Learning by Drinking with the Wine Folly Wine Club

The good news is I finished the course of antibiotics I was on a week ago!

The bad news is… I had an accident on Sunday which resulted in me having to start a different course of antibiotics. (I’m fine basically. And I’ll be better once I stop having to take these football-sized things twice a day.)

Thus, technically, I’m not really supposed to be drinking. Again.

So this week why not let the professionals do it?

As part of the Wine Folly Club, I get access to live video tastings with founder Madeline Puckette and Wine Folly’s director of wine Colina Marshall. They’re held on the last Thursday of every month. I logged into my account and jumped over to their YouTube page.

Madeline and Colina went through all six wines (I signed up for the four-bottle, with Madeline giving notes in her own inimitable style. Here’s some quotes:

• About the 2019 Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz: “Elegant and epic at the same time!”

• Re 2020 Domaine Charles Joguet Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”: “It’s got crunchy red fruit”, and “This is Taco Tuesday wine, birria with cilantro.”

• 2021 Monte Rio Cellars Skull Red Wine was described as having notes of “Hawaiian fruit punch”

Real high-falutin’, ain’t it?

There’s also a chat as the tasting goes on, and it looks like the community is small enough that people can ask questions and actually get answers from the hosts. Like this one for example!

And in response to my “very good question” (preen!), Colina said they were after a “magic carpet ride,” to show members the world of wines. They seek to choose classics in showing regions — such as the shiraz from south Australia’s Barossa Valley — but also “fun funky new things” like Skull Red.

Unlike many other wine clubs, a lot of the wines are available in retail stores. Many of them for very reasonable prices too. This club isn’t, but you’re paying for the curation and these sessions where you can hear how professionals talk about tastings and ask questions. You can pause for a month or two, which I might try doing. But I kinda can’t wait to see what else future shipments bring.

What do you think: does this club sound interesting for you? Drop a line in the comments and let me know!