Best Wine Clubs

Review & Comparison, Last Update August 14, 2024
Looking to expand your wine horizons and acquire the kind of knowledge every sommelier would be jealous of but you don't know where to start? Well, we are here to help you. Take the first step to becoming a wine connoisseur by reading the list of the five best mail order Wine Clubs we have combined for you! ...Read more ...Read less
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BEST 2024
PROS
CONS
OUR VERDICT
Cost
Shipment
Years in business
 
PROS

Winc Wine Club works with wineries and growers to bottle their own wines thus the product they offer is unique and cannot be found anywhere else in retail. You do not have to form a contract, and their mobile app is very helpful.

CONS

The minimum available order is three bottles.

OUR VERDICT

If you are the kind of person that is always interested in finding out new tastes and exploring your options, this club will be a great fit for you.

detailed parameters
Cost

$13 per bottle with a three-bottle minimum

Shipment

Monthly with a flat 6$ shipping fee to every state that allows the shipment of alcohol

Years in business

Since 2012

PROS

This club is offering a large variety of local products as well as some international choices and is willing to replace any bottle that you did not find to your liking or refund your money.

CONS

Shipping can take as long as three weeks depending on where you are located.

OUR VERDICT

California Wine Club is a great choice for people looking to help their local business as well as interested in trying out some new experiences that cannot be found in retail.

detailed parameters
Cost

starts at $39.95 a month for two bottles

Shipment

14$ shipping fee to every state that allows the shipment of alcohol

Years in business

Since 1990

PROS

Gold Medal Wine Club has very strict standards for how they select their wines and only the ones that have earned the rating and recognition in the field are used in their selections. Six different types of membership models will be able to accommodate any kind of customer.

CONS

Champagne and sparkling wines are not an available option.

OUR VERDICT

If you are looking for the kind of club that will provide you with only the highest quality products, this one is not going to disappoint you.

detailed parameters
Cost

starts at 15 to 20$ a bottle with a two-bottle minimum

Shipment

The shipping fee is included in the price of the bottles and the states they ship to are unclear

Years in business

Since 1992

PROS

This company scours for the best wines all over the world and delivers them to your doorstep. Thanks to their two-tiered panel system, you are guaranteed to receive a top-notch product worth paying for.

CONS

A pretty high monthly subscription price for only two bottles a month.

OUR VERDICT

The International Wine of the Month Club is the perfect choice for anyone who doesn't want to settle for the local market and is willing to step outside of the comfort zone in order to explore the world of wine.

detailed parameters
Cost

starts at 15$ a bottle with a two-bottle limit

Shipment

13$ shipping fee to every state that allows the shipment of alcohol

Years in business

Since 1994

PROS

Urban Wine Club is a new website with experienced people behind it thus offering you the benefits of the new company with the same kind of quality you would expect from a veteran of the industry.

CONS

The refund policy is virtually nonexistent.

OUR VERDICT

If you are looking to forge your own path in the world of wine and do not wish to follow in the footsteps of everyone else, this club may be just exactly what you were searching for.

detailed parameters
Cost

starts at $59 for 3 bottles of wine

Shipment

The shipping fee is included in the price of the bottles and the company ships to every state that allows the shipment of alcohol except Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Utah

Years in business

Since 2016

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Winc Wine Club

A New Age of Wine

You are on your way to your house feeling exhausted after a long day at work and would like to unwind with a glass or two of a good "vino" and an exciting book. And, sure, discounted bottles on a supermarket shelf may seem tempting at the end of a rough day, but there is a better way to acquire wine. Signing up to a wine club not only will make you instantly feel more sophisticated, it will also help you make new discoveries. And there isn't a wine club out there that does a better job of that than Winc Wine Club, formerly known as Club W. This club uses an entirely different model than your average wine club. Rather than scout the wine wilderness for great deals and tastes, Winc uses a completely different approach by contracting with wineries and growers to bottle their own wines. The Club W wines are only sold through the club so you will not be able to find them anywhere else in retail.

