Wine Club?

Hmm, what is that exactly?

Let’s Talk

As for the 10 questions, it is sort of 10ish.

I am clearly overthinking. However, I am just looking out for you. Let’s avoid mistakes I’ve made. You’re welcome.

First of all, there are wine clubs, and then there are wine clubs.

Well that told me nothing, you may say.

There are basically two types of wine clubs. The choices within each are really overwhelming.

There are wine clubs connected to a winery. Almost every winery you visit has one.

Then there are an equally incredible amount of what are sometimes called wine subscription clubs.

I did not even know there were so many subscription clubs until I researched it for this post. These are “curated” wines that are delivered to you at selected intervals. They can be hand selected at the higher end. There are a ton of different options at every price point.

Okay, those are the bare bones basics. I’ll get into more details as we go along. I’ll also explain why these questions are important.

Let’s start:

Here is what you should ask yourself before you commit to a club:

Is any wine club right for me? If so, what kind? Let’s see.

1.How much wine do I drink? How often?

I’m not being nosy. I’m also not your doctor. This is really important.

If you just enjoy a glass now and then, having a case of wine arrive regularly might be way too much.

If wine is a regular thing, then a wine club of some sort could really work for you. Maybe.

Make sure whatever club you join will offer you the amount of wine that works for you.

Although my husband and I drink wine quite regularly, we don’t always want to break out a pricey bottle for a casual home dinner.

As most of you know who read my blog, I am a huge fan of wines from Trader Joe’s wines. Having wines delivered that are so much pricier than what we buy at Trader Joe’s becomes overwhelming for me. This is why I ended up canceling some of my wine clubs from wineries. Admittedlty I joined way too many.

It’s not just how much you drink, but what price point you want to drink regularly.

In general, wines from any winery wine club you choose to join will be more expensive than Trader Joe’s wines. They are usually much more memorable. Well they should be.

I will not break out that level of wine every day. Maybe I should.

If that is you, great! Enjoy! Savor!

There are subscription clubs, however, that can have very low price points. Reliably delicious? Memorable? Maybe or maybe not. Hmmm.

Which leads me to the next question.

2. Where do I live?

Obviously, you know where you live. Some of this is a shipping and delivery issue. Each state has different rules.

Some states limit how much wine you can get in a year. If the wine club is going to send you 3 cases a year, and your state only allows 2, UH OH. Some states don’t allow anything shipped into the state.

Every wine club will know these rules. If they don’t tell you, ask.

Many wineries will ask where you live before you sign up for any club. This can also apply to a single order. One winery we visited in Paso Robles wouldn’t send anything to us in New York State. Some smaller wineries don’t want the headache of shipping to another state. Too much paperwork.

Some countries have strict rules as well.

Most wine subscription clubs have shipping built into the cost.

Most winery clubs do not have the shipping built into the cost. If you join a winery club those shipping charges can really tack on some serious numbers. Some give you a good deal on the shipping, but it is rarely free. Many wineries offer pick up as an option for the wine club. Where you live matters.

3. What is this going to cost me?

Money? Value? OOH! Good question!

As I mentioned above, almost every winery wine club will be pricier than wines you get through Trader Joe’s or Aldi’s. Value and price are very different as I mention all the time. (This is my thing!)

If you decide to join a winery’s wine club:

I trust you have been to the winery (or tasting room) and tried the wine.
Clearly you loved the wine, and you want more of it.
You want to recreate the feeling you had when you drank it the first time.
You can’t buy these wines where you live.
Some of the wines are only available through the wine club.

In these cases, you are getting a great deal of value for the price.

However (oh no! downer time!), you still need to figure out in question #1 how much you drink, and at what price point. You will also need to evaluate #2 above. Where do you live and what is shipping going to cost you? Taxes are also added in.

Many winery wine clubs offer levels based on how much wine you want in each shipment. Some even offer levels based on which wines you want. If they are really up front, they will tell you approximatelty how much each shipment will cost. Taxes and shipping are extra.

Here’s a big catch:

You MUST commit to a certain amount of shipments before you can cancel. They will tell you this up front. It will vary by winery.

So not only do you have to be in love with the wines, you have to want this relationship to continue for a certain amount of time.

If you think a wine subscription club may be right for you:

Research, research, research!

There is an incredible price range among the various clubs. No matter your budget, you can probably find a wine subscription club that matches what you want to spend. Whether it will be delicious wines, who knows?

Some of the reasons you may want to join a wine subscription club are:

1) You want wine delivered to your door

2) you don’t have a reliable place to buy wine near you

3) you’re bored with what you have been drinking and you want to try new and different wines

4) you find it too intimidating to shop for wine in a wine store

5) you really want that great deal that a wine club is offering you

At the end of this post, I provide you with a list of some wine clubs you may want to start to research.

Should you want someone else to do some of the research, there is actually a sort of wine club reviews for beginners guide. Check it out if you want.

It may help you answer the rest of the questions you should ask yourself:

4. What’s in it for me?

Every wine club, whether at a winery or a subscription based one, should offer you something to get you to sign up. Hopefully, what they are offering is something you need or want.

Let’s talk winery wine clubs. Assuming you joined for some of the reasons listed above, what else are you getting?

