Podcast: Everything I've Learned About Wine in 40 Minutes

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Direct Link to podcast.

I've been blogging about wine here at The Wellesley Wine Press since 2008. In that time, I've taken Wine & Spirit Education Trust courses, visited fascinating wine regions, joined forces with local wine enthusiasts on case club deals, and even had a TV crew in our kitchen to discuss wine shipping laws.

One thing I've always gravitated towards is the deal aspect of wine.

It's fascinating to me how the wine supply chain works, and how we can best navigate it as consumers. That's why so many of my posts have been about deals.

An interest that's been building in my mind since 2012 is the pursuit of points & miles to enable travel that would otherwise be difficult to justify with cash. In 2018 I partnered with an existing blog I'd long admired called Milenomics. In 2019 we started a podcast that helps people earn miles without actually flying, and redeem them effectively for exactly the trips they want to take.

We occasionally take diversions from points & miles into deals, and this is where the wine angle comes in. We discuss some foundational issues in wine enjoyment, wine travel, and the current state of wine deals.

I'd love it if you headed over for a listen. If you're interested in travel, poke around and see if adding points & miles to your endeavors could be a good fit:

Direct Link to podcast.

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$50 off $150 at Wine.com with PW50FB

Saturday, June 27, 2020

$50 off $150 at Wine.com with PW50FB (source)

Expiration date uncertain.

I've added it to this list of currently active Wine.com codes.

Quick mention: I recently had some trouble with Wine.com orders tracking through shopping portals. I filed a claim on one with Rakuten and heard back as follows...

When we looked into this order, we found that the order was not attributed to the Rakuten link. However, as a courtesy we have updated your account with Cash Back for this order.

There are many ways this can happen. Here are a few examples:

  • If you used a coupon or promo code that is not found on Rakuten but found on another site, that site will be credited for that order.
  • If you visit any other site during your shopping trip (especially other sites that offer rewards, coupons, or discounts), that site will be credited for that order.
  • If you have a toolbar, plug-in, add-on, etc. installed on your browser (especially for other sites that offer rewards, coupons, or discounts), that site will be credited for that order.
Find more information about exclusions and limitations at www.rakuten.com/help/exclusions.htm

Feel free to reach out to me if you still have any questions. Thank you.


It's boilerplate language, but the part about using "a coupon or promo code from another site" is a bit troubling, because these high value codes are hardly ever on shopping portal sites.

All this said, more recent orders have been tracking for me so hopefully there was just a period of time where orders weren't tracking automatically.

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$20 off $50 at Wine.com with code PS20 [Expires 6/25?]

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Another terrific Wine.com code:

$20 off $50 with code PS20 (source)

I've added it to this list of currently active Wine.com codes.

It's worth mentioning that if it's hot you can elect to ship at a future date. And if you're on vacation and have StewardShip you can perhaps ship to where you're traveling to.

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[MA Only] Second Chance at 90 Point Napa Zinfandel for $14/btl

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Direct Link

Retailer: Bin Ends Wine
Wine: 2016 Buehler Napa Zinfandel
Rating: 90 points Wine Spectator
Cost: $84/6 bottles ($14/btl)
Shipping: Free local pick-up in Briantree or Needham, or $28 for 6 bottles

A couple weeks ago Blanchards offered this wine for the same price. That offer sold out quickly, so here's a second chance.

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WWP Exclusive: Sojourn Cellars Pinot Noir Offer

Monday, June 15, 2020

Wohler Vineyard, Russian River Valley

Direct Link to Offer

With Covid-19 disrupting the on-premises/off-premises balance in wine distribution, there have been a lot of compelling winery direct deals.

I reached out, and Sojourn Cellars has put together a terrific offer. I know their wines have been popular with readers in the past, so especially if you're running low on their outstanding California Pinot Noir this is a great time to restock.

