themostrighteous wrote:and what, pray do tell, makes you thing they are not ONE & THE SAME?!?

Because when Mill buys, Florida lights up. When Masked Marvel buys, I think West Virginia lights up.

And how do we know you AREN'T MILL?????

andyduncan wrote:Ok, so here's the thing about wine.woot:

Last night and this morning I've been going back and forth with Laura in PMs trying to figure out a way to get a bottle of this to replace the corked Lab Rat bottle. Javadrinker pipes in and says he can pick up a bottle in Orange and bring it about half way, not to drink it, mind you, but to courier it to me. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to go down to get it (I'm going to see Eddie Izzard tonight, yay).

Meanwhile Laura's tracking down distributors, and we're trying to find a place that has it that I can get to during the day.

I just got a call from Laura and she put a bottle at will call at a shipping house more or less near my office. I'm going to go pick it up at lunch. The race is now on to see if I can swish and spit before this thing sells out.

Where else would this kind of thing even happen?

I'm floored. Really. Hats off to Laura, WD, Java and all the wine.woot fanatics that make this place about way more than just cheap wine.

EDIT: And she did all this, knowing damn well the thing was going to sell out anyway.

Class acts on all sides here! I missed out on this just due to not checking (who expected a sellout in 3 days?). I doubt any is "in the channel" out here on the east coast, so it goes. If there's a need for an east coast labrat (DC area) say the word.....
Cheers!

cheron98 wrote:'Cuz it's so hard to just HAVE to have a glass of wine, right? Try finding out if the secretary likes wine, and if s/he does, give a bottle of wine as a thank-you, and you'll be sure to receive notice

That's what I meant by "sweet-talk." Ahh, the universal language of vino...

I'll just have to keep a stack of cups in my desk, so that if/when one comes in the future, I'll be able to share. My thought is, it's better for the w.w community, since they get a whole bunch of labrat opinions instead of just mine!

The more I have been thinking about it, my role as a labrat is bumming me out. I feel badly that I did not get to my bottle of cab until this evening and by then it had sold out.

I hope WD and the others understand. I guess this can happen when a) you have a new offer mid-week and b) you sell out quickly

hld1970 wrote:The more I have been thinking about it, my role as a labrat is bumming me out. I feel badly that I did not get to my bottle of cab until this evening and by then it had sold out.

I hope WD and the others understand. I guess this can happen when a) you have a new offer mid-week and b) you sell out quickly

My sentiments, precisely.

I guess it's a trade-off: we gamble by placing our orders early enough to qualify for consideration, WD gambles that we'll get the Golden Tickets soon enough to contribute.

themostrighteous wrote:i know it'll be after the fact, but would you mind posting your / your group's general observations / notes? merci.

of course! It will be the very first thing we drink! Mixed in with the (other) finest cabs napa can offer.

Hi All,
This is my first post to WW. I was a "labrat" for the Cabernet offering (my first time!) and was also surprised to see it had sold out when I went to post last night. We opened our bottle with a steak dinner. We found this wine to be enjoyable but not particularly memorable. I usually like my reds to have more body and a longer finish. However, since this wine isn't "overpowering" in any way (fruit, tannin, alcohol, etc...) it would be a great choice for gatherings or dinners with people who have varied preferences.

Again, I am sorry the offering was over before my post and hope that this doesn't disqualify me from future opportunities

kramsauer wrote:I've been very good about not ordering during the summer. I know Woot tries to ship smart and charges me two bucks to do so, but I just can't trust the Texas heat. This looks so interesting, however, I broke down. Lets hope it makes it through okay!

Woot shipped it second day air?!?! Unreal. I love Woot.

Of course, that didn't give me time to clear out some space. Drat!

Aight tasting from tonight.

I drank 1 oz at 3pm and let it sit open till 7pm. Poured in a glass...
Nose: heat, with light oak, wood shavings, stewed dark fruits with a bit of bright fruit trying to burst through.
taste: hot alcohol, i honestly can't believe this is 14.3%, it drinks far more like a 15+% cab. A bit of pepper and green pepper and some fruit, it's all masked under the alcohol and oak. Light tannins in the back.
Finish: short.

