6 Wine Clubs: Each With a Different Twist for Learning
Updated: May 19, 2020
Wine Clubs are the perfect way to experience a variety of wine and to learn more about the history, the growing regions, and the taste of wine. If you are looking for a gift for the wine lovers in your life or if you are interested in joining one yourself, these wine club reviews will help you identify the right club to join.
Keep in mind there is an abundance of wine clubs out there. We’ll look at these 6 wine clubs with a focus on learning about wine. We’ll consider how they source their wine, what wine styles they offer, and the kind of wine packages they offer (number of bottles, frequency, and cost).
Winc
Benefit: Curated to Your Taste
Their goal is to cut through the old, inefficient ways of getting wine into consumers’ hands. They want wine buying to be simple and accessible. Hooray! They focus on curating wine to your taste by having you take a quiz to find out what you like and don’t like. Then they refine future selections based on your wine reviews.
While their marketing is modern, they focus on producing traditional wine styles with fun and funky labels. The benefit to you is that you’ll learn which wine styles match your tastes like Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Grigio.
The downside is that you won’t be able to find their wine in stores or restaurants. That’s because Winc produces the wine and sells direct to consumers. They don’t sell to stores or restaurants. At the same time, they supplement their offering with wine from independent wineries that have limited distribution. There is a slim chance you’ll run across these wines, but they have very limited distribution because they are small boutique wineries with small production levels.
With that understood, this is still a great option. Winc is a great wine club and a fantastic way to try delicious wine at home and to learn more about the different wine styles that suit your tastes.
Source: The majority of wine is produced by Winc. They source the grapes from a variety of vineyards along the West Coast of the United States and then produce the wine in-house. A small portion of the offering is from small boutique wineries. Bottles: 4 bottles. Frequency: Monthly. Cost: $13-$55. Wine Mix: Red, white, rosé, sparkling, or cider. (Even though they select the wine to your taste, you have the option to receive only red, only white, or a red/white mix.) Selection: Curated to your taste based on a 6-question quiz, then refined based on your subsequent reviews of the wine. Gifts: Gift cards are available.
VINEBOX
Benefit: Taste by the Glass
This is a fun innovative wine club. They’ve come up with a great way to taste test a wide variety of wine from around the world in glass size portions. The small portions are perfect for those evenings when you want just a glass of wine and not an entire bottle. And when you find a wine you love you can use credits toward a full bottle for those evenings with friends.
Each quarter you’ll get a box of 9 vials of wine with a different theme each time. Some of their themes are Vintages & Varietals which explores how the same wine changes from year to year (ie. Bordeaux & Barolo) and another is A Wintry Mix of hearty reds and weighty whites from France and Italy.
Source: Comes from wineries around the world. Bottles: 9 glasses of wine in a vial (10 cl or 3.4 oz). Frequency: Quarterly. Cost: $75-$89 for 9 glasses (about $8 – $10/ glass). Wine Mix: Red/white mix (There is no option to receive red only or white only.) Gifts: Gift cards are available. Other: Boxes are available to purchase one-off so you can check it out before joining.
WINESTYR
Benefit: Unique, Hard-to-Find Domestic Wine
Their goal is to make small production wine much more accessible. The wine comes from small wineries along the West Coast from California, Washington, and Oregon. It’s a great way to support these small wineries who don’t have the marketing muscle or size to have a wider distribution.
While this wine club will bring some great quality wine to your doorstep if you find a wine you love there is only a slim chance you’ll be able to pick it up locally. The best way to get it is through the Winestyr service. As mentioned before, this can be a downside. However, with this service, you’ll learn quite a bit about wine from the West Coast from the types of wine they produce (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay) to the regions they come from (California’s Napa Valley & Sonoma Valley or Washington’s Walla Walla Valley, etc).
All of this will help you when purchasing wine in a store or restaurant. As I discuss in this post: 5 Secret Tips to Understand Wine. The best way to select wine is by wine style (ie. Chardonnay) and the best region for that wine style (ie. Napa, CA).
These unique small production wines can make great host/hostess gifts too. As these will be high-quality, unique wines that are sure to impress your friends.
Source: Wine is from small boutique wineries along the West Coast of the United States. Bottles: 3 or 6 bottles. Frequency: Monthly, every other month, or quarterly. Cost: Starts at $79/shipment. Wine Mix: Red, white, or red/white mix. Gifts: Gift giving options include 1, 2 and 3 bottle one-time gifts, wine club gifts, corporate gifts, or gift cards.
Cellars Wine Club
Benefit: Variety of Domestic and International Selections
Founded by a husband and wife team, they source wine from the West Coast of the United States and from around the world. Their club subscriptions are reasonably priced and super flexible. They offer a themed approach with a 90+ Rating Wine Club, an Import Club, Sparkling Club, West Coast Club, and many more. They even have a club for those just getting into wine called the Premium Club. This club offers wine from boutique vineyards in classic regions like France with prices below market.
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Source: Domestic and international wineries. Bottles: 1, 2, or 12. Frequency: Monthly, every other month, or quarterly. Cost: Range from $29-$369. Wine Mix: Red, white, red/white mix, sparkling, 90+ rating, organic, sweet, or region-specific. Gifts: Gifts are available by selecting a club, delivery frequency, and the number of shipments. Other: They also have a give-back program. At checkout, simply enter the code of the non-profit you support and 15% of your purchase will go to the non-profit at no additional cost to you.
Wine of the Month Club
Benefit: Broad Range of Wine with Backstory and Tips
This is the original wine club and it’s still around for a reason. They offer a variety of clubs with a theme such as region (ie. California, Napa, Bordeaux), wine style (ie. Pinot Noir, Rosé), and more. They even have a Mystery Case Wine Club to surprise you with each shipment.
With each delivery, you’ll get a full-color, in-depth newsletter with notes about the winery, winemaker, recipes, cellaring and serving suggestions. Combining the wine experience with the backstory about each wine is a great way to build your knowledge about wine.
Source: Small boutique wineries. Bottles: 2, 6, or 12. Frequency: Monthly, every other month, or quarterly. Cost: $38 – $600. Wine Mix: Red, white, red/white mix, rosé, region-specific, or wine style (ie. Pinot Noir). Gifts: Gift baskets, gift memberships, or one-time gifts by budget.
Blue Apron
Benefit: Small Bottles, Paired with Meals
Yes, Blue Apron is the meal prep company, but as many of you may know they also offer a wine club. It really is the perfect way to combine the two things we all love. Delicious food and great wine. If you want to learn about pairing wine with food, this is the club for you.
The wine shipment includes tasting notes, pairing tips, and the story behind each wine. Keep in mind the bottles are slightly smaller than the standard 750 ml. You’ll get 500 ml bottles which are enough for two to share. This club truly is geared towards learning with the added benefit of pairing the wine with a meal.
Source: Renowned winemakers. Bottles: 6 (500ml – 2/3 standard size). Frequency: Monthly. Cost: $65.99 (about $10/bottle). Wine Mix: Red only, white only, or red/white mix. Gifts: e-Gift card for wine or meals. Enter the dollar amount you choose.
Wine Clubs Wrap Up
All of these wine clubs have different takes on experiencing wine in fun and interesting ways. They’re a great way to supplement your wine journey and learn more about this mysterious liquid.
