Happy National Wine Day!!

Happy Friday! Oh wait...it's only Thursday...well after almost two months of crazy work has slowed down and I am off tomorrow. So it is my Friday! However, I'm considering putting an offer in on a house so it may be just as stressful...or maybe more than work. Either way today, February 18th, if you didn't know, 18th is National Wine day!

    I LOVE wine! Naturally I want to introduce you to two of my favorite sources for wine, good wine. Honestly almost a year ago if you gave me a bottle of Barefoot Moscato I would want to be your best friend, but after a trip to CA wine country to visit a friend last March I fell in love with red wines. Pinot Noir to be exact! Crazy because it's pretty much the opposite of Moscato, but I highly recommend a Pinot Noir to anyone looking to try red wines. As promised my two favorite sources for good wine:

    First up is the winery that introduced me to my favorite kind of wine I just mentioned (Pinot Noir), Roblar Winery. This winery is located about an hour from Santa Barbara in Santa Ynez, which is known as the wine country. Don't let the name fool you though, they are a vineyard and a gorgeous one at that! The taste room boats a gorgeous chandler that truly encompasses the essence of that wine country feel. Not only is it gorgeous, but the wine is fabulous and the most affordable that I experienced on my wine tour. 

Now my two bottles with shipping did cost me about $80, however you're in wine country! Plus, they weren't the cheapest wines on the menu either. The bartender was absolutely amazing as well letting us taste basically everything that we asked about, which truly let me experience and understand the different tastes of different types of wine. I wish I didn't live in Pittsbugh so that I could visit regularly! The next best thing would be receiving their wine in the mail! Now, I'll tell you about my favorite wine box company below, but if you're looking for seriously quality wines look no future than Roblar Winery. Now, being a 4 year post college graduate student the monthly wine boxes from Roblar are close to a car payment...HOWEVER since my visit I have received two offers of their what appears to be quarterly grab bag event in which they offer random selections of red, white, or mixed wines at a deeply discounted price in order to clear out their inventory for new wines. Not to mention they even include shipping!! Get yours here! See the specific details below in the email.

Please consult winery directly with questions*.

Personally I ordered a half of a case of red in the fall and was very surprised by the amazing bottles I received. One I searched and found it typically sold for $40! Considering I received 6 bottles for about the price of two of those I was thrilled!

    My second favorite source of wine has to be Bright Cellars!** This wine box not only boasting using an algorithm in order to match you with your ideal wines they are also EXTREMELY affordable! Using the link above (click Bright Cellars) you'll receive your first box for just $38 WITH shipping for 4 bottles of wine. Your standard month will be just $68 for four bottles with shipping! Now prior to Bright Cellars I received a special offer from an airline saying sign up for the wine box and you'll get bonus miles. Cool beans. The first month was a pretty good deal so I signed up. Now, I made sure to research what the future months would be and how long I had to leave the account active in order to receive the miles. When I saw that second month was 6 wines at a normal $12-15 price I thought okay, but THEN I saw that shipping was $30!!! THIRTY yes I said THIRTY! Who in their right mind would pay shipping the price of almost 3 bottles of wine for only 6 bottles...not I that is for sure! If you didn't notice from the previous post (How to get the Most Bang for your Buck at VS) that I'm a bargain hunter then you'll know it now! When you're looking to make your money go as far as it can, but still receive a quality product there is no reason to overpay is my opinion! Needless to say $120 a month for 6 bottles of wine was NOT going to work for me! That is when a friend mentioned to be Bright Cellars. Now as an almost 4 year post college graduate I'm not sure whether my family thinks I can't cook or just don't want to cook (or just have the best taste in wine) because it is almost guaranteed that every family event I'm asked to bring wine! Given that I wanted to have wine on hand for these occasions plus have others to be able to taste the new wine with me it really works well for me to receive a wine box. (Caveat: make sure you have a way to sign for the package of wine because wine does require a signature, 21 or older, but that should go without saying ha ... Bright Cellars uses UPS, which typically their picks up at their warehouses.) 

    I have my box set up to come every other month, however the past two months I have deferred because I received the last box and my half a case from Roblar, so I'm pretty stocked right now. Like I just mentioned you can defer your month's box if you would like to skip for whatever reason. Just shoot an email to your wine concierge and they'll take care of it for you! Of the 3 boxes I've received most of the wines I've received I've enjoyed and some that I was even hesitant about ended up being my favorite! The wines come from all over the world, so you're absolutely receiving diverse wines. The last time I went to the liquor store was around Christmas because I needed some large bottles for my family functions and we all know how that goes. You'll head toward your favorite wine, grab it and be out the door in 5 minutes flat. Or you'll peruse a little bit, pick up a few, put a few back, repeat and then leave a half hour later with maybe one new bottle and three of possibly even the same kind...guilty haha. I can't resist finding a good Pinot Noir! Anyways, if you love wine and are looking to broaden your taste buds Bright Cellars is the best in my opinion in terms of quality and budget! Not to mention whenever you refer friends you receive a bonus bottle in your order!

    So you have to be wondering now well where do I keep all of the new wine...well I have this gorgeous wine cabinet below that I found at wayfair!! Watch for their sales! It was about 15% off when I snagged it up. You do need to put it together, but I did that by myself. The only part I had to be creative to do was screw the door in, which a bunch of magazines stacked up worked perfectly. The best part is the shelf that hold all different sorts of glasses! Wayfair does have a rewards program as well when you buy from them you receive cash back in reward money, which expire, but I can't seem to find the terms on that program.

I'll leave you with the last picture, which was taken at Narcisi Winery just north of Pittsburgh! They have a phenomenal dinner menu by the way!! Their garlic roasted red pepper dipping oil is TO DIE FOR!! I went in the early winter so the outside was closed, but I've heard great things as well!

* Note I do not have any connections with Roblar Winery and do not receive any kick-back or reward on your purchase. Only the pleasure of sharing quality wines at a great price with others! Additionally, note the fine print of the email "*Complimentary shipping is available for the lower 48 continental states only, excludes HI and AK. For all orders of wine to NY, NJ, MD, ME, DC, PA, MA, IN, AZ, KS, MT, DE, RI, FL, and MI an additional surcharge of 8.5% assessed by these states will be added to the order. For residential deliveries, a $2.50 surcharge will be applied. Because wine shipping regulations require an adult signature, having your wine shipments delivered to a business address is often the best choice. The $2.50 surcharge will be waived for shipments to business addresses. It most often results in a better experience with the delivery of the wine."  I do believe ordering to an apartment office or to an office building will avoid the $2.50 surcharge.

** Note I do receive the aforementioned "bonus bottle" upon your signing up for Bright Cellars, which I very much appreciate! This is not unique to me and is a part of the referral program that Bright Cellars offers to all subscribers!
*** Once again, I am a CPA, however none of the above advice may be considered financial advise as I am a corporate accountant and would not be comfortable providing personal financial advise.