Review of Winc Wine Club

Get What You Paid For

Winc’s Membership Program operates in a way that it provides clients an early access to the "grape juices" in their library. Every member gets a list of available selections each month and then choose their wines. All you have to do in order to turn into a member of their club is simply register, fill in the required information and submit it to Winc’s website. Members accept a delivery of three different wine bottles with a flat shipping charge of $9 on a monthly basis. Some members complain that when they find a wine they love, they cannot find it again due to the club’s ever-changing selections. However, for the individual who loves to constantly try something new, this is one of the best options around. Membership is free, although some people have complained that canceling the membership turned out to be rather difficult. There's a gift program on their website that gives access to a plethora of gift selections for buyers to choose from as well as a personal wine expert that will make sure that the leaves the website satisfied with his purchase. These kinds of experts assist the clienteles by sorting out all of the details required when there's a large crowd on the receiving end of the gift.

Winc Wine Club in the use

A New One but a Good One

Winc Wine Club is a fairly new online "establishment", having been in the mail order wine industry for about five years since 2012. But despite its young age, Winc has already been featured in a plethora of esteemed magazines such as the Redbook, Today, The New York Times, Forbes, Elle, and Cosmopolitan and has been able to build quite a stellar reputation on top of it. If you are looking for a convenient way of having wine delivered to your doorsteps while also expanding your wine horizons with the new tastes every month, this club is definitely a good place to start.

Detailed review of Winc Wine Club

 

California Wine Club

A Vintage Club

Wine of the month clubs are a fairly new and trendy extension of the modern wine culture and thus includes a large variety of new, up-and-coming companies trying to make a name for themselves and build their brand. And that's not necessarily a bad thing since a lot of those companies offer some interesting deals and often come up with some new solutions to the old ways of doing business. But just like the wine itself, a wine club's quality could be measured in years. Instead of the years it took to ferment, one could say that a true testament to a wine club's quality is a number of years it has been in business.

The California Wine Club is an old-school wine of the month club that long pre-dates the subscription box services we've grown accustomed to. Founded in 1990, the club's modus operandi has always been the idea of providing assistance to Grape State's numerous wineries in amassing notoriety outside of the comforts of the Golden West. The club's work is concentrated on the idea of providing two bottles of quality wine each month, instead of being your go-to destination for purchasing vino.

Review of California Wine Club

Part of the Family

There are different levels to their wine club and Instead of proposing you to do all of the work yourself, The California Wine Club puts a considerable amount of effort into searching for some of Golden State's best "grape juices" for their customers. The majority of the distributors tend to do business primarily with larger wine companies so a lot of the vinos featured in this club are not available in retail. The firm offers once in a month delivery of domestic wines from family wineries with an informative description of every bottle. The club has personal relationships with the families that run the aforementioned small companies and henceforth has a direct interest in helping their product attain exposure. Although the main focus of the club is Sunshine State's wineries, it also offers an International membership that exposes you the vinos from all around the world. The product that comes in the club shipments would be one from the winery that is featured the month that you order it. Although not often, you may find champagnes or sparkling wines mixed with regular wines from time to time.

California Wine Club in the use

Guaranteed Quality

The club features a "Love It Guarantee," meaning they promise to replace any bottle that you will not find to your liking or give you your money back if you choose to do so. The company doesn't ask for the membership fees and works on a pay as you go basis.

For more than 26 years, the California Wine Club has been catering to wine lovers by delivering wines from small-award winning wineries. It offers five club membership series. Each series features 2 bottles, the Uncorked® guide to each winery, and access to personal wine consultants and your own personalized "Wine Cellar" to track your favorites online.

If you're the kind of person that likes to support the small, local business while also receiving an outstanding product, this company will prove to be everything you're looking for.

Detailed review of California Wine Club

 

Gold Medal Wine Club

Your Guide in the World of Quality Wine

Let's face it - most of us don't know much about wine. It may seem like a counter-intuitive subject at times and can confuse even the brightest of minds. But whether you are an expert or a novice, there's at least one thing we all have in common in terms of wine and that is the desire to taste quality products. The problem lies with the fact that depending on your knowledge in this particular field, finding out said quality product on your own can range from troublesome to downright impossible. This is where the Gold Medal Wine Club comes in to help you. The goal of the Gold Medal Wine Club is to provide members with a high-quality sample of wines. Their company gives you access to rare and acclaimed wines from award-winning wineries in California and wine boutiques all over the globe. Each wine is selected by a panel of wine experts from multiple award winners in major wine competition and those that received critical acclaim from national wine publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine & Spirits and Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.

