Wine clubs (also called wine of the month clubs) have been gaining increased popularity amongst wine connoisseurs. It stands to reason that a place where you can have your favorite drinks while interacting with other people who share your enthusiasm is a great place to be. Many people see it as nothing more than just a bunch of people meeting and having a drink. If that were the case, why not just head to a bar?
Whether you join one of the many premium wine clubs or just a regular one, there’s an atmosphere associated with the environment. If you’re considering becoming a member of one of these clubs, you may be wondering about the value attached to such a decision. As we don’t want you to make such a decision while you’re underinformed, we’ve decided to shed some light on some of the benefits of wine clubs.
What Is a Wine Club?
You can think of a wine club as an expression of wine culture. Put simply, wine club provides its members with bottles of wine at a specific interval. Depending on the club, this interval could be monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly, so members get to save themselves the trips needed to make wine purchases. We don’t know about you, but for us, it’s one of life’s simple pleasures to have your wine delivered.
Most wine clubs are associated with specialty wine shops or vineyards; however, some are operated by independent entities. Themes are very popular, and the club you join depends on your preference in this regard. For example, there are white wines wine clubs, and there are red wines wine clubs.
We are sure you can guess what the wine offerings are like with those. Some clubs even mix the two, so their members get the best of both worlds. There are also more affordable and easy on-the-pocket wine clubs and some are for a more upscaled premium wine experience. The list goes on and on…
Reasons Why Wine Clubs Are Worth It
So, we know that this is the part you came for. What is it about wine clubs that make joining one a feasible thing to do? The truth is that it depends on what your mind perceives as value. For example, two different people can have two different ideas of what an acceptable cost is for a given bottle of wine. Therefore, both are likely to feel differently about what the actual price is. Be that as it may, much of the reasons below are not subjective, so we believe everyone can see the feasibility in this regard.
Cost-effectiveness
There’s no denying that wine is a delicacy. While it is very enjoyable to sip a glass of your favorite wine, you must be cognizant of how much you do so. We’re not even looking at intoxication in this regard, but rather we’re discussing cost. Depending on your affinity for wine, the price tag on a bottle could have you spending a hefty sum.
Many of the local wine store options available to you charge the full retail price for bottles of wine. Additionally, some of these stores charge based on their brand. In other words, based on the clientele or the way a store market itself, a markup may be placed on the wine purely because the store is billed as being a high-end one. This markup usually brings the final price even higher than the full retail price.
Satisfaction is also an important consideration. What if a bottle of wine that you’d never tasted before had an off-putting taste? You may feel as if you want an exchange because you cannot enjoy the item. This is not possible with most wine stores, which means that you may end up feeling as if you paid for displeasure.
Wine clubs address these issues in a way that makes for a more cost-effective solution. First, you are never asked to pay the full retail price at a wine club. Additionally, the clubs tend to discount reorders from original club shipments. So, if you like a bottle of Cabernet and you want some more, you may get up to 20% off once the purchase is made from an existing shipment. Satisfaction is also a non-issue as wine clubs tend to offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee, which means that you can have displeasing bottles exchanged for something you like. This prevents you from ever feeling as if your spending was wastefully done.
Extensive Wine Knowledge
This is a big one for us because this can really make or break your experience where wine is concerned. During your tenure in the club, there’s a lot of exposure to an impressive wine selection. This means that your knowledge of various wines is likely to improve. This allows you to choose the most appealing ones, and it even helps you to make recommendations to others. Getting to this point takes time, however, and even if you do, it is still hard to make accurate judgments about wines you’ve never seen before.
This is one of the areas in which your wine club membership is a big help. If you were to go to a wine store and see 20 unfamiliar bottles of wine, how do you select the one that you are most likely to enjoy? Well, you could trust your gut, or you could ask the store clerk, but both of those options could end in disaster. The clerk may not be able to recommend anything, and even if he/she can, it may be based on customer purchase frequency.
Wine clubs customize shipments based on your tastes. A lot of the process is driven by technology, and it allows a club to analyze what suits your palate best so you can get maximum satisfaction. This is especially true if the club you’ve selected is in the wine business.
Wine Selection
This is one of the most appealing things about a wine club, and it’s very easy to see why. When you head to your local store, what are the options available? In our experience, while the selection isn’t bad, it is limited. This is where wine clubs shine.
Variety is the spice of life, and as a wine connoisseur, there’s no end to wine club variety. It is as if there is literally something for everyone available. What’s your preference? White wine? Red wine? Affordable wine? Premium wine? It doesn’t really matter because you can have it. Also, you should note that the wines available at wine clubs are not just domestic. We mentioned the convenience of not having to make the trip required to buy wine before. This goes double if you ever wanted to get a bottle of an international brand. Hopping onto a plane to go buy a bottle of wine is never feasible.
Wine clubs bring all of this to you, and the selection is always evolving. It’s as if there’s always something new for you to try.
Quality Control
We are very big on quality, and if you’re anything like us, substandard products just don’t do. How does a department store or a supermarket do quality control for the wines that are offered? You see, it’s more than just evaluating if the boxes and bottles are sealed or checking the expiry date.
The good thing about a wine club is that it’s a haven of expert knowledge. This means that the key indicators used to determine quality are well known. Rest assured that you’re getting the best when you’re in a wine club.
Flexibility
There are many circumstances that determine our desire when we want wine. Sometimes, we may want to buy some red wine. Other times, we may feel like ordering white wine. Sometimes, we may be ordering for an upcoming event, and we want a mix, as well as a larger quantity than we’d order for an individual. Maybe you just want to show you care by gifting some bottles for the holiday season.
The great thing about wine clubs is that they are flexible. Additionally, the cost-saving and other benefits scale with your order, so you get a beneficial deal that adjusts to your needs on the fly.
Tricks to Squeeze the Most out of Your Wine Club Membership
As you’ve seen up to this point, a wine club membership is a very advantageous thing to have based on the way it works. Apart from the natural advantages discussed, there are some steps that you can take to make the membership even more beneficial.
The first tip is to order larger shipments less frequently. This one is obviously a numbers game. Consider ordering cases quarterly instead of a few bottles monthly. Not only do you get a better shipping price per bottle, but many wine clubs also offer case discounts for such purchases. It’s just a matter of planning well for your future consumption.
Secondly, take advantage of wine club promotions when you can. This applies even more to new club members. Wine clubs are likely to offer a beginner’s promotion to incentivize potential members to join. Many of these promotions are highlighted during a wine club review piece. So, feel free to check out review sites and do your research before choosing your club.
Summery
as you can see, there are many advantages to joining a wine club, and we honestly think it is 100% worth it! There are many wine club options, each one with its unique specialty and price point.
