Navigating Wine

A Word (or two...) About 'value'

Value is technically defined as - relative worth, merit or importance. Value to us goes way beyond just a reasonable price for the quality level of wines you are receiving. It is the best relative cost for the wines within their respective category and/or varietal group over $20. For some, these are "every day" wines, for others, they are "special occasion" wines. Either way, the wines we have chosen are great discoveries for any occasion and express the best value-to-quality ratio you can find.

At Local Wino, we provide the best overall values for the specialty wines we offer (above $25) because we partner with wines that are generally not in the normal distribution channels outside of Napa & Sonoma. What this means to consumers is that you are getting a more hand-crafted wine directly from the winery at small production levels that do not require the huge mark-ups that mass-distributed wines require. A $50 wine in our portfolio would normally sell for $100+ if slated for mass-production or distribution, and over $200 on a restaurant list. And, the best 'value' that we offer is the diligence we have done in tasting 1,000's of wines and selecting only the few best we could present.

About Wine Scores & Ratings

We do not publish any official scores or ratings of the wines in the catalog or on the website. First and foremost, the wines were carefully evaluated and chosen by our own team of professionals in both formal controlled blind tasting and open tasting environments. They are ALL deemed excellent wines for various purposes covering value, presentation, availability, specialty, customer appeal, winemaking style and overall quality.

We have additional perspectives about wine scores as follows:  

• Not all wines can or will ever be submitted for scores. Most of the wines in our catalog are non-distributed specialty wines which will never be submitted for scores. It would be unfair to publish some and not others in this scenario along with our respecting the wishes of many winemakers never submitting for a score.
• Scores are very subjective. Wine scores have their place and can be a decent starting point or guide for some. But, as most close to the wine industry will tell you, they can be inconsistent and even misleading depending on what you actually like in a wine or its intended purpose.
• Scores do not tell the whole story, but we do. We would much rather give you thorough information on the various aspects of the wine, its tasting profile and background to help you make your own educated decisions about what you might like or care to try beyond a number.
• Certain scores can mislead indirectly. Preconceived notions about wines, good or bad, can either lead to disappointment about the wine or poorly represent the wine before you have had a chance to make that judgment for yourself.
• There are no wrong answers regarding your own palate. Experts taste on a completely different level and for different reasons than most consumers. Let your palate decide.

Wine Terminology

Wine can be intimidating at times, even to the most trained and discerning of palates. The terms used to describe wine can often prove to be even more daunting. Although this ‘winespeak’ is very purposeful, it is sometimes difficult to understand the references when you are trying to navigate around descriptions that are important to the wines. We’re here to help. We have created a ‘Watch & Learn’ section on the website to assist you in looking up terms quickly and easily as reference when reading about some of the wines and the winemaker’s notes.

You can go directly to this glossary section at – Watch & Learn

Food & Wine

Wine can take on completely different characteristics when paired with food. Although we have made various suggestions as to our favorite pairings with the wines in this issue, there are very few absolutes in this category and we always suggest experimenting on your own. We’d love to hear about what you thought made a great pairing with any of our wines. Our ‘Food & Wine’ section on the website can assist you in this somewhat tricky category.

Go to – Food & Wine – and experiment with us.

Visiting Wine Country

If you are going to be in the Napa area, feel free to give us a call at 877.768.7608 . There is nothing like “local knowledge” when it comes to wine country and we can help direct you to the best spots for what you are wanting to experience on your visit, even if those wineries are not in our partner network. And, if you're a LocalWino customer, we’ll set you up for special private VIP tastings at any of our wine partners. Think of us as your private wine concierge!

Customer Service - 877.768.7608

We appreciate and respect your patronage. We will continually strive to provide outstanding customer service for all your wine needs along with representing our winery partners in the most professional manner at all times. In an imperfect world, we will always do our best to provide you with enough information to solve any problems that may occur along the way. If at any time you are unsatisfied with our level of service, our owner will make contact with you directly to rectify any situation or you may contact him directly at info@localwino.com . We are also available via phone and fax daily or through our website at all times.