Welcome to the Wine Tasting Club

TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE AFFORDABLE HIGHLY RATED RED WINE TASTING AND THE PREVIOUS CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAY TASTING,

SCROLL DOWN TO THE END OF THE DOCUMENT.

Welcome to the Boardwalk Caper Wine Tasting Club, affectionately known as “In Vino Veritas”. For the past 15 years, we’ve been delighted to share the joy of wine tasting with our community.

Our Unique Approach

Unlike many wine clubs, we are a purely educational WINE TASTING CLUB. Our mission is to explore and appreciate wines without commercial influence. The cost of each tasting is simply divided among participants—no extra fees, no wine sales, and no special supplier discounts. Although, we do have a soft spot for Costco due to its consistent values.

How We Taste

Our gatherings feature themed tastings, such as “California Chardonnay.” To participate, submit your donation before the event to ensure we have the right amount of wine.

At the event:

Blind Tasting: Wines are covered to hide producer identity and price. Pourers offer 1oz samples, and with around 7 wines, you’re encouraged to taste each one twice.
Purpose of Blind Tasting:

Trust Your Palate: Without psychological cues like labels, bottle shapes, or celebrity endorsements, you rely solely on taste.

Wine as Food: Wine is an epicurean delight meant to be enjoyed with food. A variety of foods will be available, enhancing your tasting experience.

Evolving Tastes: Your wine preferences grow over time. Embrace the journey of discovering new flavors.

Voting and Revelations

After tasting, you’ll vote for your favorite wine. We’ll tally the votes, reveal the group’s top choice, and unveil all the wines.

Join us on this flavorful journey and connect with fellow wine enthusiasts in a warm and welcoming atmosphere!!!

In fact our club motto is “attentive drinking in a curious and relaxed atmosphere with food and friends!”.

A VOTRE SANTE!

TOM ARNOLD

[email protected]

THE 90/20 RULE.

The 90/20 rule is a rule of thumb for finding value when purchasing a wine. Briefly, a wine that has a 90 point or higher rating from either Wine Advocate (WA), Wine Spectator (WS), James Suckling (JS) or Wine Enthusiast (WE) and costs $20 or less is almost always worth a try. The higher the score and the lower the price equals better value. Think of the 90/20 matrix as the “sweet spot” of value!

Both of the two recent tastings applied this rule, aka “Bobby's Rule” named for a friend who first proposed it to me, was put to the test. The selections were all based on the roaring verses the cost.

Results of the AFFORDABLE HIGHLY RATED RED WINE tasting, March 19 ,2026, In order of preference.

Forty seven participants voting.

Unlike the previous tasting, the voting was very tight, only a 3 vote margin separated the top 3 wines and only a 3 vote margin separated the last 4! On any given night the order of preference could have been very different. There was a clear difference between the most preferred wines and the rest with 28 votes for the first 3 wines, more than 50% of those voting.

SOME TAKEAWAYS:

1. The top wine, the 2021 Clos de Luz “Massal 1945” from Chile, hits all the markers for a “super value” wine using our 90/20 rule. I would keep a few bottles or even a case to have over the next two years or so.

2. The Kirkland Malbec, while it scored some what lower in the rankings, is one of our house wines. It is especially good with grilled lamb chops and an ideal crowd pleaser that won’t break the bank. Given the quality versus the price, it is hard to beat. This is a “case buy” wine.

3. I was asked at the tasting if there were other value wines comparable to the Kirkland Malbec that I knew of. The one that jumps to mind is a box wine. I would not hesitate to recommend this wine because it is produced by the Perrin family of Chateauneuf-du-Pape fame from grapes grown in the Rhone Valley in southern France.

La Vieille Ferme, known by its fans as the “chicken” wine (due to its label), it is a 3 liter=4 bottle box for $20 at our local ABC. It is available in red, white, and rose and will keep in the fridge after opening nearly forever due to its plastic bags liner which all but eliminates contact with air, the enemy of all wine. All in all, great everyday sipper with a low carbon footprint, perfect for travel and as an “any time” wine.

Aperitif Wine

CHIARLI LAMBRUSCO

“Vecchia Modena Premium”

Lambrusco di Sorbara, Italy

N.V. $16.98, 90V, B-21

The tasting results are as follows:

People’s Choice, 11 votes

Table A, Paul

2021 Clos de Luz Massal “1945”

Carmenere, Chile

$19.98, 93WA, 91JS

B-21

Second best, 9 votes

Table C, Kathryn

2022 Alary “La Jean de Verde”

GSM blend

Cairanne,(kay-ran) Cru Cotes de Rhone, France

$34.98, 97WA, B-21

Middle, 8 votes

Table E, Marge

2022 Marietta “Roman”

Zinfandel, Sonoma, Ca.

$17.98, 92WA, B-21

Lower Middle, 6 votes

Table F, Kathy

2021 Ruffino Chianti Classico

“Riserva Ducale Tan Label”

Sangiovese, Italy

$19.98, 93WS #17 top 100

B-21

Next to Last, 5 votes

Table B, Sheryll

2024 Kirkland Signature

Malbec, Argentina

$6.99, 91JS Costco

Least Appealing, 4 votes each

Table D, Greg

2021 Avignonesi “Nobile”

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Sangiovese, Italy

$22.99, 95JS, B-21

and

Table G, Jack

2022 Juan Gil “Silver Label”

Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain

$13.98, 93WA, B-21

Results of the California Chardonnay tasting, 2/11/2026, in order of preference.

Thirty tasters voting. Despite the exact same rating (WS 93) and the exact same cost ($19.98) there was a clear preference for Patz and Hall in a side by side blind tasting !

N.B. All the wines confirm to the “90/20” rule for finding value, that is, a 90 rated (WS,WA,JS) for $20 or less, is almost always worth a try.

People’s Choice 15 votes

Table F, Marge

Patz+Hall 2022

Sonoma Coast, Ca.,

93 WS

#22 top 100 Values

$19.98 B-21

Second Best, tie 5 votes each

Table A, Kathy

Angeline 2024

California, 90 JS,