Culture Wine Club Review
Culture Wine Club is an offering from Culture Wine Co., which is the only importer and retailer in the USA that focuses exclusively on the wines of South Africa.
They only represent organic and minimal intervention producers that focus on lean, low ABV, mineral-driven wines and exist to spotlight the world-class, yet wildly underrepresented wines of South Africa.
Plus, they’re dedicated to showcasing wines produced by BIPOC and women, amplifying their voices and contributions within the industry.
In This Review
In this review, I’ll be covering how the Culture Wine Club works, pricing, the club’s pros and cons and some general information about Culture Wine Co.
You’ll also see unboxing pictures of the shipment I was sent, which you’ll find below.
I’ve tasted both the wine samples I was sent and you can bet I’ll share my opinions about the taste of each wine. At the end of the day, the wines in the club need to be of high quality in order for me to recommend the club.
Also, the links in this review are affiliate links. That means if you click through and make a purchase, I’ll get a small commission. However, I’m proud to say my reviews are always my honest opinion, no matter what.
The Story Behind Culture Wine Co.
Back in the summer of 2023 I received an email from this guy, Peter Andrews.
I honestly get a lot of emails from wine clubs looking for exposure. But, I could tell something was different about this one.
Peter told me he had a desire to start a company focusing on the under-served wine region of South Africa. And, he was hoping I might be interested in hearing more about the cause and hopefully consider writing about it.
He had taken a trip to South Africa and discovered a flourishing wine industry with “passionate and skilled producers and a warm community dedicated to crafting exceptional wines.”
He realized no one was championing the wines coming out of South Africa and decided to launch Culture Wine Co. to do just that!
What really amazed me was that he was bootstrapping this whole effort on his own with no investors.
As he put it, he’s starting out as a “one man show.”
That is very rare, from what I’ve seen in the industry. How could I not give him, his company and these wine producers a solid look?
Plus, he’s just a nice, genuine guy who truly believes in what he’s doing.
So, after keeping in touch and watching him launch his company and wine brand, here we are… My honest review of Culture Wine Club!
Sharing Culture Through Wine
On the rear bottle labels, you’re apt to find the Culture Wine Co. mission. Here it is:
Our mission is to partner with soulful, family-owned wineries that produce as naturally as possible and to share the stories of the extraordinary people behind them. We hope you connect with them as much as we do.
Culture Wine Co.
How the Culture Wine Club Works
The club is setup as a membership, where you get two bottles per month of wines that are personally curated by Peter, when you become a club member.
You can also add on individual bottles from the Culture Wine Co. shop, to your monthly shipment.
Additional à-la-carte bottles purchased will ship for free with each wine club shipment AND receive 10% off.
The club bills on the 15th of each month and you are sent emails that tell you what wines you are getting.
You also get tracking information so you know when they will be arriving at your door.
There is also a Wine Shop where you can buy individual wines. At last check there was over 25 wines to choose from.
Culture Wine Club Pricing
The monthly price for the club is $69.00. Shipping is included and club members get 10% off all wines in the wine shop.
Culture Wine also offers Gift Cards from $25 and up to $500 that you can send to someone’s email.
Pros
- Hard to find wines from the under-served wine region of South Africa (specialized market).
- Organic and minimal intervention producers.
- Dedicated to showcasing wines produced by BIPOC and women.
- You can pause or skip deliveries at any time with no extra charge.
- Club members get first priority and notice on any special offers, events or tastings.
- Easy to make adjustments via your online account, email or direct phone line.
Cons
- The club is new and in an increasingly challenging industry.
Culture Wine Club Unboxing
When I read reviews online, I like to see exactly what you get when you buy a product.
So, to show you exactly what you get when you purchase the Culture Wine Club, below you’ll find pictures of what you’ll likely see when you open your box of wine.
Now keep in mind, they ship a different selection each month. So, you probably won’t get the exact same wines I received.
But, you should get a similar package and similar things inside.
I took these pictures in my house with both my Canon camera and my iPhone. The box, and the stuff in it, is on my dining table with a black table cloth on it.
My dining hutch is in the background.
Just keeping it real, honest and genuine!
The Box
Here is the box I received.
As you can see, the box is simple without any branding on it.
Peter explained to me that they intentionally do not brand boxes because it’s more environmentally friendly. Branded boxes are often made overseas, resulting in a huge carbon footprint.
I never knew that!
Plus, I would argue that it’s actually better not to have a bunch of wine club logos and graphics on your wine box as they can draw unnecessary attention to your delivery.
Also, Culture Wine Co. NEVER uses Styrofoam.
The Box First Opened
Now let’s take a look at what you get with your delivery.
This is what it looked like after I first opened the box, looking down on it.
As you can see, there is a packing list of the wines in the box and the tasting notes are placed on top of the packaging.
The Wine Packaging
Here is another top down shot of the box, this time showing the packaging material covering the wines.
I was pleased to see good, sturdy packaging that kept the wine in place and protected each bottle.
Plus, no damage to the packing material.
The Wines in the Box
Now with the top packaging removed, here are the wines included with my delivery.
More good news, the wines were nicely packaged with no damage.
Tasting Notes
In order to give you a better view of the tasting notes that go with each bottle, I took them out and placed them on my table for you to see in the picture below.
I liked the fact that there was quite a lot of information about each wine. More than you usually see with other clubs.
The Culture Wine Club Wines
And finally, here are the two wines included in my delivery.
The one on the left is the Scions of Sinai Atlantikas Pinotage.
