Platinum Series Wine Club Review

Platinum Series Wine Club Review

The Platinum Series by Gold Medal is one of their premium-level clubs and at this price-point, Gold Medal brings its customers impressive California wines, ready to drink now or to rest a bit in the cellar. Every wine in this high-end wine subscription is rated 90 points or higher. Each shipment contains two noteworthy wines and their full-color tasting sheets giving you all of the info you need and want about the wines.

In 10+ years of reviewing Gold Medal Wine Club, we're sure they offer one of the better Premium wine clubs. They constantly strive to wow their customers — and their customers' lucky gift recipients.

Being a member of a Gold Medal Wine Club is like being a member of every winery wine club in California. Gold Medal wine club members get very similar pricing to the winery's own wine club members (sometimes better). Of course you do miss out on those fun wine-club pick-up parties, but then again, you get the wine shipped right to your door and don't have to lug it home!

The Platinum Wine Club comes with several options:

• The standard subscription is two bottles, pick Mostly Red or Always Red wine.
• Upgrade to the four-bottle version double your fun — save 5%.
• Upgrade to the Plus Program which features wine of the same caliber as the regular membership, but there aren't enough to go around. The Platinum Plus Program members get these ultra-rare gems all to themselves.
• Get delivery monthly, every other month, or quarterly.
• Choose anywhere from 1-12 shipments, or an ongoing subscription until you cancel.
• And of course, like any proper wine club, there are no sign-up fees and you can cancel any time.

Wine Review

Our reviewed shipment included the Sagebrush Annie's Cabernet Sauvingon from Santa Barbara County (retail price $60). Let's just say the last bottle of wine we tried from Sagebrush Annie's (an old-vine Merlot) knocked our socks off and this one was also excellent.

The other gem in this shipment is one we're very familiar with. 2012 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir (retail price $60) from Dragonette Cellars — one of our most favorite wineries. We tasted this at the Dragonette tasting room in Los Olivos a week before we received this bottle, and we already knew it was a great choice.

Some of their more recent shipments include these droolworthy selections:

• Grimm's Bluff 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon (Happy Canyon, California, only 100 cases produced). This vineyard's impeccable background was selected by Dragonette Vineyards as they source new grapes to expand their lineup.
• Kimsey 2015 Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley, Califorina, only 249 cases produced). Syrah wine produced from fruit grown in this area is outrageously good. Stolpman Vineyards is located in Ballard Canyon and they're famous for their Syrah.
• Potek 2014 Syrah (Sta. Rita Hills, California, only 184 cases produced). Potek has a stellar reputation among serious winos in Santa Barbara. We're fans of winemaker David Potter's "side project," Municipal Winemakers, too.
• Joseph Jewell 2016 Grist Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California, only 200 cases produced). Zinfandel thrives in Dry Creek Valley, expressing just the right amount of brambly dark fruits and spices without too much alcohol.

Gold Medal Wine Club is located in Santa Barbara and they definitely have a bias toward the wines of Santa Barbara County. We can't blame them — when it comes to exceptional quality and taste, the Santa Barbara region overdelivers on value. No need to pay Napa prices to get amazing red wine these days.

Membership Benefits

Discount Opportunities. Gold Medal does not regularly offer an introductory offer, though during peak holidays like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Christmas you'll find free gifts with purchase like gourmet truffles (chocolate) and wine accessories.

Gold Medal does offer discounts on reorders, while supplies last—buy 2-5 bottles more and pay the regular price, buy 6-11 bottles and save up to 10%, buy 12-23 bottles and save up to 12%, buy 24 or more bottles and save up to 15%. Four-bottle members save more on reorders.

Lastly, members-only special deals are limited. There are occasionally members-only sales. Since their wines are already very competitively priced, we don't mind that there aren't more offers coming from them.

Customer Service Record. In 14+ years of working with Gold Medal we have never had a single customer complaint. That's amazing to us. Our usual Internet sleuthing failed to turn up any customer complaints. Kudos to them!

Satisfaction Guarantee. In our eyes, this is the weakest aspect of the Gold Medal wine club program and it's why they don't have a 5-star rating from us. They say "Satisfaction Guaranteed" on their website, but what they really mean is that they believe you'll love what they ship, not that they'll replace anything you don't like as most other clubs of this caliber promise.

Their Return Policy: “If a shipment is damaged in transit we will replace the product at no additional charge. If the wine is corked from the winery, we will replace the bottle at no charge. On the rare occasion members receive the wrong product, a discount is offered, or the shipment can be returned at no-charge to the member.”

That said, we'd be genuinely surprised and concerned if you received a stinker from Gold Medal.

Convenience. Gold Medal is a more old-fashioned company. If you need to hold your service for a vacation or want to cancel your membership you'll need to call and speak to someone during regular business hours. You can handle reorders yourself online, as well as see a record of the wines you've received and when you received them.

Wine Education. The Platinum Series wine club comes with a two-page brief on each wine included in the box. They discuss at length the winery and winemakers, and then a section covering all the essentials about the wine itself.

Who Should Join the Platinum Wine Club?

As a luxury wine club featuring boutique wines from California wineries, we think this club is perfect for:

• Red wine lovers who prefer California wine to other regions
• Entertainers who want to impress their guests
• Anyone who wants to drink ultra-premium California red wine and doesn't want to have to find it themselves

Platinum Wine Club sounds good but you want wines that are even more rare? Try their Garagiste Wine Club.

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