As restaurants and bars continue to be shut down in our neighborhoods because of the coronavirus, and as we are still all encouraged to practice social distancing, it could be challenging to have happy hours in the afternoons and evenings with our friends and family. Fortunately, Palate Club, perhaps the smartest wine subscription service in the world right now, is here to deliver drinks straight to your doorstep.
As we settle with our current lifestyles during the COVID-19 lockdown, each new day brings us the same old drill: find a quiet spot in the house, be it the living room, the bedroom, or the kitchen, and turn it into a workspace. We’re still going to talk to colleagues via Zoom meetings. We’re still going to stare into our screens and hope that our email finds each other well. And when the evening creeps in, we’re still logging onto conference calls, this time to talk to family and friends.
Yes, the internet has been very crucial in keeping us connected with one another. Another thing that it has been good for is online shopping, as well as ordering in food and other necessities. And when it comes to happy hour, that includes shopping for wine online. There is no doubt that our current situation has affected and influenced the way we eat and drink these days.
Currently, restaurants are relying on food deliveries to keep their business alive and being allowed to include wine in customer orders are a big factor in increased earnings for the day.
Wine subscription that’s tailored to your tastes
But if you are looking for a wine subscription service, look no further than Palate Club, whose expert team has scoured the best vineyards and wineries all over the globe in order to bring you artisanal wines of the best quality. Each bottle has been selected by master sommeliers Jennifer Estevez and Aubrey Terrazas, from the 2007 Domaine Thenard Clos Saint-Pierre, a Pinot Noir from France, to the 2014 Rossidi Unison, a Chardonnay from Bulgaria—you name it, the online wine shop has it. The duo is also working with wine experts Guillaume Puzo and Aymeric De Clouet in Paris.
Wines sold by Palate Club have a price range from $17 to $59. All labels have been vetted and selected with care, with some imported from both rising and established vignerons. The objective is straightforward: there must be a significant balance between taste and value. One should never have to suffer over the other.
Whether you are looking for Cabernet Sauvignon from the United States such as the 2014 Eden Estate from the Santa Cruz Mountains, or Merlot from Australia like the 2018 Oxford Landing from the South, Palate Club will make it easy for you to find it.
The whole idea behind the wine delivery service is to do away with tired and old marketing tactics from just about any wine shop and wine club that’s out there currently. Most of them offer expensive wines that are priced so because of critic reviews, yet when you buy a bottle and try for yourself, you find that they don’t taste so good. The naked truth? It’s because no matter how highly acclaimed a bottle of wine is, at the end of the day, it’s not necessarily made for your taste profile.
This is why founder Nicolas Mendiharat wanted to build something that will eventually pair each person with their perfect vino. Red, white, or rosé; sparkling or not; aged or bottled young—there’s something for everyone. Thus, Palate Club was born.
Apart from the wine subscription service, the team has created a namesake app where you can rate each wine that is delivered to you. Then an algorithm comprised of over 200 wine traits is employed in order to learn more about your palate. Over time, the more wines you rate, the more you’ll discover your liking for wines with certain tannins, body, sweetness, acidity, oak, fruitiness and level of alcohol. These will all be displayed in your profile, giving you a better understanding of why you like some labels over others.
Yes, it is more certainly akin to Netflix for wine, or even Spotify for wine—the more you interact with the app and record your preferences, the more Palate Club works hard to send you a more personalized selection of wine. Every shipment is guaranteed to be pleasure in a bottle.
Wine shopping should be easy
Palate Club also offers a blind tasting kit, if you should be so inclined, but you can also start with the wine quiz in the app, where your answers will be calculated to show you right off the bat some bottles that match your taste, based on initial data. This can then be your base—you can purchase these wines directly from the shop, or choose to avail of a flexible wine subscription. You can also pause your membership anytime you want. You are in control—you can choose how often the delivery should be, whether the shipment should include your favorites or new ones to discover. You can even specify the price range.
When delivered to your house, you’ll find a box of several wine bottles with all the labels covered so you’ll have an authentic tasting experience that is free of bias. That way, you’ll only truly judge the wine based solely on its taste and not the label or any other additional information.
More than its premium wine selection, what Palate Club does well is integrating artificial intelligence so that your shopping experience is also easy, convenient, and catered to you. By creating an app that truly understands what you like, it puts your taste before anything else. Data science empowers you to be more knowledgeable and sure about your palate, without the need to rely on mass-market advertisements or reviews.
Wine in the time of the coronavirus
Shopping online has been a lifesaver during these trying times, and we are lucky to have stores that we can connect with and can deliver to our door when we need them. And they are also counting on us—our support for their businesses is what is keeping them alive during the recession.
There is no telling how long we still have to live in confinement, but it is a universal thing that we have to accept that this is now our new normal. Staying at home may have its disadvantages like loss of socializing privileges, but there are good benefits, too, such as being able to spend more time with the people we love. If that includes a glass or two of red—well, why not.