The Clara Wine Subscription Review: Bringing my Favourite Tipples Direct to my Doorstep

I’m sure some of you already know, but wine is a big part of my life. During the day I work for a wine company and during the evening I’m enjoying a glass (bottle) on the sofa or ordering my favourites at a restaurant. I can still remember all those years ago what got me first interested in wine and I’ve never looked back since, 11 years later. With that in mind I recently received a wine subscription from Clara, delivered in some very practical and safe packaging.

Clara, is essentially the name for the AI behind this subscription service and is a new London-based AI wine subscription service who has an intelligent data-driven algorithm that sorts users into a bespoke taste “tribes” upon joining. I started my journey with Clara by first visiting clarawine.com and taking one of the rather interesting taste quiz’s. During which, each user is clustered with other like-palated tasters into different segments, reflecting on what they tend to enjoy in flavour, aroma and taste.

In world of technology and us all moving our lives online, it was really only a matter of time before Clara’s clever algorithm has now essentially replaced the role of a traditional sommelier when selecting the wines to be sent out to each subscriber every month.

With twelve “tribes” in total (and one rogue tribe for the customer who doesn’t quite fit into any group), I found myself in the “EXPRESSIONIST” category – which I rather liked the sound of. Clara describes me as evocative, deep (what a charmer) and reserved, but also as a wine lover who isn’t looking for the obvious, but instead one who likes to search a wine and wait for it to reveal layers. I think Clara got me spot on if I’m completely honest and the wines I received were just what I wanted, with one actually being an all time favourite.

I loved the accompanying tasting notes which arrived with the wines too. Clara hasn’t tried to over complicate things here, because after all the enjoyment of wines still needs to be fun and concise. Short tasting notes, quickly describing the flavours and expressions of the wines, as well as where they come from, who makes them and most importantly – with which grapes.

While I’m always going to be in love with Pieropan, I really enjoyed this Verdejo from producer Duquesa de Valladolid. Ripe aromas of fresh herbs, grass and tropical fruits. The palate was also nice and weighty, but above all full of freshness and life.

One you’ve received your wines and consumed them all, customers then have the chance to feed back on their tribe, manage their orders and connect with the community through a personalised user-portal. It’s rather fun and very social. I’m still waiting on my next two months subscriptions. If you fancy trying it out for yourself then you’ll be happy to know that a monthly subscription costs just £48, for which you’ll receive 3 bottles of quality wine per month, with a choice between all white, all red, sparkling or a mixture. As well as your tasting notes and that very personal online platform.

For more details on this fabulous intelligent wine subscription service, head over to their website for more details: www.clarawine.com