Hi guys. Just a quickie to let you know that four new bonus bottles have been added to the store’s inventory, including the 2006 Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 Great Whatsit Syrah, 2005 Flying Goat Cellars Rio Vista Pinot Noir, and the 2006 El Nido Clio, a highly collectible wine from Jumilla, Spain and made by Chris Ringland. These bottles are $1 each, with purchases of $25, $50, $75 and $100 respectively. Quantities are extremely limited, so go get ‘em while supplies last. Only one bonus bottle per customer, per order, not to be combined with other offers. Cheers!

Orders of $85 qualify for this fantastic Rioja, which is a blend of 50% Tempranillo and 50% Garnacha from one plot of vineyard land. They don’t designate “single vineyards” in Spain the same way that is done in the US, hence the “IX” in the wine’s name, which refers to a specific spot on the property from which the fruit for this wine comes. The heat of the 2003 vintage is evident in the intensity of the flavors, but there’s a deft balance that keeps lots of old world qualities at the fore of this, making it a captivating wine.

As with other bonus bottle orders, your cart must total the minimum ($85 for this one) and then you can add the bonus bottle from the store for just $1.00. Virtually free (but not quite, which keeps things legal!).

Insert appropriate legalese here (while supplies last, etc…).

With orders of $100, use coupon code “veraton” and receive a bottle of the 2005 Alto Moncayo Veraton as a bonus ($32 value). Alto Moncayo is one of Aussie winemaker’s Chris Ringland’s Spanish projects (in addition to the El Nido and El Nido Clio wines). It’s 100% Garnacha (that’s Grencache to us English speakers), and sees 17 months in American and French oak (not sure how much is new).

The Veraton is actually the entry level wine from the Alto Moncayo series, and we think that the QPR at $32 is not to be beaten. It may have a bit more palpable structure and grit than the next level up, the $47 Alto Moncayo, but we like the sensation of the tannins and acidity, and think that it’s built to last. Also, given the 33% discount in price from its big brother, the Veraton still proves a better value, even if silky-smooth-vanilla-oak is more your speed. The Veraton has plenty of these qualities without tipping the balance and becoming an unctuous wine. For us, that’s a good thing.

We have a limited number of bottles available so go place your orders ASAP and get this Spanish beauty as a bonus. Don’t forget to use the coupon codes…when the wine runs out, the code will stop working.

Last week we experimented with an incentive…order a certain dollar amount, and get a bonus bottle with your order. We started off with a bang (or maybe a shake) with some wines from Mollydooker. It was a great success — all the Gigglepot Cab is gone, though nobody really went for the sparkling Shiraz — so we’re going to make this a semi-regular thing. We’ve also decided to call this our “Bonus Bottle” program.

Here’s our offer for Bonus Bottle number two. We’re moving closer to home this week, with the 2005 Jack William “The King” Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley. When we first carried this, it retailed for $37 a bottle and we felt it was a steal even then. We far prefer this wine to Silver Oak and Jordan, two Alexander Valley perennials that are more about hype and brand name than integrity of the juice.

A couple of weeks ago, we got the last cases available from our distributor and were able to lower the price to $27 as the vintage was being closed out. So the wine went from a great value to an even greater one. And you can make it an even better deal — in fact, a veritable steal.

Make a purchase of $85 or more, and use the code “king” during check-out to get a bonus bottle of this fantastic Cabernet with your order. In fact, the way our coupon codes work out, you’ll also be saving a penny off the total. Limited quantity of bonus bottles available. When the supply runs out, the code will stop working. So go get yourself some wine and a bonus bottle now!