A Jigger of Blog

I’ve been ordering wine from Jon Rimmerman’s Garagiste email list for about a year. It’s an email sales only email list, with usually one offer per day of wine. When I buy wine in the liquor store or super market, I’ll usually buy in the $10-20 price range. When drinking wines I’ve never had before bought this way, I’d guess two out of three bottles I buy are pretty mediocre (I’d guess I do better at certain places like Ace Beverage where I have a relationship with the store and can really talk about what I like). While I am into wine, I don’t consider myself an expert and ending up with mediocre wine is one pretty sure indicator of that.

On Rimmerman’s list, I generally stick within that same price range – occasionally going a bit lower or a bit higher, depending on the offering. But in the year I’ve ordered through Garagiste, I haven’t had a single bad bottle of wine. All have been good, some have been great, and at least two have been other-worldly.

Rimmerman is profiled in this week’s New York Times Magazine. It’s a good read. I’m sure it will add tens of thousands of subscribers to his email list. But frankly, that is an earned consequence. The list is stellar and I highly recommend anyone who’s reading this blog to subscribe to it. You can do so through their website. Rimmerman’s daily emails are educational and his wine is top-notch, so even if you’re not already a big wine enthusiast, you can use this list to expand your knowledge base and decrease the amount of money you’re spending on bad wine.

Two words of caution:

First, this is a potentially expensive email list to be on. You provide your credit card information once, then just order by replying to emails. That is, you don’t have the gut check of typing out your credit card digits that may otherwise slow your online purchases down. Be warned.

Second, this is not a source of instant gratification. Shipments come out by season, not immediately after you place an order. I think it was at least four or five months after my first order before I received the wine. But I promise you, it’s worth the wait.