What Should I Look for in a Wine Club?

Wine clubs are a famous trend for wine lovers. Being a part of a wine club is a great way to begin exploring new wines, particularly if you are a beginner. They offer better value than purchasing at a local wine shop, a grocery store, or a big box store.

Whether you are thinking about buying a wine club membership for yourself or as a gift for someone special, here are some tips on how you can choose the best wine club for your wine preference, budget, and expertise. Let’s get started!

Types of Clubs

There are different kinds of wine clubs out there. Each one offers different membership levels to cater to your regional/varietal preferences, budget, and tasting aptitude. Also, there are wine clubs that ship by state. Wine laws, however, are continuously changing. The amount of wine that can be transported, as well as whether your state allows the wine to be shipped, are all factors to consider. As a result, you’ll need to do some research to identify wine clubs that ship to your state.

Most of the wine clubs are monthly clubs and let the members decide how often they wish to receive shipments—monthly, bimonthly or quarterly. Generally, shipments from monthly clubs possess fewer wine bottles as they’re being sent more often.

Some companies provide quarterly wine clubs only that deliver shipments every three months. Each shipment includes a full case (12 bottles) of wine.

Unless you wish to get huge quarterly shipments, most wine lovers go for membership with a monthly club as they provide a better opportunity to customize your experience or your giftee’s experience.

Cost

The cost of club memberships differs enormously. Before purchasing a membership, ensure that you acknowledge all the charges involved with the wine club.

Ask if there is a sign-up fee besides a membership fee. Compare the per-bottle price of different clubs. This will help you differentiate all your options. Ensure that the per-bottle price you are comparing is not based on the introductory price. You need to compare using the full, regular price. Also, ask if there are any taxes.

Find out if there is a minimum duration of time you need to be a part of the club to receive certain discounts. You also need to ask if your membership includes shipping.

Is there a penalty for membership cancellation? Is there an auto-renewal facility for the membership? What is the length of an average membership of the club? Find out if most members leave after some months or a year, or if they stick long-term. Also, find out if there are any additional advantages of being a long-term member. This can help you realize how much the club works to maintain the satisfaction of the members.

Wine Quality

The quality of the wines a club provides is an important factor to consider. The primary thing to find out is where the wine is made. Contact the customer service of the club and ask for a record of the wines that were delivered in the previous three/four shipments.

Then, run a little investigation on the internet and look for the reviews of those wines. If the wines they’re shipping are swill and have low reviews, it is better to move on to a different wine club.

Degree of Personalization

The importance of the degree of personalization is dependent on what you are looking for from the membership.

You may prefer only white wine, only red wine, or a mix of the two, and it may be important to modify your orders so you can receive the wines you wish to drink. But if you are someone who just wishes to be amazed at every shipment, personalization may matter less.

The essential thing is to ensure that you select a wine club that matches your individual needs. Membership is only worthwhile if it can deliver what you want.

Ability to Reorder Preferred Wines

Some wine clubs do not provide a simple reordering system if you wish to get more shipments of a certain wine you like. As liquor laws differ based on the state you are living in, it can be quite disappointing if you attempt to reorder wine directly from the winery or a different distributor.

When you’re assessing a club, make sure you find out if you will be able to order particular bottles again without any hassle. Also, find out what kind of discounts the club offers on reordering. Occasionally, these discounts can be up to 50 percent off winery direct prices.

Customer Service

Before signing up, you need to know about the wine club. Check online reviews of the club and ensure that other wine lovers are satisfied with their service. Are there a lot of customers who are dissatisfied with the wines they receive? Do members criticize the difficulty in canceling memberships?

Try to find out the social media pages of the club. Social media like Facebook can provide a good idea of how they interact with their members. You can also find posts of past and recent members. If you find loads of angry posts from previous members, it is in your best interest to move on to the next wine club.

Newsletter

Many wine clubs provide a monthly newsletter in every shipment that gives some information on the wineries and tasting notes on the wines that were picked. It is enlightening and sometimes contains fun recipes, trivia, news from wine country, wine history, etc.

Shipping

When a wine club packs a shipment and transfers it to their shipping company, the link is now between the customer and the shipper. Issues like damage claims, non-contact deliveries, returns, location holds, and tracking are also a part of the experience of the wine club.

Ask the club who they use for their delivery and research the shipper’s policies like how to press a damage claim, requirement of adult signature, approach on return shipments, additional fee for multiple delivery attempts, etc. Also, find out the closest locations for the shipper. You won’t like to drive 20 miles to receive a shipment that they could not deliver.

The Bottom Line

A wine club membership can be the best gift for yourself or any wine enthusiast in your life if you can choose it properly. Wine is not about rights or wrongs. It is all about preferences and selecting the perfect wine club can make your journey even more delectable. Happy tasting!