I had one glass of this during dinner that I thought was fine, the alcohol seemed to have toned down and a dark fruit taste came out mixed with light oak. But then it just disappeared. No one else at the table tasted it.

clayfu wrote:Aight tasting from tonight.

I drank 1 oz at 3pm and let it sit open till 7pm. Poured in a glass...
Nose: heat, with light oak, wood shavings, stewed dark fruits with a bit of bright fruit trying to burst through.
taste: hot alcohol, i honestly can't believe this is 14.3%, it drinks far more like a 15+% cab. A bit of pepper and green pepper and some fruit, it's all masked under the alcohol and oak. Light tannins in the back.
Finish: short.

I had one glass of this during dinner that I thought was fine, the alcohol seemed to have toned down and a dark fruit taste came out mixed with light oak. But then it just disappeared. No one else at the table tasted it.

But did you LIKE it? You and jbohonow have been packed.

cheron98 wrote:But did you LIKE it? You and jbohonow have been packed.

not a fan at listing price. soso at woot price

clayfu wrote:Aight tasting from tonight.

I drank 1 oz at 3pm and let it sit open till 7pm. Poured in a glass...
Nose: heat, with light oak, wood shavings, stewed dark fruits with a bit of bright fruit trying to burst through.
taste: hot alcohol, i honestly can't believe this is 14.3%, it drinks far more like a 15+% cab. A bit of pepper and green pepper and some fruit, it's all masked under the alcohol and oak. Light tannins in the back.
Finish: short.

I had one glass of this during dinner that I thought was fine, the alcohol seemed to have toned down and a dark fruit taste came out mixed with light oak. But then it just disappeared. No one else at the table tasted it.

just to be clear, you brought this to your tasting, but you were the only one who tasted it? may i ask why? just curious.

themostrighteous wrote:just to be clear, you brought this to your tasting, but you were the only one who tasted it? may i ask why? just curious.

woops, meant to say no one else tasted that one moment where the wine was good.

The WOOTers have worn me down. 20% discount on 6 bottles or more ordered of my website, this includes the Library. Put WOOT in the message area and we'll manually discount the wine (my website isn't as sophisticated as others!).

Michigan reporting in - mine's out for delivery. Looks like this didn't follow the normal "Go to NY then head West to MI" route - it went to Illinois first. (Epiphany did the same thing)

WD - did you change the reefer truck method? Are there two now, one that heads to NY for the east coast states and one that heads to IL for the midwest states? Or should I be expecting ketchup packets? Cuz IL is the first 'location' that UPS has for this... last time I got ketchup packets, it was direct from CA first.

cheron98 wrote:Michigan reporting in - mine's out for delivery. Looks like this didn't follow the normal "Go to NY then head West to MI" route - it went to Illinois first. (Epiphany did the same thing)

WD - did you change the reefer truck method? Are there two now, one that heads to NY for the east coast states and one that heads to IL for the midwest states? Or should I be expecting ketchup packets? Cuz IL is the first 'location' that UPS has for this... last time I got ketchup packets, it was direct from CA first.

I think the reefer truck changed destinations to IL instead of NY. My Clif and Zahtila show an origin in IL yesterday, a stop in OH today, and scheduled delivery to me in NY tomorrow.

Cesare wrote:I think the reefer truck changed destinations to IL instead of NY. My Clif and Zahtila show an origin in IL yesterday, a stop in OH today, and scheduled delivery to me in NY tomorrow.

I think that makes more sense than going to NY and then having stuff sent back west.

cheron98 wrote:I think that makes more sense than going to NY and then having stuff sent back west.

No! It should come to me in NY first and then to you.
Heh it doesn't matter... temps are low 80s around here all week and 70s at night so our wines should be safe for the day or two they are with UPS. My shipment has just hit Northern NJ a few minutes ago so they're on their way to NY on time.

I'm in Michigan too, though Metro Detroit area. My tracking number still just says Billing Information Received and that was on the 7th. Did anyone else have it show up before it said anything?

ivirmp3 wrote:I'm in Michigan too, though Metro Detroit area. My tracking number still just says Billing Information Received and that was on the 7th. Did anyone else have it show up before it said anything?

