California Wine Club: Fess Parker Winery
I was recently selected to participate in Mom Spark Media’s blog review campaign for the California Wine Club. The California Wine Club, which I had some familiarity with, has been in business for over twenty years and specializes in hand-selected artisan wines from [namely] family-owned and operated producers. I was gifted a three month Premium Club membership, which is the company’s oldest and most popular wine club. This level of membership features wines from smaller “mom & pop” producers and is valued at $150 (so $50 per shipment). The way it works: for the next three months, I will receive one shipment per month. Each shipment includes two bottles of wine as well as a newsletter that contains information about the producer, food pairing ideas, the club owner’s tasting notes, recipes, and other interesting reading material.
Fess Parker Winery
This month’s California wine adventure comes from Fess Parker Winery in Los Olivos – a small town located in the heart of Santa Barbara Wine Country. The winery was established in 1989 by the late actor Fess Parker (1924-2010), who was famous for his roles as Walt Disney’s Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone in the 1950's and 60's. The business remains family owned with Fess Parker’s son Eli and daughter Ashley overseeing operations. The two wines included in the shipment were the 2010 Santa Barbara County Riesling (SRP $17 / Member Reorder Price $10.99) and 2010 Parker Station Pinot Noir (SRP $26 / Member Reorder Price $12.99). The semi-sweet Santa Barbara Riesling was quite the crowd pleaser, delivering white stone fruit, mandarin peel, and melon scents that extend to the palate with bright and refreshing fruit flavors and a touch of sweetness on the clean, medium-length finish. This versatile wine paired nicely with the light appetizer dishes I made and also sipped well on its own. The 2010 Parker Station Pinot Noir is made from fruit sourced from Monterey County, Santa Ynez Valley (estate vineyard), Paso Robles, and Madera County. The Pinot offers black cherry, pomegranate, and cranberry aromas with a nice sprinkling of baking spice and shy earthy accents. This is a medium weight, unpretentious Pinot Noir with moderate acidity and light red fruit flavors that will compliment a wide variety of foods. I matched it with a honey mustard pork loin and everyone enjoyed the pairing. If you like trying a wide variety of [California] wines that are typically not available in most wine shops or grocery stores, then this wine club is worth some consideration. If you enjoy learning about who produced the wine in your glass and where the grapes were grown, this is all the more reason to check this wine club out. The wine club owners, Pam and Bruce Boring, visit wineries and hand-select the wines they feel are good value, solid picks for their wine club members. At $50 per shipment, including shipping; the price point with all the information, factoids, recipes, etc. is a fair deal. In my opinion, the real cost-saving benefits kick in when you’re a member and can purchase at club prices -- for example, this Riesling at $10.99 and Pinot Noir at $12.99. Cheers!
NOTE: The California Wine Club is offering new readers and gift givers 4 bottles for the price of 2 when you sign up. Use the code vine12 at checkout to take advantage of the offer.
Click Here to visit the California Wine Club's website.
Click here to check out @cawineclub and @boringwineguy on Twitter.
Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.
