Have you been wondering whether Tour Guide Wines is worth looking at as a wine subscription service? If so, you’ll want to read further. I recently had the opportunity to review a mixed box of wines from this company and record my thoughts.
This is a review of products I received in exchange for an honest review. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of my links, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.
What Is Tour Guide Wines?
Tour Guide Wines (formerly Revel Wine Club) is a company dedicated to helping their customers taste a range of wines – from standard and affordable favorites to organic and sulfite-free options. In addition to being able to purchase wine by the bottle, you can join a subscription club and find even more savings.
If you live in California, you can also take advantage of tastings at their wineries located in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo. (Definitely have this on my bucket list for when we’re able to travel out to California to visit friends and family).
How Does Tour Guide Wines Work?
When you sign up for Tour Guide Wines’ membership club, you have a lot of customization options. First, you’ll choose whether you would like your wine selection curated from all wines, sulfite-free wines, or organic wines.
Next, you’ll choose whether you want red wines, white wines, or a mix of both, and you’ll let Tour Guide Wines know how many bottles you’d like with each shipment – 4, 6, or 12 – and how often you’d like your shipments – monthly, every other month, every quarter. From there, Tour Guide Wines will pull together a selection that you’ll then receive.
About the Wines That I Tried
Baileyana 2018 Firepeak Pinot Noir
For my sample, I chose to have the wines chosen from the entire collection carried by Tour Guide Wines, and a mixture of reds and whites. I received four bottles: Baileyana 2018 Firepeak Pinot Noir, The Practice 2020 Organic Red Blend, Foodies 2018 Chardonnay, and Bread and Butter 2020 Sauvignon Blanc.
The first wine of the group we tried was the 2018 Baileyana Firepeak Pinot Noir. The cool thing about Tour Guide wines is that you can purchase wines either as a member or as a non-member. The pricing is a little more if you aren’t a member. This wine costs $30 for nonmembers and $25 for members.
About the 2018 Baileyana Firepeak Pinot Noir
This wine is an award winner. Its awards and recognitions, according to the Tour Guide Wines website include:
- 97 Points, Double Gold, Best Pinot Noir, San Francisco International Wine Competition, Vintage 2018
- A-Rating, Drink Hacker, Vintage 2018
- Recognized as Best Ten Red Wines This Season, Bestproducts.com
- 90 Points – Vinous.com, Vintage 2018
The wine is grown in the coolest growing region in California, the Edna Valley. Because of this, there is an extended growing season, and the grapes grown in this region tend to develop intense and complex flavors.
What I Thought
I enjoyed this wine more than my husband did. I found it to have a really nice nose with aromas of fruit and spice – think plums, cherries, dark fruits as well as nutmeg and cloves. It’s a really great wine for fall gatherings. On the palate, there were notes of cherries, plums, nutmeg, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, and tobacco. It was smooth and easy-drinking
The 2020 Practice Organic Red Blend
The next wine we tried was the 2020 The Practice Organic Red Blend. In the past, as much as I love all things organic, I’ve found that organic wines can sometimes have a more green quality to them than similar wines grown in the same year and same region. In the past ten or so years, this has changed a lot, and there are a lot of quality organic wines available now. This one is $13 for club members or $16 for non-members.
About The 2020 Practice Organic Red Blend
Medium-bodied red blends tend to make for great dinner wines for those everyday family dinners. The Practice is no different. The creators of this wine feel that it’s rooted in the notion that nature doesn’t hurry. They point out that seasons vary and every vintage of wine varies based upon what rainstorms, sunny days, and other elements were present for the growing season. This wine is USDA Organic certified and has no added sulfites.
My Notes:
I enjoyed this wine. I found it medium-bodied with light fruit and slightly tannic. On the nose, the wine was alcohol-forward. When drinking, it felt like the perfect summer wine. I wanted to take it on the back patio and enjoy it with some barbecue chicken. It was smooth and had notes of strawberries, blueberries, raspberry, vanilla and a bit of spice.
2018 Foodies Chardonnay
I feel like the 2018 Foodies Chardonnay is a steal of a deal. This wine is only $10 for non-members and $8 for members. For reals, you can get a whole bottle of easy-drinking wine for just a bit more than you would pay for your favorite coffee shop beverage.
About the 2018 Foodies Chardonnay
Tour Guide Wines recommend this wine for those who love to pair their wine with culinary delights. I’d have to agree. This wine was quite easy to pair with our dinner the night we tried it (salmon with a dill sauce). The vintners stated that they picked this Chardonnay during the cool hours of the day and fermented it in stainless-steel casks to keep it crisp and refreshing. The result is a medium-bodied wine that is perfect for hotter days.
My Notes:
This wine was my personal favorite from the box. I felt like it was one of those wines you stock for summer gatherings because you can drink it all day and it’s just as crisp and refreshing on the second or third glass as it is on the first. The wine had notes of grass, green apples, and green grapes on the nose. I felt that it smelled like summer in a glass. When tasting the wine, that green apple really stood out as did mango, dragonfruit, and hay flavors it was smooth and creamy and not overly oaked as some Chardonnays can exhibit.
2020 Bread and Butter Sauvignon Blanc
The 2020 Bread and Butter Sauvignon Blanc was my husband’s favorite of the four wines. There’s a reason this wine won awards. Like the others in the box, it’s less expensive if you’re a member – only $13 instead of the $15 f or nonmembers – but still an outstanding value for what you’re getting.
About the 2020 Bread and Butter Sauvignon Blanc
Accordning to Tour Guide Wines, Bread & Butter wines get their name from the natural flavors and aromas that come about in the winemaking process. This particular Sauvignon Blanc has a lot of bright aromas and a rich texture. It was recognized with the following awards:
- Silver from the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition for the 2019 Vintage
- 89 points from Wine Enthusiast for the 2020 Vintage
The 2020 Bread and Butter Sauvignon Blanc is a really good wine, rounding out all four of the wines in the sample box we recieved.
My Notes
This wine was smooth and smokey on the nose. It also had a strong citrus scent, which is one of my favorite scents. Tasting the wine, it was definitely full of bright aromas – tangerine, lemon, pineapple, mango, lime and bright orange flavors rounded it out. Like its companions, it was an easy-drinking wine.
How to Subscribe to Tour Guide WInes
You can subscribe to Tour Guide Wines by clicking on this link. You can get 4 bottles of wine for $52, 6 bottles of wine for $75 or 12 bottles of wine for $144. Shipping is included when you purchase the 12 bottle shipment.
nice info.
Thank you!