Option 1: Wellesley Wine Premium 6 Pack 2020
Your offer contains 2 each of the following premium wines:
  • 2018 Sangiacomo Vineyard Pinot Noir, rated 95 points
  • 2017 Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir, rated 94 points
  • 2017 Walala Vineyard Pinot Noir, rated 93 points
Price includes over $100 in savings plus shipping included.
Price:  $299.00
Limit: 4

Option 2: Wellesley Wine Press Pinot 6-Pack 2020
Your offer contains 2 each of the following wines:

  • 2018 Wohler Vineyard Pinot Noir, rated 93 points
  • 2017 Rodgers Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir, rated 93 points
  • 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, rated 92 points
Price includes over $100 in savings plus shipping included.
Price:  $199.00
Limit: 4


Commentary

As much as I've enjoyed their Gap's Crown Pinot Noir, I'm drawn to the value in Option 2. I'm a sucker for reliably outstanding Pinot Noir for around $33/btl fully loaded.

I've adored their Wohler Vineyard Pinot Noir every time I've tried it, and the Russian River Valley is the epitome of what an appellation California Pinot Noir bottling should be. 

Direct Link to Offer 

Ping me on Twitter @RobertDwyer or drop me an email wellesleywinepress@gmail.com if there's anything I can help with.

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DEAL: 2016 Black Kite Pinot Noir

Sunday, June 14, 2020


Wine Access has a limited time offer on the 2016 Black Kite Kite's Rest Pinot Noir for $40/btl with free shipping on $120+ orders.

This wine has been a reliably outstanding benchmark California Pinot Noir for me, so it's great to see it on offer from Wine Access.

The offer stacks well with a currently active Amex Offer that comes in a variety of denominations depending on what you're targeted for:
  • $100 off $250
  • $50 off $150
  • $50 off $250
You can spend your way to the Amex Offer threshold in one or more transactions. The current iteration expires 9/30/2020.

If you're a new Wine Access customer you can get $50 off $150 with a referral link. Thanks in advance if you use mine:

http://share.wineaccess.com/v/robert_48

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A Roundup of Currently Active Wine.com Promo Codes [June 2020]

Friday, June 12, 2020

I thought it would be useful to compile a list of codes that are still working as of today - June 12th, 2020. There are a few new ones here (in bold below) including a rare 40% off code.

$20 off $50

$50 off $150
  • PW50FB (source)
  • CN50
  • FBSPIR50 (source, helpful roundup)
  • FBPRO50 
  • FBR50
  • CIQ50
$100 off $300
Expiration date is unclear, but I'd say there's a good chance these expire 6/30/2020.

Some of these were supposed to expire a while ago but are still working.

The reason it's helpful to have multiple codes is that wine.com limits their use to once per account.

You can create multiple accounts, but you'd have to subscribe to StewardShip on each new account. This seems kind of crazy but with discounts like these it could make sense - especially if you also have access to a lot of discounted wine.com gift cards. And you're looking to build up your cellar.

In my opinion, this combination of discounted gift cards, shopping through a portal, and using promo codes to buy high quality wines at non-inflated prices with flat-rate shipping is the best ongoing deal in online wine.

One thing I wanted to mention: I've seen inconsistent portal tracking for wine.com lately. Even the normally reliably Rakuten hasn't tracked, and even after submitting a claim the cashback wasn't quickly rewarded. I mention this because you'll want to watch your portal cashback carefully and follow-up if it doesn't post. I was half-concerned that wine.com was excluding portal cashback if you use a promo code or a gift card, but it's more likely there's been a glitch in tracking the past couple weeks. We'll keep an eye on it.

Related Reading

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Rakuten 10x at Wine.com [6/9/2020]

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

https://www.rakuten.com/r/ROBERT67875?eeid=28187
Shopping portal Rakuten is offering 10x back at Wine.com, today only - 6/6/2020.

This stacks nicely with the current Amex Offer and these ~33% off codes:
  • $50 off $150 with CN50
  • $100 off $300 with 2MKBMRT
  • $100 off $300 with 4MAAFTC
A check of the best rate history for wine .com on Cashback Monitor shows periodic spikes, usually associated with Rakuten:
https://www.cashbackmonitor.com/cashback-store/wine.com/best-rate-history/

I like Rakuten when their rates are competitive because you can elect to receive Amex Membership Rewards rather than cashback. Since Membership Rewards can be worth more than a penny a piece when redeemed towards travel it's a nice rebate on wine purchases.

If you're new to Rakuten you can get $10 on your first purchase with a referral.  Here's my link, thanks in advance if you use it:

https://www.rakuten.com/r/ROBERT67875?eeid=28187

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