Vinebox - Date night wine tasting at home.

 

If you enjoy trying new wines, but don't live near a spot where you are able to do a wine tasting or you simply don't feel like going out to do a wine tasting Vinebox makes it super simple to do a wine tasting at home. They offer a collection of wine tasting boxes that are curated for specific events or occasions such as Date Night or a dinner party. I was recently sent a set of their Date Night boxes which is perfect for two people to try out three different wines. The date night set can be purchased for $78, you can also purchase a full bottle of wine on their website. 

How does it work? Once you decide which box you would like to try out, simply make your purchase & wait for your wine to be shipped to your home. Since it does contain alcohol, you will need to sign for the package upon delivery so if you are able to, I'd try to schedule it during a time you know you will be home. The Date night set comes with two boxes, each one has three tubes of wine - each tube equals one glass of wine. Inside you'll also find a small pamphlet that will describe each wine to you. I like the tubes the wine came in themselves, but I do not like the lids as much. One of the boxes we received the white wine was coming out of the cap a bit, so the bottle made the inside of the box a little wet.

The presentation is nice, especially if you are surprising your loved one with this as a gift. The box has a small pull-out tab & all of the tubes are cushioned to protect them from breaking. They are gifting ready upon arrival, if you prefer chilled wine, you can put the whole box into the fridge before enjoying. I personally enjoy wines that are sweeter & have notes of fruit, so I was very happy to find that the wines in this box fit with what I usually look for when trying new wines. 

What wines were included? In our boxes we received the following - Casual Blanco. Described as having white peach aromas with green tea + fennel flavor notes. Carignan La Galiniere. Described as Strawberry + Plum Aromas with a tart cranberry flavor. La Garganta Del Aguila. Described as having herb aromas with a Raspberry + Wild Strawberry flavor notes.

I think this is a fun way to spice up an at home date night, it gives you the comfort of being at whole while still trying something new. You could set up a charcuterie board to snack on, help each other cook a new recipe you haven't tried before while sampling this wine then relax with a movie. The wines were a little too strong for my taste, but it was fun trying them out with my husband. Each box has the perfect amount for enjoying a relaxing night at home, you can either try all three in one night or if want you can space them out and have one new glass of wine three nights in a row. 

What kind of wine do you enjoy drinking? Is this something you would do for a date night?

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Vinebox for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Wine delivered to your door with Winc!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Winc for the review free of charge through the US Family Guide.**

I am not a very big drinker, and I am extremely picky when it comes to finding something I actually like but I do have family members that love a good glass of wine so when I was offered the chance to try out a box from Winc I agreed and knew it would make a few people happy. If you've never heard of Winc, it is a monthly wine subscription box that delivers four bottles of wine personalized to you based off of your Winc profile.

The first step to getting your wine box in the mail is to fill out a wine profile, the profile is quite simple to fill out and they ask a number of questions including how you like your coffee, if you like berries, how much you usually spend on a bottle of wine, etc. Since my husband was going to be the main person testing out and drinking the wine, I let him fill out the flavor profile. At the end of the short survey they also ask you to select how many red wines you'd like vs white wines, if you love both you would be sent two white and two red, however if you love red but don't mind a glass of white wine from time to time you could get three reds and one white. Before fully placing your order they will show you a summary of the wines they selected for you along with how much each bottle cost. If you see a bottle of wine you don't think you'd like you can easily switch it out for any of the other wines on their website. 

Which wines did we end up with? Our box included a 2018 Mercana Malbec, a 2017 Clink sparkling white blend, a 2017 Endgame Chardonnay and a 2017 Finke's sparkling Chenin Blanc. One of the wines we included in our box actually wasn't for us but for my step-fathers dad to enjoy over the holidays. The most expensive out of the four was the bottle of Endgame which goes for $28 if you are a Winc member or $32.99 for non-members, and the cheapest was the Malbec at $15 per bottle for members or $16.99 for non-members. 

