“It’s the tiiiiiime, for the seeeeeaaason of… giveawaaaaaaaaaays….”

It does indeed seem to be the season of giveaway action here on 1WD, and this week we’ve got another one; I’m teaming up with ClubW.com to giveaway one month’s free subscription to their wine club (that’s three bottles, or about $50 worth)! We’ll also be announcing a discount code next week (so that those who play along and don’t win won’t have to wail and gnash their wine-stained teeth).

Living in the Communistwealth of Pennsylvania, I’m unable to indulge in activities that threaten the stability of the state, such as receiving a wine from a wine club. But make no mistake, I adore our enlightened Harrisburg dictators! Honest! Please, don’t bulldoze my home!

Anyway, ClubW.com happens to be one of the wine clubs that I wouldn’t at all mind checking out, given that their wine curators have picked some very interesting selections, all of which are $19 or under. The ClubW selections include capable, off-the-beaten-path producers like Colorado’s Infinite Monkey Theroem (remember them? I do, because they impressed me when I tasted their wares in CO last year), as well as other wine brands that I’ve been following for a little while now, like Tuscany’s Poggiotondo, and Yarra Valley’s Innocent Bystander (headed up by Giant Steps pioneer Phil Sexton). They also have wines I’ve liked from John Duval and Casas del Bosque (the latter of which really kicked ass in `07 with their Private Reserve blend).

One of the most interesting aspects of ClubW.com is that it offers you subsets of their selections based on a taste profile that you fill out before signing up for the service. So, in this giveaway, we’re going to explore, in practice, how it works…

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[ Editor’s note: following is the third guest post from the 1WD intern: the young, unpaid Shelby Vittek, who many of you will recall really shook things up with her first 1WD article (and continued that trend with her second). You can check out more of Shelby’s wine writing work at TableMatters.com, and find her on twitter at @BigBoldReds. You’re of course encouraged to chime in and let us know what you think (but keep things civil, you opinionated b*stards!). Enjoy! ]

Have you ever wanted to know what kinds of wines make up 1WineDude’s cellar? What exactly constitutes the mass of media samples he gets shipped every week? Where do they come from and exactly how many bottles are waiting to be opened and reviewed?

I used to wonder. But that was long before I spent months sorting through the endless boxes of wine samples in the cellar. In October, I bravely—and perhaps somewhat stupidly—agreed to take on the massive project of cataloguing and organizing them all. I had watched this episode of 1WineDude TV, (cut to 3:25) where I got my first preview of the mountain of boxes, but really had no idea how big of a challenge I had signed up for. At the start of my “internship,” I was prepared to personally catalogue maybe a couple hundred, 500 bottles at the most, and thought I’d finish the project within four or five weeks.

Yet here we are, over four months and 820 bottles later, and I’m just finally able to announce that every single wine has been accounted for and its details entered into a tracking spreadsheet. Of course, this number is bound to change the next time I hear the doorbell ring and am met with five more shipments of samples. But for now, the cataloging chaos has calmed, and my “wine friends” (as 1WD’s daughter calls them) have a slightly more organized home.

To celebrate the end of a huge undertaking—even if momentarily—I want to share with you some intimate details of the wines I’ve had my hands all over for months, as well as some things that surprised, perplexed, or disappointed me…

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So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet (Montrachet): Enough power and verve to send Electro into a coma; dreams in Technicolor. $2400 A+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti (Romanee-Conti): A 30-sided Doungeouns and Dragons die, if it was a sentient life form $4200 A+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache (La Tache): Sex with a dozen supermodels. Simultaneously. Only with more spices and energy. $1200 A+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Richebourg (Richebourg): Has more precision than NASA's Measurement Standards and Calibration Lab. $1200 A+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-St-Vivant (Romanee-St-Vivant): For leisurely things like contemplating birth of the Universe $1200 A+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Echezeaux (Grands Echezeaux): Balance previously seen only in Ringling Bros high wire acts. $750 A+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Echezeaux (Echezeaux): Containing the concentrated intrigue from any dozen Tom Clancy novels combined. $450 A >>find this wine<<
• 10 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Corton (Corton): A refreshing back massage, as administered by a benevolent and powerful Norse god. $400 A >>find this wine<<
• 11 M. Lapierre a Ville-Morgon (Morgon): Raspberries and peppery spices sporting a beautiful but almost grim, savory, focused resolve. $25 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV Pierre Sparr Brut Rose (Cremant d'Alsace): An aggressive salesman, but a good deal, and the warranty won't expire for a long time. $24 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 04 Marques de Vitoria Gran Reserva (Rioja): Might be slightly overcooked, but the meal is hearty, fresh and definitely delicious. $25 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Muga Barrel-Fermented White (Rioja): Like a free upgrade to business class on a long-haul flight; that finish is long haul, too. $16 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Castelfeder 15 Pinot Grigio (Alto Adige): True to melony form, but it could use a few rounds on the northern Italian treadmill. $17 B- >>find this wine<<
• 08 Rocca delle Marcie Chianti Classic Risera (Chianti Classic): Sorta like the California Raisins singing Kool And The Gang's "Fresh." $26 B >>find this wine<<

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 04 Manuel Quintano Reserva (Rioja): Stewing in its own powerful, plummy juices, smoking a pipe and loving every minute of it all. $44 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Cantina Tramin Pinot Bianco (Alto Adige): Greasy and tropical at the beach, but it cleans up crisply just in time for dinner. $12 B >>find this wine<<
• 09 Manincor Lagrein Rubatsch (Alto Adige): Resplendent in flowers, rustic berries and peppery verve; her dress has some dirt on it. $30 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Masi Tupungato Corbec (Uco Valley): Right now a grumpy, arguing Italian. In a few years? Betting it'll make you shout Mama Mia! $35 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Masi Tupungato Paso Doble Red (Uco Valley): Leather, spices, meat and candy; maybe Corvina is settling in snugly down South? $15 B- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Masi Tupungato Paso Blanco (Uco Valley): Proves that one shouldn't pass on the appassimento, even when it's done on Pinot Grigio. $12 B- >>find this wine<<
• 10 Michel Tete Domaine du Close du Fief Julienas (Julienas): Raspberry &amp; pepper riding salami magic carpet, singing A Whole New World $28 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Clemens Busch Pundericher Marienburg Falkenlay Riesling Erste Lage (Mosel): A lime jammed up one sinus, and awesome up the other. $50 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 01 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva (Rioja): A magic wand, but used as a skewer for grilling sausages and spiced plums. $40 A- >>find this wine<<
• 11 Cassidy Ranch Kopriva Chardonnay (Los Carneros): Lemon, melon, pear, crisp apples, side of herbs; wait a second, are we in France? $18 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Bibi Graetz Soffocone di Vincigliata (Toscana): Nearly as sexy and – dare we say it – tender as its controversial namesake. $45 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 09 Artesa Artisan Series Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Herb-rubbed, flirting with well-done, but ultimately too tasty to deny. $46 A- >>find this wine<<
• 09 Artesa Estate Reserve Pinot Noir (Nappa Valley): Sexy, but yer enjoyment will depend on how much U like yer fruit chocolate-dipped $40 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Artesa Carneros Chardonnay (Carneros): Peach-colored snake, shining lemon-colored eyes, smooth glide and pithy, forked-tongue bite. $20 B >>find this wine<<