Labor Day Sales: We Got A Winner

Just when I was about to give up on Labor Day wine sales, this message arrived:

“Up to 80% off on 250+ wines”

Well, not all wines are 80% off, but there were many excellent deals. The big surprise was wines under $10, but I found many to like for under $20. 

 The winner is  www.wineExpress.com

Here are are my choices for best deals:

2020 Barossa Valley Shiraz $7.47

2020 Château Suau Rose, Bordeaux $7.47

2 from Lodi:

2019 Judd’s Hill Zinfandel $15.47

2018 Berghad Cabernet Sauvignon $13.47

2 Oregon Pinot Noir:

2018 Lazy River Yamhill Carlton, $17.47

2018 Belle Fiori, Rogue Valley $10.47

2 Best Reds:

2019 Chateau Bourdieu, Bordeaux $12.47

2019 McBride Sisters Central Coast $14.47

Browse the list to find those you prefer. Many big names with big price tags are included.

Shipping is free on any 12 bottle order.

My Overview of wineExpress.com

wineExpress.com tries to balance “value and service” which suggests it is neither a giant warehouse nor a down-and-dirty discount site.  It is the exclusive online wine shop partner of The Wine Enthusiast catalog and website. So it is well-financed and has an excellent facility for storage and shipping.

It really leads the online field in big-named wines like Gaja, Dominus, Sassicaia, Shafer, Caymus Special Select, and, yes Perrier-Jouet and Dom…all slightly discounted with the Sassicaia 25% below retail. 

The site works through the usual sorting procedures with click on searches by variety, price and region. It also offers several wine club options and gift packages.

But, and this is interesting. It also sorts the Labor Day list by “Woman Owned” and “Minority Owned.”

One special touch is a series of videos taking you through tastings that are conducted by Josh Farrell, its Wine Director.

He often runs through the daily wine special which can then be purchased. He is one excellent swirler, BTW, and he encourages decanting and/or aerating young wine.

You can learn a lot about judging wine by watching a few of his videos.

And throughout the year this site continues to offer several good value wines under $20.

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.

Leave a comment