeable about wine.

Gold Medal Wine Club offers only the best of small-production, California wines from family-owned wineries whose passion is to produce award-winning bottles. What a better way to learn about wine than to drink a great bottle? A wine doesn’t win awards, or accolades without possessing superior qualities that most wine connoisseurs covet. Unlike mass produced wines that you might find in nearly every grocery or market, the wines we select are complex, and embody the exact qualities that experts expect from those particular varietals. You are learning with the best possible tools.

Gold Medal Wine Club has five different wine clubs. Our Gold Series is perfect for the new wine drinker or anyone looking for great boutique, hard-to-find wines. This series offers award-winning wines at an affordable price point and includes a rich and informative newsletter with each shipment.

Our Pinot Noir Series and Platinum Series offer award-winning, highly-sought after wines at a slightly higher price point. For any wine drinker, these clubs will offer some of California’s most outstanding wines also accompanied by a detailed information and tasting notes.

The International Series features the world’s best boutique wines. For this wine club, our newsletters include extensive information about the featured country and region for each selection.

And finally, our Diamond Series are upper-echelon wines all with 93+ ratings. This club has limited membership and is typically a great club for the wine collector.

If you or someone you know is becoming increasingly drawn to wine as your beverage of choice, we invite you to consider a Gold Medal Wine Club membership as a great way to enjoy award-winning wines while learning about wine. A wine club makes a great gift. Consider giving the gift of wine and wine knowledge to someone you love this holiday season.