Most wineries offer a number of benefits to their wine club members. This may include members only parties, discounted or free tastings, and discounted shipping. However, if you do not live close to the winery, how many can you realistically benefit from?

On a personal level, any winery wine club I have joined is nowhere near where I live. We are talking airplane needed. This bothers me. If it is a really social club with lots of fun events, it really bothers me. If this isn’t you, your decisions are different then mine. Decide what is in it for you.

For subscription wine clubs, many have a great introductory offer. Do you really need the wine glasses they are including? The introductory price may be good, but then what? How long does that last?

On the other hand, if you are not joining for anything other than access and delivery to the wine then extras don’t matter.

5. How much of a commitment is this?

**Are we talking marriage here?**

Decide before you sign up how much of a commitment you are comfortable with.

I mentioned before above about the need to commit to a winery wine club. Find out how long this commitment is.

Just because you loved the wine when you were on vacation doesn’t mean you will love it as much at home! How locked in are you?

Each wine subscription club has their own rules. Look at them! Is there an automatic rollover that you have to cancel by a certain time? Check this out! Years ago, I joined a wine subscription club for the intro offer. When I went to cancel I was grilled on why I didn’t like the wines. They were really mediocre, but I couldn’t specifically say why. Uncomfortable.

How easy is it to cancel in any of these cases? One winery club I wanted to cancel had such poor communication they didn’t get my cancelation email. Ugh! This was also the winery that the wines they were sending were way more expensive than they had said.

Learn from my mistakes. Check out the commitment you are making.

6. How much flexibility will I have? Choices?

For a winery wine club, they should let you know your options for choices when you sign up. Some offer no choices. You may want to just trust the winemaker. If you don’t feel that way, look into what options there are. Most will let you choose if you want all white, all red, or mixed. Find out.

With a wine subscription club, there is an incredible range of what you can and cannot do. I trust when you reseached it you looked into it. If you didn’t, go back and research it.

7. Do I want to be educated?

This is an interesting question. Are you in it for the convenience, the choices or do you want to know more? If you want to know more, how much more? What level?

Four wine making tanks — **Do you want to know how the wine is made?**

How much detail?

Do you care about root stocks and malolactic fermentation?

Do your eyes glaze over at that?

Do you want to train your palate?

**Are you more, just pour me the wine?**

Maybe you are somewhere in between.

If you join a winery wine club, you will almost always get wine notes with each wine. Some may tell you what food to have with it. Some may give you a really detailed, like really really detailed, description of the whole winemaking experience.

It is doubtful that you chose a winery wine club based on this alone. However, if in depth education is what you want, find out. Their website alone will tell you the vibe of the winery.

If you want a subscription club, many of them have very good educational components. If you did your research you would have a good idea which one will match with your level. If you didn’t do your research yet, you can always click on one of the wine clubs I mentioned in question #3.

8. Do I want to feel like I am in an exclusive club?

If you want to feel special as a winery club member, choose a smaller winery. At least don’t choose one that you find many of the same wines in your wine store. I’ve made that mistake. I didn’t need to feel special, but I felt foolish seeing some of the wines less expensive than I had paid as a wine club member.

On the other hand, there are a few wineries that are like the picture above with the velvet rope. You can’t visit unless you belong to the wine club, but you can’t just join the wine club. You are put on a wait list. If you want to feel you belong to an exclusive club, I suppose you could put yourself on the list. You do you.

As for a subscription wine club, look in the higher priced clubs. There are some that will give you access to insanely high-priced wines. If that is what you want, just know that exclusivity does not come cheap. At all. Value, however, is relative. Just because a sommelier decides it is good value, doesn’t mean you will feel that way.

9. Am I more comfortable ordering wine through a computer than in person?

There are obviously pluses and minuses to just ordering through a computer.

If the reasons for joining a subscription wine club are feeling inimidated by snotty wine salespeople, the computer is your best friend. That’s a plus.

If you want the option of asking a bunch of questions, the computer will not be as good a friend. That’s a minus.

If you have no convenient access to wine stores, ordering online is a good option. It doesn’t mean you need a suscription though. There are ways to order wine online that do not require one. Decide what you are gaining and losing with all of these choices. The whole plus/minus thing.

I am going to assume that you are not going to join a wine club at a winery without having first gone to the winery and tried the wine. I have no idea why someone would do that. I can’t even say, you do you. Don’t do that.

When shipments are sent out from the winery they will hopefully give you options if you want to change it up. You can usually do that on the computer. EVERY winery should have someone to help you on the phone should you want. If they don’t, break up with them.

10. Do I want predictability or surprises?

Well? Do you?

Are you interested in trying new wines all the time? Or do you want to have a basic sense of what you’re getting? Do you want wine that you are pretty sure you will enjoy? OR Are you bored with your current choices and want to branch out?

This question goes back to the reason you wanted to join a wine club in the first place.

Choose your wine subscription accordingly. If you like the new wines, will they want you to articulate why? For me, it’s yuck or yum. What about you?

If you join a winery’s wine club you should not be getting huge surprises. You should be insanely pleased how delicious the wine is. That is to be expected. Why else would you join this club?