I love getting deliveries. There’s something about the old snail mail that puts a smile on my face that emails struggle to do. I’ve had some pretty impressive deliveries of late. One being my self-designed wedding shoes from Shoes of Prey. The carefully wrapped shoes and hidden extras in the box made me feel like Cinderella opening the glass slippers shoe box. But probably what gets this girl even more excited is a wine delivery and when a company goes out of their way to make you go ‘wow’ when opening the wine box – then you know you’re in for something good. Well done to newbie wine club – Good Pair Days (previously known as The Wine Gallery). You’ve definitely ticked a lot of my ‘wine’ boxes!

I first came across Good Pair Days when owner and founder Tom got in touch with me. I had a look at the website and thought it was an interesting and different concept to all the other wine clubs and subscription services online. Tom kindly offered the TC readers 40% off their first monthly wine box subscription. Knowing you all love wine and a great deal I thought there was no harm in promoting the deal (which by the way is still valid!).

After putting up the promo code details here on the blog I felt a bit weird. It didn’t seem right to promote a product/business I had no experience with. So I figured at 40% off I could totally justify that with the wedding budget! It meant my first wine box would be $50 with delivery to WA instead of $80. That’s not bad for 3 unique and quality bottles of vino.

But what makes this wine club unique and worth an entire blog post you ask? Keep reading my wino friends…

The online wine selection

Okay so the selection online is in no way huge. There’s about 50 hand-picked bottles, but each one of those bottles can stand up and give you a million reasons why it’s there. There’s nothing normal about this wine selection as each wine has a unique point of difference and story to tell.

What I enjoyed about all my wines was the tasting note that came along with them. I hadn’t come across any of the wines in my box before so I really enjoyed sitting down with Mr. Spittoon and reading out the story of the winery followed by the tasting notes and foods to match. There’s even a link on each to a recipe that perfectly matches each wine.

The Good Pair Days wines are selected by Banjo Harris Plane, a three-time Australian Sommelier of the Year. He focuses on small-batch wines from Australia and around the globe.

How to choose your wines

This is the cool part. When you first land on the site you’re prompted to take a ‘taste profile quiz‘. Based on your answers to a series of questions about flavours you like and your wine drinking style, a 3-bottle box of wines is put together curated to your tastes. Each month you can then provide feedback on each of the bottles so your upcoming wine club boxes are further tailored to your tastes.

If you’re not keen on the curated choices you can easily swap out bottles or completely put your own box together. However I strongly suggest you give their curated choices a go – be open, try new things, who knows what your palate may decide to like today.

All bottled on the site are valued at approximately $23 and delivery Australia-wide is $9.

The wine delivery

There were a couple of hiccups with my first delivery however despite this, customer service was on point and all was forgotten when I saw how amazing my first wine box was. It was worth the wait!

Why am I gushing like I’ve just met Justin Bieber you ask? Simple:

• The 3-bottle pack came in a sturdy box with easy carry handle. Upper body strength is not my strong point (excuse the pun) but this was easy to carry and no stress on my back which is plus plus for me seeing as I get my wine delivered to work and have to carry it to the car or train
• When you open the box there’s a message on the inside that is bound to give you a chuckle. It just so happened that mine arrived on a Tuesday as well which matched the message perfectly!
• The bottles were all individually wrapped in tissue paper with a quirky sticker on each – again it brought more smiles!
• Each bottle included a tasting note as mentioned
• A tasting booklet and pencil, I’m not sure if this is for all first wine boxes but this was a cute touch
• A note from Tom and discount codes for future orders. Who doesn’t love a discount!

For me it was the little extra touches that made this one of my favourite wine club deliveries. It’s smart marketing and really makes you feel part of the club, or ‘wine squad’ as Good Pair Days folk call it!

The Exciting News

As you can tell from the above, I’m just a wee bit smitten with the customer service, the wines and how Good Pair Days is revolutionising online wine buying and subscription services, so we’re working on a collaboration! I won’t say much more at this stage till it comes to fruition but be excited, I sure am!!

Tasting Notes

Wine geek alert >> In my first wine club box curated to my palate I ended up with these three, here’s what I thought:

I was so excited to get stuck into my first @the_wine_gallery order! The presentation and little added extras in the box really make this wine club subscription stand out. The first of my three wines picked for me based on my tastes was this bottle of Mengoba Brezo Tinto 2014 from the Bierzo region in northwest Spain. It’s made from the Mencia grape varietal and this bottle retails for approx $23. First up I loved the vibrant colour on this baby as soon as you pop the cork. It’s fairly deep in colour but has this striking garnet sheen to it. The nose oozed whiffs of cherries, raspberries, pencil shavings and it has a certain stony-ness to it. The palate is uber friendly with lovely fruit & vegetal flavours. Easy drinking and food friendly, perfect for a bit of #tcweekdaywine action ? I picked up my first The Wine Gallery order at 40% off using the promo code ‘travellingcorkscrew’ – get onto it people! All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective, so make sure you drink what you enjoy! #thewinegallery #wine #winetasting #wineclub #vino #winegeek #wineblog #winetime #winelover #wine?

A photo posted by Travelling Corkscrew Wine Blog (@travellingcorkscrew) on Jun 24, 2016 at 1:33pm PDT

My second bottle from my recent @the_wine_gallery order that I got for 40% off using the promo code ‘travellingcorkscrew’ – make use of it guys! This bottle of Mauricio Lorca Fantasia 2014 Malbec is from the Mendoza region in Argentina. I really enjoyed reading the notes that come along with the bottles in TWG orders ‘Mauricio is particularly well-known for his slightly maverick approaches, such as the rejection of oaking’. Apparently he wants the natural flavours of the grapes shine through. Enough blabbing, let’s get to the wine tasting! It’s a deep inky purple-red on the eye, which is fairly typically of Malbec. The nose is full of warming berry cigar scents. I actually found it rather restrained on the old sniffer. The palate is soft yet full of intriguing notes that I struggled to put my taste buds on. The 3 words that came to mind when sipping my way through the bottle were: savoury, rustic and plum. A great match to our steaks. All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective, so make sure you drink what you enjoy! #tcweekdaywine #thewinegallery #malbec #mendozawine #wine #winetasting #winetime #winegeek #wineblog #wineclub

A photo posted by Travelling Corkscrew Wine Blog (@travellingcorkscrew) on Jun 25, 2016 at 5:06pm PDT

This 2015 Eden Valley (South Australia) Viognier from Tim Smith Wines was the last bottle in my first months subscription wine club pack from @the_wine_gallery Perhaps also the bottle I was most excited about too. The tasting notes provided with the bottle said it went well with Middle Eastern spices so I figured it was a great time to cook up a big pot of Egyptian Koshary and the match was ? This 100% Viognier is clear as water on the eye with a slight yellow tinge. Spiced apples and lemons dominate the nose for me. It’s has a wonderful silky texture on the palate with elegant flavours that hug every inch of your mouth. The super long finish kept you going back for more. I was dubious of the wine standing up to the strong spices in the dish but the fruit weight in the wine was the perfect accompaniment! To get 40% off your first monthly subscription order from The Wine Gallery simply use the promo code ‘travellingcorkscrew’ at the checkout. The tasting book pictured came with my first order too! All opinions are based on my own taste buds. Wine is subjective, so make sure you drink what you enjoy! #tcweekdaywine #tastingnotes #wine #winetasting #viognier #timsmithwines #edenvalleywines #thewinegallery

A photo posted by Travelling Corkscrew Wine Blog (@travellingcorkscrew) on Jun 27, 2016 at 4:44pm PDT