A few weeks ago, a coworker and I were talking about my blog and he asked a question that I’ve received a number of times, so I thought I would share with all of my readers:

How do you get your wine samples and how many samples do you normally received?

I never ask for samples, although some bloggers are more than willing to call a winery and ask for a bottle or two.  Instead, all of the samples I receive are ones where the folks from the winery or the marketing agency approach me.

Once I receive an email about samples, I check to make sure that the person is ok with my policy (it’s posted on the top right of the website, if you haven’t seen it), particularly as I review all wines honestly (just because it’s a sample doesn’t mean it will automatically receive a good review).  I’ve never had anyone have problem with the policy, but I assume that’s because it’s prominently posted on my site and anyone who would have a problem with it wouldn’t email to begin with.

Some marketing agencies and wineries maintain media sample lists, so once I’ve received samples from them, every time they send out samples, I receive an unexpected, but very welcome surprise.  Other marketing agencies and wineries will email every time they send out samples to make sure that I’m still willing to review the wine, which is fine with me.

The number of sample wines I receive fluctuates with the season and depends upon who is sending the samples.  Sometimes a sample package will have one bottle and sometimes it will be half a case.  On average, though, I receive about six sample bottles a month.  Since Hubby and I live in a one-bedroom condo, I don’t have much wine storage space.  Six bottles is enough wine to keep me in samples while still allowing me to buy some wine to keep in my rack. Between the samples and the wines I buy, I try to keep a variety of white and red, types of grapes, and price ranges, this way I have a wine to fit every mood.

Cheers!
-Alleigh

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