We might be entering into the next phase of lockdown, but this doesn’t mean we are safe yet. Why not take this time to learn more about wine from your home? The Wine List is a discovery and education-focused wine subscription box aimed at amateur enthusiasts who are looking to level up their knowledge.
Each month, you will receive two bottles of wine, priced at about £15 to £20 retail, from smaller unique producers and appellations. The bottles were packed safely with ‘Air Shield’ bubble tub wrappers and delivered in a sturdy box. Their wine course programme consists of 12 lessons and each will explain the key concepts from tasting through to winemaking. Two interactive tasting cards designed to help you with finding wine aromas are included. You will also be able to access the Wine List community with loads of supermarket tasting notes, monthly tasting videos with the founder Josh Lachkovic, and (soon) a digital community of other wine drinkers. You can now enjoy drinking great wines whilst learning at the same time with a £39 wine subscription per month.
I have received their June Box which contains a bottle of Cara Sucia and Massaya White. The Cara Sucia is a red wine from Argentina. I love Argentinian wines and normally go with the national favourite malbec but this Cara Sucia is made from cereza grapes and a first for me. This pink-skinned grape has produced a wine that is both light in colour and body. On the palate, there is an acidic hit, tannic bite and a hint of strawberry. Given the profile, it is best served lightly chilled with lighter foods such as vegetarian-led dishes.
As I mentioned earlier, there are tasting cards included to help you identify the taste. Nevertheless, they will send you a link with the answer after a few days of delivery. According to the note, the wine is fresh, with crunchy red fruits, dried herbs with great acidity and tannic bite. That says a lot and we have so much more to learn about wine tasting!
The Massaya White is a white wine from Lebanon. Again, another first for me, and what a delightful introduction! This is a medium-to-full bodied wine with aromas of jasmine, lemon and honey. It has a medium acidity and a long finish. I drank this with a creamy salmon pasta with spinach which worked really well.
The choices of wines are good and it helps us try selected wines which we might not otherwise have tried. For me, this is definitely an eye-opener and of great benefit. I have no experience with wine tasting. The only time I did wine tasting was at a Good Food show where there were so many samples to try! From knowing nothing to having a basic understanding, this has been a great experience. Also, Mr C, who is not a white wine drinker, has a better understanding of grapes and flavour profiles to look for if he is offered a white wine. The bottles were more than enough for us. Next time, we should invite a few friends over and we could share this experience together. A subscription to The Wine List makes a great gift for any novice or couple or just for yourself!
Disclosure: We received the samples for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.
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