Note: Listen, I can't stop you from reading this if you are under 21, but, let me tell you, drinking is only cool for 21+ and it's only to be done in limited doses. Don't be that person who drinks and drives or drinks a bit too much alcohol. Also, I wasn't sent this box for review, I paid for it on my own. K, thanks. Let's get into this review, shall we?
Ya girl loves wine. I am a champion of $6-$10 dollar bottles, and sometimes my wine sets in the fridge for a bit too long. But, I decided to try a wine box, because treat yo self, amirite? So, I wanted to try this magical box called Bright Cellars because it looked amazing and I had a half off coupon.
Related Reading: I Tried Freshly For Two Weeks: This Is My Honest Review
Bright Cellars Subscription Process
Bright Cellars is different from other wine subscription services. First, you take this interesting 7 question quiz. This gets to know you a bit and asks for some of your wine preferences.
Once you are done with your quiz, you get some wine suggestions. You can then swap things out as you wish after reading more about them, or just let them pick what they wish. I personally didn't adjust my list, because I wanted to see what they would pick for me based on my quiz answers. I did tell them that I loved white wine the most though!
Each wine they suggest is given a score (which they call Bright Points) based on how much they think you will like the wine based on your quiz answers.
Bright Cellars Pricing
Bright Cellars is $60 a month plus $8 in shipping for a total of $68. For $68 you get 4 bottles of wine delivered to your doorstep. That makes each bottle around $15 no matter which bottles you end up getting.
Bright Cellars Delivery
When it comes to getting Bright Cellars, you have to be very careful. I had a few issues with FedEx myself as I got my Bright Cellars delivery.
I got my delivery the week of Memorial Day. It was originally supposed to be delivered on Thursday, but it didn't actually end up getting to me on Thursday. Apparently the delivery driver said I wasn't available even though he didn't honk and I was in the living room waiting all afternoon for him. I was in the living room at the time he said he dropped by.
Then It was on the truck for delivery on Friday. It ended up getting to me that day as the delivery driver actually tried to get it to me and even pulled into my driveway, unlike the other driver.
All this to say, it's really important that you get to the delivery ASAP. FedEx (and I am sure UPS too) will attempt delivery 3 times before they leave it at their facility for an extra 5 days. After that, it will be sent back to Bright Cellars and I am sure you will have to pay some sort of fee to get it resent.
So, you need to make sure that someone is at your house or office that's 21+ with an ID available to sign for the package. K?
The Wines
So, here are the various wines that came in my box. I tried each of these wines with my mom and dad so that you would have a few different reviews of each wine. Yum!
Crypsis Zinfandel-Montepulciano
Year: 2016
Origin: California
How They Describe It: A rich, powerful blend of California Zinfandel and Montepulciano, this wine is characterized by ripe, jammy fruit flavors like raspberry, strawberry, and blackberry alongside earthier notes of spicy black pepper and dried leaves. The perfect pairing for your next grill-out, this wine pairs best with dishes that are equally bold.
Bright Points: 90
My Families Review: This was the first wine we tried. I wanted to get it out of the way seeing as it was the only red in this selection of wines. Here's the short story: it was okay.
Long story: it was definitely not a wine that I would have gravitated to. It was what I would call a meat and potatoes wine. We cooked out the day we had this wine so it was an interesting combination to go with that, but I definitely wouldn't have picked this up for myself. I feel the pepper was a bit overpowering as that's most of what I could taste personally, and I could also taste a bit of the blackberry. I feel that the raspberry and strawberry flavors were lost in this wine.
I also felt this wine would be the kind you drink when you have a cigar in one hand, sitting in a Man Cave with a plush robe on. Oddly specific thoughts, I know, but that's just the vibe I got from this wine.
My mom didn't like this wine at all. She said it reminded of her some random cheap wine, which I have never personally tasted, but by her dislike of the wine I am sure it wasn't a good thing.
My dad agreed with a lot of my points about the wine being more a meat and potatoes wine.
Overall, it was an easy sip for the most part, but I will likely just give the rest of this one to my dad and call it a day.
Circa 33 Moscato
Year: 2017
Origin: California
How They Describe It: A classic example of a California Moscato, this wine is sweet and fruity. Ripe fruit aromas of mango, peach, and pear are complemented by perfumy notes of orange blossom and honey. The sweetness found in this wine lends it to pair perfectly with spicy foods.
