Brian Grafstrom wrote:
Russ’s point about the coupons not applying to products whose price ends with a “7” is true, but there are plenty of wines you WOULD be interested in buying that the coupons will work for.
I agree with this. For 2014 Bordeaux and Barsac, I was also able to find Haut Bailly for $64, Clinet for $56, Domaine de Chevalier and GPL for $48, Coutet for $36 and Climens for $64. These are all after the 20% coupon kicked in.
Russ Williams wrote:
The stores here still do not have the '15 Ridge Geyserville in stock.
Slight thread drift here, Russ, but we went up to Ridge a few weeks ago and they said that they are sold out of 2015 Geyserville in both locations. They are not pouring it or selling it currently.
FWIW, general sales are allowed and take place from time to time. Right before the holidays it was 20% off Bordeaux (except for the first growths and a handful of other wines ending in 7) and I was able to get very nice prices on a lot of things- including 2014 Palmer.
If you are in Texas, just watch the website for periodic additional discounts advertised to all. But that is about all we get here- the membership alone does not get additional discounts for the reason CJ noted.
For my part, I am very happy to have Total Wine here. The retail system here has largely abandoned Bordeaux and now Total Wine is the only way to readily obtain just about anything one might want- and at good prices plus with good storage.
Yep, I used their 15% old world wines discount last weekend to buy some 2012 Quinault L’Enclos for $37. Looks like the '15s EP are starting at around $33 on W-S. Not a bad deal. Regarding the 7s limitation, they had several great wines not ending in 7, including '05 and '11 Yquem.
I get the email coupons for Nevada and Cali. Don’t buy from them often unless they have something I’m looking for at NorCal or Reno stores. Example: Always on the look out for my fave Champagnes. They lock out most DP’s and NV Krug with a “7” on the last digit of the price. However, vintage Krug has a price that still ends with a “9”. Only one of the 5 local stores had '02s, so a bought their 3 bottles last week at $195 a pop after their 20% coupon. Expensive bubbles, yes, but some people are paying $300+ for auction bottles of this stuff these days.
Bottom line is they are always worth a look if you are shopping for something specific and have coupons in hand.
Didn’t we just have this exact same discussion on TW last month??
I agree with both of Brian’s posts. For this group, TW is never going to be your end-all, be-all shop, but they have a nice selection of everything from mass produced wines, to mid/high-end Bordeaux (even some with age on them), to somewhat more limited Cali wines (check out the glass cases if you’re looking for the higher-end stuff).
As we’ve confirmed in past threads, the selection varies big time by location, so don’t fully give up on TW if you happen. To live close to a shitty one. 15% off coupons are pretty consistent, but you’re better off waiting for the 20% off which you’ll receive once you sign up for the free membership (and more frequently once you spend enough to reach reserve or grand reserve status). True, you can not use them for wines ending in 7, but I’ve rarely found that to be a problem. Per Roberts example, there’s plenty of really good deals to be had when you use the coupons and shop smartly.