Metro Detroit?! Dude, we have a gathering this Saturday - see my signature for the link. Come join us!

clayfu wrote:Aight tasting from tonight.

I drank 1 oz at 3pm and let it sit open till 7pm. Poured in a glass...
Nose: heat, with light oak, wood shavings, stewed dark fruits with a bit of bright fruit trying to burst through.
taste: hot alcohol, i honestly can't believe this is 14.3%, it drinks far more like a 15+% cab. A bit of pepper and green pepper and some fruit, it's all masked under the alcohol and oak. Light tannins in the back.
Finish: short.


I had one glass of this during dinner that I thought was fine, the alcohol seemed to have toned down and a dark fruit taste came out mixed with light oak. But then it just disappeared. No one else at the table tasted it.

Wow. It is so funny how tastes vary from person to person. I am sipping this right now. Fresh out of the bottle there is heat for sure, but 15 minutes in it is already calming down beautifully. I'm getting dark fruit, berries, vanilla and I swear I had a huge whiff of violets.

Napa cabs are the vineyard equivalent of my mama's meatloaf to me - in other words, my comfort food, my baseline for what wine should taste like - so I admit extreme prejudice. But I am so surprised a taster like you didn't get the berries and (unstewed) dark fruits. Wait, isn't that an annoying commercial jingle – never mind, I think that one is berries and cream. Back to my point. I am lovin' it. Thank you, Laura.

nallie wrote:Wow. It is so funny how tastes vary from person to person. I am sipping this right now. Fresh out of the bottle there is heat for sure, but 15 minutes in it is already calming down beautifully. I'm getting dark fruit, berries, vanilla and I swear I had a huge whiff of violets.

Napa cabs are the vineyard equivalent of my mama's meatloaf to me - in other words, my comfort food, my baseline for what wine should taste like - so I admit extreme prejudice. But I am so surprised a taster like you didn't get the berries and (unstewed) dark fruits. Wait, isn't that an annoying commercial jingle – never mind, I think that one is berries and cream. Back to my point. I am lovin' it. Thank you, Laura.

I must report also, I loved this wine with an excellent charcoaled ribeye. My hats of to you Laura also!
Thanks Laura!!!

i'm in Chitown. got my order yesterday. fastest w.w delivery EVER!

themostrighteous wrote:i'm in Chitown. got my order yesterday. fastest w.w delivery EVER!

Yeah seriously, I wasn't expecting mine so quickly. But I definitely think they've changed their shipping habits, and for the better. I like the new packaging, even though it's BLOODY HARD to get out of the box. More insulation. Less earth-friendly, but who cares about the earth these days? And it definitely seems like the reefer truck made at least a stop in IL first if not having IL as the final destination for UPS to pick it up. Which makes sense - truck it out half way across the country and unload the midwest shipments, then go to NY and unload the east coast shipments. Much more efficient.

And my bottles were all COLD to the touch. Not just cool, but COLD. Once I won the fight with the styrofoam, at least.

cheron98 wrote:Yeah seriously, I wasn't expecting mine so quickly. But I definitely think they've changed their shipping habits, and for the better. I like the new packaging, even though it's BLOODY HARD to get out of the box. More insulation. Less earth-friendly, but who cares about the earth these days? And it definitely seems like the reefer truck made at least a stop in IL first if not having IL as the final destination for UPS to pick it up. Which makes sense - truck it out half way across the country and unload the midwest shipments, then go to NY and unload the east coast shipments. Much more efficient.

And my bottles were all COLD to the touch. Not just cool, but COLD. Once I won the fight with the styrofoam, at least.

my guess is that packaging will go back to earth-friendly cardboard when the weather turns cooler.

nallie wrote:Wow. It is so funny how tastes vary from person to person. I am sipping this right now. Fresh out of the bottle there is heat for sure, but 15 minutes in it is already calming down beautifully. I'm getting dark fruit, berries, vanilla and I swear I had a huge whiff of violets.

