Top 7 Wineries to Follow for Holiday Wine Sales

Now that Black Friday, Cyber Monday and sales before and after have finally ended, let’s review what happened. And, better yet, let’s apply what we learned to improve our savvy shopping skills.

Now, more than before, I encourage people to buy direct from smaller wineries rather than from online retailers, supermarkets and subscription box companies. But of course, that is a real option only when prices are attractive and shipping costs are sometimes cheaper than a gallon of gas. Happy to note many wineries are working hard to make that happen.

5 Reasons for Going Winery Direct for Holiday Sales

First, and this is big: you don’t have to join a club. No contracts!  Offers for non-members are usually at a slightly lower discount. But not always.

Shipping costs are attractive, ranging from $1 a case to $20. (A case normally ships for $40-ish)

Discounts often start at 20% and range up to 50% and higher

The wines are authentic, not custom made, cutesy labeled stuff from virtual wineries.

Many of these wines are not widely available, not supermarket wines from a giant corporation. Better yet, they are new releases, not old wines stored in some warehouse collecting dust and getting old.

The following real example beautifully demonstrates all 5 key points. Last November, Navarro Vineyards in the Anderson Valley made a special, timed sales offer. Here it is: “Navarro’s six-bottle Black Friday Sampler is only available through Monday, November 29, or until the sampler is sold out. You can also add six bottles of any Navarro wine or non-alcoholic juice of your choice and the twelve bottles will qualify for One-Cent shipping. 

 For those unfamiliar with Navarro wines, you need only to look over its reviews in the winereviewonline.com database. There, you’ll see the many high (94+) ratings from numerous critics, and notice that even its Roses have been rated in the mid-90s!

Another reason for mentioning Navarro first is that it was, along with Ridge Vineyards, offering wines direct to customers on a mailing list in the 1980s. It served as the model when other wineries ventured into direct sales.

Wineries willing to offer free shipping as part of a special sale or an attractive flat rate opened the door wider to buying wines direct. And, many like the folks at Tank Garage in Napa Valley,  make it easy: “Need to get your hands on cool wines from Tank Garage Winery? Whether you’re shopping gifts for the season or stocking your cellar for days to come, we’ve got you covered with $1 shipping on any order, all weekend long. No code is necessary, this rad deal applies automatically at checkout.”

Even a flat rate of $10 for 6 bottles or $5 for a case is attractive when you remember a case of wine normally ships for around $40.

Top 10 Wineries to Follow for Holiday Wine Sales

Rather than suggesting everyone now randomly subscribe to a bunch of wineries, I will list a few that have a proven track record and are known to offer special holiday deals during the year.

Navarro Vineyards: See the example above. A great source of Pinot Noir and also a wide range of small batch wines.  www.navarrovineyards.com

Clos LaChance: This family owned beautiful Santa Clara winery often offers super deals (like 50% off) of its Sauvignon Blanc, Pirates blend Rhone, and Meritage. It also makes a fine Cabernet Sauvignon. Good shipping deals.  www.clos.com

Trentadue Vineyards: Rock solid winery in Alexander Valley frequently offers one day Holiday sales. Look for “La Storia” wines, its high end line. But also  don’t pass by its Zinfandel or Sauvignon Blanc. Trentadue makes one of the finest Petite Sirahs. Good shipping rates. www.trentadue.com

Fritz Winery, also in the Alexander Valley, often offers a case of Fritz wines with $1 case shipping. The 2018 Estate Dry Creek Zin and 2019 Russian River Chardonnay are its top rated wines. http://www.fritzwinery.com

Testarossa Vineyards: The best kept secret for fabulous Pinot Noir. Look for discounted prices and free shipping on 3 or more bottles. Also the Chardonnays are exceptional. http://www.testarossa.com

Tooth & Nail Winery: Looking for something totally different and unconventional? With Tooth & Nail, one of my recent favorite discoveries, signing up for email alerts gets you a 15% discount. Frequent holiday specials are at 20% off with free shipping on orders of $50 or more. This Paso Robles winery offers wildly creative reds and whites and  all have rated in the 90s. Great Rose, Rhone blends, and Cabernets with labels that literally sing for you. But that’s another story.

www.toothandnailwine.com

Ponzi Vineyards: This proven Willamette Valley pioneer caught my attention with its major sale of a Pinot Noir Rose…and free shipping on 6 or more bottles. Key an eye on this site www.ponzivineyards.com

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Author: robywine, norm roby

My career as a wine journalist/critic began in 1975 when my article about California Petite Sirah was published. My focus remained on California as I edited a monthly wine magazine and then moved on to The Wine Spectator in 1982. Over the following years, my column appeared under the banner of “Stormin’ Norman, and I also wrote articles about wine collectors and wine auctions. Without getting into a year by year bio, let me try to summarize here. During my time with The Spectator which I enjoyed immensely, I taught wine classes at a culinary school and at other venues in San Francisco. Before venturing into wine, teaching was my thing, English Lit and Rhetoric. After The Spectator I was the U.S. Contributor to Decanter Magazine, writing mostly about California, but also expanding into Washington State and Oregon. My Decanter years began in 1992 and after buying a summer home in France in 2000, I traveled throughout France and eventually published articles about St. Emilion, Castillon, Bergerac, Minervois, Roussillon, Luberon, Provence, and Alsace. Also, around 2000, my wife began working for Cousino-Macul in Chile, so we tasted and traveled our way through Chile and, of course, managed to fly over the Andes and explore and taste our way through Argentina. As travel lovers, we have also spent many interesting days visiting the wine regions of Spain, Italy, Portugal, Scicily, Greece, and New Zealand. And to come to a close, I was Director of Winesong, a Charity Wine Auction for 20 years, 1992-2000 that benefitted a local hospital. That brought me in contact with wine collectors and to the auction scene. And finally, I co-authored a book, The Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine published by Alfred A. Knopf. It went through 4 editions and sold over 500.000 copies.

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