Wine Club Buying Guide

How to Choose a Wine Club for Yourself - A Wine Club Expert's Point of View

Top 5 Wine Clubs

We've handpicked the monthly wine clubs offering the best wine and the best value. Want the best wine club at any price? Try our 5-Star wine clubs

Gold Series Wine Club
by Gold Medal Wine Club

The Cellar Series Wine Club
by Wine of the Month Club ®

Premier Wine Club
by The California Wine Club

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Top 5 Wine Clubs

Most Interesting Wine Clubs

Franco's Favorite Italian Selections
by Riviera Wine Club

Plonk Wine Club
by Plonk Wine Merchants

Aged Cabernet Series Wine Club
by The California Wine Club

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Most Interesting Wine Clubs

What type of wine club should I join?

This depends largely on what type of wine drinker you are.

Wine of the Month Clubs

These wine clubs are what most people think of when someone says “wine of the month club.” Typically you get two bottles of wine each month and there’s some kind of theme for the wine club that makes it interesting. Some theme examples include: Pinot Noir, California, International, and Sparkling. There is a practically endless array of these types of wine clubs and to help you sort through them, we recommend a site like ours—WineClubReviews.net—which has organized, rated, and reviewed wine clubs to help you find the right one for you.

Quarterly Case Wine Clubs

There’s a newer type of wine club that has entered the scene and is very popular. Many large-scale publishers (for example, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today) have decided to augment their businesses by selling wine clubs. These wine clubs are all “private labels” and are serviced by large wine club purveyors. Global Wine Company and Laithwaite’s Wine are the two biggest wine club vendors.

The focus in this type of club is on value and exploration, but not really on quality. If you’re not picky about your wine, but you drink at least a bottle of wine each week, these are great clubs for you. You’ll get convenient quarterly deliveries, well-written tasting notes, introductory freebies, and you’ll rarely need to visit a wine store. Check out ZagatWine and 4Seasons Wine.

Winery Wine Clubs

If you have visited a winery and enjoyed their wines I highly recommend joining the winery’s wine club. It’s the best way to try all of a winery’s wines, typically at a discount from full retail pricing. Many wineries make/sell special club-only wines and library wines that you can only get by being a part of the wine club. Learn more about winery wine clubs.

Some tips for joining wine clubs

It is highly recommended that you start your search with wine clubs that ship to your state. Because of the complex interstate liquor laws in the United States, not every wine club can ship to every state and you don’t want to be disappointed after you pick out the perfect wine club and discover you can’t receive the wine.
Upgrade to 3 or 4-bottle per month clubs where they’re available. Wine clubs typically give a greater discount to their volume purchasers and you’ll always have enough wine on hand.
If you can’t find “the club” for you, don’t worry. Purchase a couple of subscriptions, see which one you like better and cancel one. Or keep them both and discover more wine! Almost every wine club has a no-hassle cancellation policy that can be used at any time, and very few wine clubs have a minimum purchase.
Many wine clubs offer freebies as an incentive to get you to sign up. Take advantage of this where you can. You may get new wine glasses, a professional corkscrew, or even a discount on the first month’s shipment.
There are some very special wine clubs out there and if you’re looking for a wow experience with a safety net of someone else selecting the wines, we suggest you check out Premium wine clubs or even Wine Clubs for Collectors.
Not all of a wine club’s selections should be expected to please every palate. It’s good for you to expect that once in a while you won’t love a wine. If you open a bottle and it tastes “off,” you should contact the wine club. Occasionally, wine can be “corked,” or have some other flaw that makes it imperfect, but wine clubs know this and are happy to send replacements, as necessary.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying wine at home in a convenient and exciting way!