When my friend invited me to her 30th birthday dinner party, the first thing I thought about was what wine I should bring. It took my palate a LONG time to enjoy the mature taste of wine (I thought I'd be a Franzia fan for life honestly). I was new to the world of vino and, unlike my friends, I was still learning my wine identity. I knew that I preferred a house white to a house red, but If I wanted to keep up with my friends' detailed wine conversations, I had lots of catching up to do!

I wanted to try as many different wines as I could, but buying a full bottle of each seemed excessive. Most decent bottles cost about $35, and I didn't want to waste money on wine I might not enjoy. Plus, my local liquor store's selection is terrible!

Turns out, there was a solution to my wine-identity crisis all along: America's fastest-growing wine club, Tasting Roomby Lot18. I was intrigued. Referred to as "the Netflix of the Wine Industry," Tasting Room uses recommendation technology to make informed wine selections based on your preferences.

When visiting the Tasting Room site, I took a 3-question quiz about my fruit, coffee, and chocolate inclinations. Unlike other wine clubs that only question you about wine, these were questions I could actually answer. Based on my responses, they'd send me a wine tasting kit that matched my particular tastes. It contains six small bottles of wine – get this – for only $6.95. When I saw that price, I was sure their wine would taste disgusting, but I decided to take the risk and see how it goes.

A few days later I received my six-bottle mini tasting kit. What makes Tasting Room's process so unique is their "interactive tasting". Each wine is pitted against another so I could choose which ones I preferred. After rating each of the mini bottles, Tasting Room created my very own Wine Profile. It's a guide that points out which types of wines I'll gravitate towards, the regions they're from, and the foods to pair with them.

Thanks to Tasting Room, I can finally make informed decisions when looking at a wine menu (no more bitter whites or bland reds). But more importantly, I've found wines I truly love.

You won't find a more personalized wine club than Tasting Room for such an affordable price. I recommend Tasting Room to everyone who is trying to discover their wine identity, or just wants to sample new wines!

Update: The team at Tasting Room is also extending a special discount to our readers. Follow this link to get your wine tasting kit for just $6.95 (originally $39.95)!