Review of Gold Medal Wine Club

A Great Selection

Gold Medal Wine Club is a rather scrupulous bunch with very high standards when it comes to selecting wine for their patrons. Only wines that received numerous mentions in major wine periodicals, possess the highest ratings and have acquired recognition in the "vino" competitions can be found in their selections. They also take special requests from their members – allowing them to get access to wineries that some may have been dying to try. Every wine must be 100 percent authentic, unique and come from the most distinguished wineries from around the world. Each membership level gets a higher and higher rating wine included in their shipment. Prices tend to get higher but so does the quality of the product you are receiving. Champagnes and sparkling wines are not included in this membership, but the wines are exceptional and include some of the rarest samples from around the world.

Gold Medal Wine Club in the use

Unique Wine at Your Doorstep

Gold Medal Wine Club has six different membership levels as well as two add-on memberships. The company's goal is to try to accommodate every kind of wine drinkers. You don't have to form a contract, the money back policy is all-inclusive, and the members can request products from specific wineries if they feel so inclined. Members of the club benefits include but not limited to discounts for wine purchases, exclusive membership-level access to wines, wine store membership rewards program, tasting note videos, and wine publications. With this club, you can limit your membership to just one shipment if you would like – allowing you to try it out and see if it works for you. There's also a possibility to create a limited duration membership, which ranges from one to 12 months or ongoing.

Some may find the club to be a bit pricey, but if you are looking for the best quality of wine and a convenient service, you should definitely give this one a try.
Detailed review of Gold Medal Wine Club

 

The International Wine of the Month Club

Wine Worldwide

Supporting the small, local business is a commendable endeavor for quite a few reasons. One of the biggest of which would be the fact that you provide assistance to the members of your community who in turn are much more likely to give back to that same community that you both are a part of. Nevertheless, sometimes you have to look outside of your local scene if you want to broaden your horizons by trying out something new and exciting and wine is no exception. As much as you may enjoy the product of your local winemakers, it is more than natural to crave a new taste from time to time. If you ever find yourself facing this kind of conundrum, the International Wine of the Month Club would be a great place to look out for. Established in 1994, this club takes “special pride in focusing on wine as a global product,” as President and Founder Kris Calef notes. This company embraces the idea of wine without borders and relishes the opportunity to build interest among their members for wine regions and grape varietals they may never have previously tasted.

Review of The International Wine of the Month Club

Cream of the Crop

The International Wine of the Month Club, among other things, has one of the most layered and intensive vetting processes for wine. Implementing what they like to call as a 'two-tiered panel system' they are ensuring that only the highest quality of wine reaches the homes of their clients. The first pass is done by the company experts while the second panel consists of up to 30 tasters and is comprised of wine enthusiasts who run the gamut from industry professionals to serious amateur collectors, to casual wine lovers. Using this method, the diversity of preference, experience, taste, and style that exists within their club membership is correspondingly represented in the wine selection process. Only those wines that receive approval from the majority of the panel become featured in the club.

The International Wine of the Month Club in the use

A Little bit of Everything

The International Wine of the Month Club does not force you to sign a contract, but they do provide additional contract pricing. Members can select from two to twelve-month contracts or just pick an unrestricted monthly membership. This type of system lets members skip months if they choose to do so and still enjoy some exceptional wine at a solid discount. The company offers four types of memberships. It doesn't allow one-time club shipments; instead, you must commit to a two-month minimum.

Wine club memberships can be combined with any or all of MonthlyClubs.com’s membership programs such as Beer (Cheese, Chocolate, Flowers, Cigars) of the Month Club. You can also create your own membership program that allows you to ship or skip in any given month product combinations.

If you are willing to get out of your comfort zone and explore the world of wine all around the globe, the International Wine of the Month Club should definitely suit as a great starting point.
Detailed review of The International Wine of the Month Club

 