Bright Points: 93
My Families Review: This was a very easy wine to drink. It was so yummy and you could actually taste the fruit in this wine. I am a white wine lover in general, though, so it's easy to see why I would love this moscato.
It's great for sipping or for gulping (if you want!)
Both my parents thought that this wine was very great. This was the second wine we tried and we all preferred it, obviously, over the meat and potatoes red wine we drank. We thought this wine was definitely more in line with the type of wine we'd gravitate towards as a family (we gravitate towards fruity and sweeter wine.)
White Willow Verdelho
Year: 2017
Origin: Riverina, Australia
How They Describe It: With a lighter body and elevated acidity, this Australian Verdelho is great for sipping on its own, or pairing with lighter courses. Notes of tropical pineapple and juicy cantaloupe are balanced by lifted aromas of starfruit and lime zest. Try pairing with spicy chorizo tostadas or tortilla chips with tropical salsa.
Bright Points: 92
My Families Review: Gonna be straight with you, this was disgusting. I tried this with my family, and they can attest to how much I didn't like this wine. At the end I literally had to plug my nose to get it down.
Here's why: it reminded me of a Lime-A-Rita, yep the lime beer made by Anheuser-Busch, which I also cannot stand. The lime zest in this wine was SO overpowering that I could not taste any of the other flavors this wine was supposed to have like pineapple and cantaloupe. I was really looking forward to this wine, too!
If you are a fan of lime, you will love this wine, if you aren't, you will hate this this wine.
Life In the Woods Walden White Blend
Year: 2017
Origin: California
How They Describe It: With a touch of tropical sweetness and crisp, balanced acidity, this California white blend is characteristically ripe and juicy. Bright, lifted citrus notes accompany soft florals like jasmine and orange blossom for a round texture and medium body. This wine is perfect for brunch, pairing exquisitely with fruit salad, spicy chilaquiles, or goat cheese stuffed French toast.
Bright Points: 95
My Families Review: I tried this one on my own, and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. It wasn't the worst one I tasted, but it wasn't the best one either. I was really expecting this one to knock it out of the park based on the fact that it had the highest Bright Points rating.
Overall, I was just disappointed with this one. It was easy to go down and this citrus didn't completely take over, but I feel like they got my view of wine completely wrong with this one. It's a white wine, which I loved, but it's not the favorite one I drank for this review.
Conclusion
Okay, as an Arbor Mist bitch, Bright Cellars was probably not the wine subscription for me.
This is not the kind of wine to drink if you like your wine so sweet it's like juice, which is honestly the kind of wine drinker I am.
I did like the experience of getting curated wine sent to my door. I don't drink a ton, so getting all of this wine sent to my door was an experience, to say the least.
Overall, here are my rankings:
- Circa 33 Moscato
- Life In the Woods Walden White blend
- Crypsis Zinfandel-Montepulciano
- White Willow Verdelho
These are the rankings that I have come up with, but I honestly still don't think that these are the wines I will turn to after a hard day's work.
I hope that you loved today's honest review of Bright Cellars. Please, do not use this as a deterrent from giving the brand at least one try. I am sure that Bright Cellars will work for some people, but it was just not my glass of Moscato.
The Comments
Qualyshee'
As a Mississippian who gravitates to mostly sweet wine herself, I was looking into testing the waters with this service. I appreciate that you took the time out to break down each wine, and gave your humble and unbiased thoughts. I personally took the above mentioned quiz several times, tweaking as I went along, and somehow Life in the Woods, as well as Circa 33 continued to appear as a part of my end results. At first, I was hesitant about looking more into purchasing Circa 33 because I abhor the taste of raspberries and cherries. However, after it earning the #1 slot on your list, I’m reconsidering. I just want to extend a thank you from one southerner to another, as well as share with you my top three personal favorites.
1) “Sweet Walter White” by Bully Hill
2) “Stella Rosa – Black”.
Also, if you are ever around the Orlando, Fl area I highly recommend going to Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards for a wine tasting, or just to purchase a bottle of (3). Unfortunately, they don’t ship to our area as of yet.
3) “Southern White”
Thank You once again!
– Qua 😀