Napa cabs are the vineyard equivalent of my mama's meatloaf to me - in other words, my comfort food, my baseline for what wine should taste like - so I admit extreme prejudice. But I am so surprised a taster like you didn't get the berries and (unstewed) dark fruits. Wait, isn't that an annoying commercial jingle – never mind, I think that one is berries and cream. Back to my point. I am lovin' it. Thank you, Laura.

oh i got the berries and fruit, they were just overwhelmed by the alcohol and oak

ladyofwine wrote:The WOOTers have worn me down. 20% discount on 6 bottles or more ordered of my website, this includes the Library. Put WOOT in the message area and we'll manually discount the wine (my website isn't as sophisticated as others!).

Laura I don't know if you're still around, but I received my 2004 CS today, but the enclosed winery sheet was for the 2006 Chardonnay offering. Now I have mismatched paperwork. But, just to show you how flexible I am, I am willing to accept delivery of the proper 2004 CS sheet if you'll include three bottles of the 2006 Chardonnay.

Thanks

How long do deliveries take? This is my first woot.wine purchase and the tracking info says it has not been sent to UPS yet..I'm in CT

And my order says shipping information received on 8/5. Just how far is Vermont from the rest of the US (geographically speaking, of course)? I'm thirsty!

I still haven't received notification of my order being shipped.

There's a thread on summer shipping somewhere, basically if you live back east:

1: Wine gets a UPS tracking code and you get sent an e-mail
2: Wine gets put on a non-UPS refrigerated truck to an undisclosed location on the east coast or midwest, this takes a week or two, or more, depending.
3: Wine gets dropped off at a UPS hub that is close enough to afford 2-day transit times to you, at which point the wine enters the UPS system and you'll start seeing tracking updates.

It's a good thing. Most other reputable sites make you ship two-day or overnight, or they won't ship in the summer at all.

schuey wrote:I still haven't received notification of my order being shipped.

Apparently shipping notifications weren't being sent out for a while. Check your order (under your account) and you may see the tracking info there. Both my Zahtila orders have been presented to UPS, but I never got email notifications. I did get one for the Wellington 3+?, though.

I still haven't received my shipment, but have had the tracking number since 8/7 (status says "billing information received"). Anyone else still waiting???

LoonBoarder wrote:Apparently shipping notifications weren't being sent out for a while. Check your order (under your account) and you may see the tracking info there. Both my Zahtila orders have been presented to UPS, but I never got email notifications. I did get one for the Wellington 3+?, though.

Thanks Loon>
It appears both my Laura Z. and Wellington Mystery made it on the same truck. Should have them by Friday.

schuey wrote:Thanks Loon>
It appears both my Laura Z. and Wellington Mystery made it on the same truck. Should have them by Friday.

Same here...along with the White Trio, the Clif and the Mystery offering. I thought there was one truck a week or something, am I crazy?? My bosses are gunna be pissed when they see the wall of wine that gets delivered tomorrow!! Although, I'm sure they'll be OK if I bring a bottle to lunch!

Zahtila(*2) and Wellington*2 out for delivery today. Mailroom is gonna love me.

[edit: yes, yes they do love me.]

bkarney wrote:Same here...along with the White Trio, the Clif and the Mystery offering. I thought there was one truck a week or something, am I crazy?? My bosses are gunna be pissed when they see the wall of wine that gets delivered tomorrow!! Although, I'm sure they'll be OK if I bring a bottle to lunch!

All four orders delivered in perfect condition....as always! Thanks again WD for everything you do and I love the new packaging, all of the bottles were cool to the touch upon arrival. Stellar job!

Other people in Michigan have received their orders over a week ago. Mine still says it has not been shipped. Woot customer service just tells you to wait longer. They offer no explanation of what is going on.

ivirmp3 wrote:Other people in Michigan have received their orders over a week ago. Mine still says it has not been shipped. Woot customer service just tells you to wait longer. They offer no explanation of what is going on.

I haven't gotten mine yet, either. Usually, WOOT is awesome about sending things out quickly... I don't know if she ran out of wine, or what, but I've never had to wait 2.5 weeks for an order. I was thinking the guys in the mailroom were having a party until I checked UPS.. they haven't even shipped yet. Basically, if yours says "billing info scanned", that means that they have notified UPS that they are going to send something, but it hasn't been picked up for shipment yet. Thought I'd try to save some of you folks 15 minutes of hold music.

Just received my order today - a week AFTER I received my Wellington Mystery pack order!!