Learning about Wines from around the world with The Wine List

*I was kindly provided my first Wine List box in exchange for an honest review 

Having grown up in the Western Cape, South Africa, know for its wine and beautiful wine farms, I naturally have an interest in Wine and it's something I am trying to slowly expand my knowledge on, in fact before COVID changed our travel plans I was hoping to do a small road trip around France and Italy this year with the hope of stopping off at a wine farm or two.

So when The Wine List got in touch to try out their new subscription box - the first wine box focused on learning, I knew I wanted to hear more about it. Firstly I want to say that my approach to drinking wine is that it should be accessible to everyone, I know everyone has their own drinking preference but Wine shouldn't be off the list and if you're unsure where to start The Wine Folly has a great beginners guide to Wine which is worth reading.

Back to The Wine List which is set to make learning about Wine a breeze and also fun by trying out two different types of Wine a month while helping you to develop your knowledge and skills. Each month the box contains two bottles imported directly from small produces and are sustainably made and are worth around £15-£20 each, along with an introduction to Wine tasting, interactive tasting cards and learning plan.

My box contained a bottle of Petite Fugue, an organic French white wine from the Bergerac region made from Sauvignon Gris & sauvignon blanc. What I really liked about the tasting cards was learning more about how this particular wine was made by (aged on the lees for over 10 months) and why this process is done and how it affects the overall appearance and taste of the wine. The tasting cards also give in-depth suggestions of food pairings, including local French food pairings if you feel like going all out on a special night in.

My second bottle was La Zerba, an organic Italian red from the Piedmont region and made from Barbera grapes. I really enjoyed this smooth Red and found the history of this winemaker as La Zerba was an abandoned vineyard which the Volpi family bought in 2003 and have restored the 60-year old Barbara vines to their former glory. It's stories like this that add to the tasting experience and I'd never had known about without the tasting cards.

With each month you also get additional insight into a part of the winemaking process, this month was all about Vessels -  Vessels are used during both fermentation and maturation of the wine and can have a profound effect on the overall taste of a wine and I have to say it's something I've never really thought too much about but found learning more about it really interesting.

So how much does this all cost?

The Wine List, unlike other subscription boxes, fuses a Wine course and Wine tasting into one.

Each monthly box contains two high-end bottles of Wine (mine were both organic this month)
Interactive tasting cards and a learning plan for £39 per month - which is also flexible and you can skip a month or cancel at any time

If you're interested in giving the it a go I have a 30% discount off your first Wine List box by using the code SIDESTREET30 via this link - The Wine List