And the one on the right is the Magna Carta Wines ‘Mphumi’ Elephant Pinot Noir. More on the bottle label for that one in the individual wine review below.
It’s a great story!
Most importantly, both wines were in good shape and ready for tasting!
Reviews of Each Wine
When you purchase a wine club you want to make sure that the wine’s quality and exclusivity are really good.
For this club, the exclusivity aspect is a no-brainer. The wines that are chosen for the Culture Wine Club are not wines you’re going to easily find on store shelves.
For that matter, sourcing hard to find wines from South Africa is a challenge in itself.
So with that aspect covered, I needed to give these wines a taste and really see what you get.
Introduction Video
Here is a video that talks about the two wines below. The thumbnail is a picture of Mphumi and you’ll see Peter Andrews explaining both wines in the video.
Scions of Sinai Atlantikas Pinotage
To me, Pinotage is the signature varietal of South Africa, so I was glad to receive a wine made from 100% Pinotage fruit. It’s a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
This wine’s fruit is sourced from un-irrigated maritime BUSH vines from the Helderberg sub-region of Stellenbosch. These are the closest Pinotage vines to the ocean in South Africa, meaning it’s very much a cool climate area.
Also, the vines were planted in 1976 and 1996 and are growing in decomposed granite and Quaternary quartz sand (silica).
The vineyard farmer, Bernhard Bredell, is a seventh generation winemaker and is committed to regenerative and dry farming methods. Past generations of his family were the original planters of the vines.
The wine was fermented in stainless steel with the submerged cap method and only 765 6-pack cases were produced. Pretty limited!
Tasting
In appearance this wine is pale to medium ruby in color.
Immediately after popping the cork on the lightly chilled bottle, I noticed a rich, fertilized earth aroma that only lasted for a quick second.
When I gave the wine a good sniff in the glass, I noticed a floral aroma of peony or rose and little to any bite of alcohol.
Alcohol content 12.5%, per the bottle label.
Secondary to that was an aroma note of raspberry.
On the palate, I immediately picked up fresh and “pizzazzy” flavors of watermelon candy and red cherry.
Given that Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, the cherry flavor made sense to me as I often notice that flavor when tasting Pinot Noir. So, the Pinot Noir influence was definitely there.
Further sips revealed a juicy, almost zippy, mouthfeel and very muted tannins.
Its long and enjoyable finish was carried by its flavors, with just a touch of bitterness at the end.
Overall, I found this Pinotage to be quite enjoyable and definitely “light and playful” as described.
A fun wine produced in a unique fashion… Good job!
Magna Carta Wines (South Africa) ‘Mphumi’ Elephant Pinot Noir
The winemaker for this wine is Mphumeleli Ndlangisa and he’s from the dry KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa.
He goes by the name of Mphumi and that’s what you see on the bottle label.
Speaking of the bottle label, it’s actually hand-written! That’s why it looks faded out.
According to Peter, as they were just about to import Mphumi to the US, they learned there was already a Magna Carta Wine in Napa. So, to avoid any legal trouble, they decided to just go with the name Mphumi instead of putting Magna Carta Wine on the label.
So, Mphumi hand wrote his name on every single bottle label to be shipped to the US!
That was obviously extremely time consuming, but certainly shows you the dedication given to this wine. Plus, it kind of makes the bottle a collector’s item!
Getting back to the wine itself, its 100% Pinot Noir and is sourced from 13 year old limestone vineyards.
The wine was fermented in an open-top stainless steel fermenter and aged in neutral barrel, concrete and clay.
Total production for this wine was only 675 6-pack cases. Again, very limited.
Now, I haven’t had much (if any that I can remember) straight Pinot Noir from South Africa. But, since Pinotage comes from Pinot Noir, I was interested to see what the true parent South African Pinot Noir would taste like.
Tasting
Right away I noticed the wine’s ruddy appearance, which made sense seeing that the wine was already five years old. The color reminded me of aged French red wines I’ve seen in the past.
On the nose, I picked up a potpourri-like, clove aroma. In there, as well, were notes of cinnamon and some general red fruits.
Overall, a pretty complex and enjoyable aroma with very little alcohol noted. According to the tasting notes, the alcohol content was 13.65%.
Now, the wine’s taste is what really captured my attention! It was nothing like any Pinot Noir I’ve had in the past.
It immediately led with tasty notes of tangerine!
On the sides of my tongue (I think), I noticed some of that clove from the aroma. I also sensed a bit of fig-like flavor too.
Combined, the tangerine, clove and fig flavors really complimented each other. And again, this wine is a Pinot Noir which means you don’t usually find this combination of flavors in this varietal. Or, at least I haven’t in the past.
Super interesting and enjoyable flavors!
Rounding out the tasting experience was a juicy mouthfeel that’s almost citrus-like and limited in tannins.
The finish lasts long and is carried mostly by the tangerine flavor.
Overall, a very unique and enjoyable wine that’s worlds apart from most Pinot Noir you buy on today’s store shelves.
Thanks Mphumi… Loved it!
Conclusion
After going through the full experience with the Culture Wine Club and the two wines in my delivery, I can confidently recommend this club to my readers.
I was really impressed by the uniqueness of the two wines I received, along with the craftsmanship from their South African winemakers.
It’s no wonder these wines have been so eye-opening to sommeliers and are landing in the best shops and on the top wine lists in California.
The new wave of producers in South Africa are making the best wines in the country’s long winemaking history.
And, the Culture Wine Club will bring this experience right to your door!
With all that said, consider getting in and exploring an under-served wine region before everyone else does. I think you’ll be impressed.