After you place your order you can choose to receive text updates on when your wine ships. They will text you once when your box first ships, one the day before it is supposed to be delivered letting you know when it is expected to arrive and reminding you a adult 21+ with ID needs to sign for the box and a text when it gets delivered. I have not received any other text messages or promotions from them via my cell phone aside from the shipping update which made me happy they weren't trying to spam me. Now let's get into taste notes and our thoughts on each wine. 


 

2017 Endgame Chardonnay ($28 Winc Price); Our family eats a lot of pasta's and cheeses and this wine is said to pair well with fish, pasta with cheese sauce, cheeses and veggies. It has notes of apples, butterscotch, candied lemon and vanilla with a alcohol  percentage of 14.5%. This was actually the first wine out of the box that we decided to try out, it seemed to go over well with most who tried it and the whole bottle was finished which is a good sign.

2017 Finke's sparkling Chenin Blanc ($18 Winc Price); This wine pairs well with Thai, cheeses, cured meats and veggies. It has notes of green apple, honeysuckle, lemon and nectarine with a alcohol percentage of 12.5%. This wine was actually the favorite out of the four we received, it was slightly sweet and didn't leave a bitter after taste in your mouth. As odd as it sounds it went well mixed with a little bit of cranberry juice, I jokingly mentioned doing it to my husband so we decided why not and it actually wasn't bad.





2018 Mercana Malbec ($15 Winc Price); Pairs well with pizza, pork and BBQ. It has notes of plum, red cherry, spice and vanilla with a alcohol percentage of 14.4%. This wasn't quite as loved as some of the others and I think there is still a decent portion of the wine left in the bottle but it isn't the worse wine in the world either. Depending on your mood or if you have it with food vs drinking it alone you may have a different experience.

2017 Clink sparkling white blend ($18 Winc Price); Pairs well with shellfish, cheeses, cured meats and fruits. It has notes of candied lemon, green apples and white flowers with a alcohol percentage of 12.5%. I would say this was the second favorite out of the four wines we received, it had a unique taste that wasn't unpleasant and it had a nice fragrance as well. 




Over all we were pretty happy with our Winc box, since we don't drink often I do not see us personally keeping a subscription box like this but it would make a nice holiday gift for wine lovers.

Mommy's Time Out Review!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Mommy's Time Out for the review free of charge.**

A few of my family members enjoy drinking wine when we all get together to have dinner and play games, so when I was offered a chance to try out Mommy's Time Out I knew I had to say yes and bring it over to my mom's house for a family dinner night. First I want to note that I think the name of the brand is pretty fun and the bottles are pretty cute they include a note on how hard working moms deserve a much needed break (don't worry dads they also have a wine called Dad's Day Off).

I am not usually one to drink alcohol, I am pretty picky when it comes to it and most alcohol out there just doesn't taste good to me. Seeing as how this was for a review I did test it out and I have to say it actually isn't that bad compared to most wines out there . I didn't get a nasty shock of bitterness it was actually quite a bit lighter than other wines I have sampled at events, it did taste a bit dry and had a small bit of fruity taste to it. A few family members tried it as well and here are their thoughts:

Step-Dad: He liked the wine and agreed that it was more of a dry wine with a solid grape flavor, but didn't quite like the after taste.

Sister-in-law: She did like the wine and thought it has a floral taste to it.

My Fiance: He actually did like the wine which is surprising because he doesn't like any wine. He said it reminded him of a light beer and that he would drink it again.

Overall it seemed to be well liked, along with the Prosecco white wine I received they also sell several other wines all of which are showing less than $10 per bottle on the websites it is sold through. Sadly it doesn't seem like any stores near me sell this specific wine they only have the Pinot Grigio and the Mommy's Time Out website could use some tweaks because they do not list prices nor does it have a list of stores where the wine is available, along with that there is no way to order it through their website.

Etching Expressions Giveaway

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