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Up to 2,500 Bonus Miles - American Cellars Wine Club

Up to 2,500 Bonus Miles - American Cellars Wine Club

 
Old Jan 6, 2011, 3:46 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: ORD & DEN
Programs: UA Premier 1K 1MM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 239
Originally Posted by mahasamatman
I'm curious which wines people got. Of the six wines they show on their site, we only got one of them (the Pinot). The other five must all fall under their substitutions for wines similar in character and of equal value may occasionally be made clause.

We got
  • 2008 Paso a Paso - Rueda, Spain Verdejo
  • 2009 Valle de Uco 'Urban' - Mendoza, Argentina Torrontes
  • 2008 The Negociant - California Albarino
  • 2009 Green Groves - Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
  • 2009 Mount Oso Cellars - Tracy Hills, California Shiraz-Merlot
  • 2007 Domaine Jean Bousquet - Tupungato, Argentina Cabernet Sauvignon
We had the Paso a Paso with dungeness crab last night, and it was pretty reasonable.

Our six just arrived today. We got
  • 2008 Paso a Paso - Rueda, Spain Verdejo
  • 2009 Valle de Uco 'Urban' - Mendoza, Argentina Torrontes
  • 2008 The Negociant - California Albarino
  • 2009 Green Groves - Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
  • 2009 Iron Rock - California Cabernet
  • 2009 Acrobat - California Merlot
I'm guessing that they're probably a good deal at $7/bottle, not so sure at $14. Happy sipping!
cubfan99 is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2011, 3:57 pm
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,889
Yeah, this was a great way to try some new and interesting wines! Kudos to the fine folks at ACWC.

I asked for "whites" and got 2 bottles each of
2008 The Negociant - California Albarino
Inoffensive but not incredibly memorable, a pretty good table wine.

2009 Valle de Uco 'Urban' - Mendoza, Argentina Torrontes
Really interesting flavor! I was very impressed.

2008 Paso a Paso - Rueda, Spain Verdejo
Kind of unpleasant, to be honest. There might be some food that goes well with this strong, almost acidic flavor; it wasn't chicken
mherdeg is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2011, 3:58 pm
  #18  
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Near SEA
Programs: UA MM, AS MVPG75K, Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 7,969
Was tempted to try this, but from what I've seen with online wine clubs, one rarely if ever gets a deal. And just not worth 2500 miles based on RNE's experience above
bmvaughn is offline  
Old Jan 6, 2011, 4:13 pm
  #19  
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,010
Ours were:
  • 2009 Green Groves - Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Opened that tonight, so we'll see how it is.
  • 2007 Jean Bousquet Cab Sauv - Argentina. Had this one a couple of days ago; it was pretty good--not a typical Cab, mind you, with very little peppercorn to it. Still something I'd pay $9-$12 a bottle for.
  • 2007 Colombelle Cotes de Gascogne - French Tannat/Merlot/Cab blend. So-so; a bit "thin" and lacking in character. I'd drink it for $6-$7 a bottle, but no more.
exerda is offline  
Old Jan 7, 2011, 12:07 pm
  #20  
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,010
Bonus miles showed up today (dated yesterday):

Jan. 06, 2011 VINESSE WINE CLUB ENROLLMENT 2500
exerda is offline  
Old Jan 7, 2011, 12:21 pm
  #21  
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Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,419
Initially was considering it. Overall (price, selection, fine print caveats) not that much of a deal. I think I'll pass. Hope you all get your miles and can bail before the large charges hit.

and... thanks all FTers for reporting!
cesco.g is offline  
Old Jan 10, 2011, 7:10 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA/AA
Posts: 1,739
Just got an authorization on my credit card.

Second shipment will be coming soon.
jaymar01 is offline  
Old Jan 10, 2011, 7:13 pm
  #23  
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,110
I called today to cancel, and they recommended waiting until the points post. They did delay our next shipment until March to give us more time, which I though was pretty good.
mahasamatman is offline  
Old Jan 10, 2011, 9:04 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: SEA
Posts: 96
Originally Posted by mahasamatman
I called today to cancel, and they recommended waiting until the points post. They did delay our next shipment until March to give us more time, which I though was pretty good.
Almost the same for me, except they only delayed until February. That's fine though. I've got a reminder to cancel as soon as the miles post.
rbcar3 is offline  
Old Jan 12, 2011, 4:34 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: AA EXP, DL FO, CO Plat, UA 1P, FB Plat, Marriott PLT, PC Plat, HH Diamond, Starwood Gold, Nat'l Exec
Posts: 107
Originally Posted by mahasamatman
I called today to cancel, and they recommended waiting until the points post. They did delay our next shipment until March to give us more time, which I though was pretty good.
I did the same when I saw my CC had been charged $110 for the second shipment. A very nice CSR told me that I had to remain a member for at least a month for the bonus miles to post. Also delayed my shipment until March, and set up a notification email before it ships.
clevername is offline  
Old Jan 21, 2011, 11:11 am
  #26  
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA/AA
Posts: 1,739
2,500 miles posted today (1/21).
jaymar01 is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2011, 11:04 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 408
as i need 4000 more miles to book an award ticket, i was thinking about this promotion... can you please tell me what was the total charge for the first shipment?
united has 'award accelerator' 33% discount till tomorrow (3.9k miles for 102$ for me), so i need to decide pretty soon...
thanks for help!
nycvisitor is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2011, 11:34 am
  #28  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 268
i am very skeptical of the types of wine $7 can buy. can someone give an overall drinkability ratings of those wines?
RandomTaiwanese is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2011, 1:12 pm
  #29  
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,010
Originally Posted by RandomTaiwanese
i am very skeptical of the types of wine $7 can buy. can someone give an overall drinkability ratings of those wines?
There are plenty of quite drinkable wines in the $7/bottle range. (FWIW, I'd say the plonk UA serves in domestic F costs them at most $2/bottle as a point of comparison ).

Although cost factors into the ratings for most wines--meaning a $50 90-point wine is typically "better" in drinkability than a $10 90-point wine--price shouldn't be your primary criteria in evaluating wine quality. I'm not saying expensive wines are a rip-off or bogus (which many people insist is the case), but rather that you can certainly spend $50 on a wine you like less than a $10 wine of the same varietal. (And yes, I know some fantastic $250 and $2500 wines, too.)

As for the ACWC, I found all the reds reasonably drinkable. I'm not sure the second set are worth what they charged (around $13/bottle IIRC) as I could probably find comparable wines at that price locally without paying shipping, although I would say they were better than the initial shipment's wines.

I'm going to stick with them for a third shipment just to see what I get, then probably cancel. I've enjoyed the wines so far, but after the bonus miles, they're somewhat costly compared to other places I typically buy wine.
exerda is offline  
Old Feb 2, 2011, 11:53 am
  #30  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,889
Cool, the NYT just discovered the torrontes (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/di...ws/02wine.html), one of the interesting varietal whites that ACWC shipped.
mherdeg is offline  

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