Archive for June, 2014
Breaking Down The Cost of a Bottle of Wine
Posted by John in Insider Secrets on June 22, 2014
Breaking Down The Cost of a Bottle of Wine
I found this article earlier in the week and thought it would serve as a great intro to a piece we’ll have out later in the week on tasting room wine discounts. In case you’ve ever wondered how much a winery gets paid for that $15 bottle of Malbec you just bought, why restaurant wine prices are so outrageous, or how, exactly, Trader Joe’s can afford to sell wine for $3-a-bottle, I think you’ll find this a fascinating read. Have a great rest of the weekend!
And thanks so much for stopping by! Our first week “live” generated a surprising amount of traffic. Thanks again for taking the time to check us out! We appreciate all of you.
How to save a few bucks on your next rental car
Posted by John in Wine Travel on June 16, 2014

- Loyalty Programs will save you from waiting in a long line at the rental counter, and put you on the list for members-only coupons. They’re also the ticket to free upgrades, so it’s worth the time to sign up.
- Car Size: book the smallest car you think you can get away with. Gas is expensive, rural wine country roads can be narrow and winding, and winery parking lots are often a tight squeeze. Be aware that cases of wine rapidly fill up trunk and back seat space, so consider a mid or full-size car if you plan on buying a lot of wine.
- Car Color: the lighter the better. Dark cars absorb more heat, which puts your wine at extra risk of cooking. If you’re pre-assigned a dark colored car, a polite request to change to something lighter is rarely denied, especially if you’ve already spotted something on the lot and can given them the parking stall number of the car you’d prefer.
- Discount car companies: Stick with one of the “majors” (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, Thrifty). The regional guys often have lower rates, but their reputations can be less than stellar and their locations are airport-only. You’ll be doing a lot of driving in remote areas, so you want a company that will work with you if you get into a jam and has a neighborhood location nearby.
- USAA, AAA, and Costco are known for having some of the most generous discounts, sometimes as much as 30%. Often, additional driver fees are also waived.
- Government employees and contractors, even on leisure, are often eligible for Government rates.
- If you work for a large corporation, odds are your corporate travel department has pre-negotiated rates, and they are nearly always valid for personal travel. (You may have to ask your HR department for the rate code).
- Airline, Hotel, and Credit Card programs also often offer aggressive discounts to their members.
- Book the rental like normal, only selecting the hotel location rather then the airport location. (For instance, instead of the Hertz @ LAX airport, you would select the Hertz @ the LAX Hilton.)
- Upon arriving at the airport, catch the appropriate hotel shuttle rather then the rental car shuttle and complete the rental at the hotel.
- If you’re traveling with several people or lots of luggage, I’d recommend leaving at the airport while you go fetch the car.
- Some hotels will even allow you to return the car to the airport for free, while at other locations this will trigger the airport taxes. Try changing the return location to the airport when you book to see if this applies.
These are few and far between, but there are a couple worth noting.
- If you’re flying into LAX, Hertz offers a flat rate of $45/day. It’s a Disney special, but all LAX travelers can use it (CDP 2002500)
- Hertz waives one-way surcharges for Alaska Airlines customers flying into certain Washington airports using CDP 2015337
Foreign Web Sites
- Priceline/Hotwire reservations cannot be canceled or changed.
- The other tips outlined above can often yield a comparable rate.
Welcome to Dirt Cheap Wine Country!
Today I’m re-launching the blog as Dirt Cheap Wine Country and I hope that you’ll find it a refreshing departure from the usual wine blogs. Why the change?
In 2012, wine blogger Tom Wark issued a challenge on his massively popular Fermentation blog – The Top 10 Wine Stories Needing to be Written. One in particular caught my eye:
Dirt Cheap Wine Country It’s a counter intuitive wine country travel story—and probably difficult to write. But it could provide a fantastic counterpoint to the luxury-oriented wine stories that proliferate. Is there a way to “DO” wine country dirt cheap? From cheap hotels and cheap food to no-cost tasting room?
Indeed, why isn’t anyone telling that story?! There are many who want to live the “wine lifestyle,” and for whom travel to wine country should be the ultimate luxury experience. It often seems like every wine writer on the planet caters to these aspirational travelers.
There are countless others however, who travel to wine country for one reason and one reason alone: the wine and the connection to the people and places that make it.
They may or may not be budget-conscious, but they come to spend their money on wine, not lifestyle. They appreciate the quality of a few nights at the Renaissance, but are just as happy at a Best Western. They would like a nice meal or two, but in a pinch a taco stand will do just fine. They hope to bring home a few trophy bottles, but will fill the rest of their cases with bargains, or at least reasonably priced daily drinkers.
You see, my friends, as a regular wine country traveler for the past ten years, this is exactly how I travel. And as my high school english teacher taught me, for every one person with an opinion who chooses to share it, there are countless remaining, silent glad someone spoke up. I know that’s true because I meet you on every trip: whether you rode into Napa in an RV, were slumming it with us at the Holiday Inn Express, or gnoshing on biscuits and gravy at the Paso Robles diner. And we compare notes in the tasting rooms of some of the best wineries on the planet.
Until now my fellow budget traveler, aside from a few coupon sites, there’s really nobody talking to us. And that’s what Dirt Cheap Wine Country is all about. This is not a coupon site, or a wine review blog – there are plenty of those. This is how to “do” wine country dirt cheap! A wine country resource and community for the rest of us.
So welcome to Dirt Cheap Wine Country! I value your input and comments. Until we meet again in the tasting room – cheers!