Urban Wine Club

The Road Less Traveled By

Wine has always had this mythos surrounding itself that contained as many inaccuracies and misrepresentations as it did regarding facts and objective truths. One of the most popular misunderstandings of it would be the process of aging wine in regards to its quality. Without a doubt, if you ask 10 strangers about what is it that makes wine superior in terms of taste and quality, at least 9 of them are going to answer along the lines of age and maturity. Even when faced with the truth that the vast majority of wine is not aged and 90% of it is meant to be consumed within a year of production, very few tend to change their beliefs and stick to the same idea that they have held for possibly their entire adult life. Ipso facto, it doesn't come as a particular surprise that a vast majority of people tend to extend the same beliefs towards wine clubs. The predominant notion amongst many would be that not unlike wine itself, the quality of wine clubs is determined mostly by its age. And while that's not necessarily incorrect since the experience you gain over the years tends to prove itself an invaluable asset, there's definitely an argument to be made towards making new experiences, forging your own path and the whole adventurous spirit that is seemingly too alluring not to follow. It doesn't have to be grandiose in its scale nor should it be dangerous and unforgiving. Sometimes the first step towards a road less taken by could be something as small and simple as finding out a new wine club and ordering your first delivery. If that sounds at all appealing to you, we wholeheartedly recommend Urban Wine Club as your starting point.

Review of Urban Wine Club

Your Wine Profile

While Urban Wine Club certainly could not be described as a long-established company, that doesn't mean that the person behind it is a newcomer to the world of wine. Fotios “Frank” Stamos has worked in the beverage industry for almost 2 decades now. In 2003, Stamos was named a general manager and beverage director for Boston’s premier Greek restaurant, Meze Estiatorio in Charlestown, MA. There, he achieved national acclaim for developing the country’s first and only all-Greek wine list, which was lauded in Wine Spectator, Ritz-Carlton magazine, and numerous Boston-based magazines.

If you'd like to order from Urban Wine Club, the first thing you will have to do is fill out an extensive profile page. By providing your age, your experience, your tastes and your preferred way of consuming wine, you are going to assist the club with the task of choosing the perfect wine and the perfect package for you. People behind Urban Wine Club have spent almost 20 years creating relationships with a network of the finest wineries in the world so they know exactly where their wines come from, who makes them, and how great they taste.
Urban Wine Club in the use

A New Experience

After you are done filling out your profile, all that's left to do is choose the type of subscription you find the most fitting. Their most popular one is a monthly delivery of 3 bottles of wine starting at $59. Your wines will arrive 7-10 days after you checkout and should arrive around the same time each subscription period. You can cancel or pause your subscription any time you want with a few simple clicks on their website. Unfortunately, you cannot return the wines. But if you happen to be dissatisfied with their service or products, you can feel free to contact them with your ideas and suggestions.

After all, nothing represents the spirit of wine clubs more than the freedom and excitement you get over experiencing new beginnings. So while you are at it, why don't you give Urban Wine Club a try and you may just find what you were looking for.
Detailed review of Urban Wine Club

 

Infographics

Comparison of Wine Clubs

What is a Wine Club?

Ever since the dawn of human civilization, people have been producing and enjoying wine. The earliest known traces of it have been found over seven thousand years ago in China and, some time later, in Georgia, Iran, and Sicily. And while during certain periods of our history wine has been exclusively used as a part of religious traditions or as an alcoholic beverage available only to the richest parts of society, nowadays it is an accessible choice for pretty much anyone looking to celebrate some kind of occasion, drown his sorrows or simply enjoy the rich taste of the product. As accessibility ceased to be an issue in the current day and age, there have emerged many forms and extensions of the modern wine culture. One of the most prominent and actively developing examples of that would be mail order wine clubs. These kinds of clubs operate on the basis of arranging a shipment of bottles to their clients over an agreed period of time. The sort of wine these types of establishments generally offer is hard or downright impossible to purchase on your own making them an appealing choice for anyone looking for a new taste.

What Features to Compare

There are a few aspects that play a role in it and a few things to consider before joining a wine club. Your budget and wine knowledge will definitely prove to be key factors when it comes to it. One of the reasons to join a wine club would be to replenish your supply of a particular winery's product that you are fond of. Another popular reason would be a regular supply of wine delivered to your doorstep with close to no inconveniences. Furthermore, it can provide you the services of a knowledgeable buyer that will send you the kind of wines you wouldn't or couldn't purchase yourself. Some of the things that should make you reconsider your choice when searching for a wine club include the kind of ones with the kind of business model that necessitates a long-term commitment or the ones that hide their shipping costs. These kinds of companies tend to be unreliable and more often than not prove to be a waste of time and money. Another kind you should refrain from joining are the ones which are partnered with a brand that isn't tied to wine. That newspaper, magazine, or hotel chain is adding cost without adding value. Not to mention that the brand is most likely not to be involved with anything except for the licensing agreement.

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Publish Date: 2017-10-24 08:10:26