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Firstleaf Wine Club Review 2023

FirstLeaf Wine Club Review

We write our honest review on each product, however, we might receive compensation on the products we review to support this website. See our full disclosures here

Firstleaf wine logo

Quick Firstleaf Wine Club Review 2023

Firstleaf is an affordably-priced, fully personalized wine club with a large portfolio of award-winning wines, both international and domestic. The club cuts out the middlemen (importers, distributors, and retailers), and shares the savings with you, so you can enjoy amazing wines at much lower prices.

Affordable wine club
Affordable

Budget-Friendly Wine Selection

Flexibility

Personalized and Flexible

Wine Selection
Wine Selection

Large wine selection for your own taste

Customer Support
Customer Support

Available

Firstleaf wine logo
2024 Exclusive: Get first 6 bottles for $36 + Free Shipping
Firstleaf wine club

If you’re a wine folly and wish to explore new wines from different wine regions from around the world, joining a wine subscription club is an excellent service to consider.

The US market is full of different kinds of wine subscriptions, with each offer a different wine tasting experience. In this Firstleaf review, we will focus on the Firstleaf wine club – one of the largest wine clubs with a direct-to-consumer subscription model, founded by Philip James.

So, with that said, let’s jump right to it! Continue reading our Firstleaf wine club review to find out about the subscription options, the wine quality and brands, the club pricing, and the special perks for registered members.

What is the Firstleaf Wine subscription?

Firstleaf wine subscription service is focused on making your wine tasting experience easy to use and enjoyable to drink. This affordably priced wine club offers a fully personalized experience, with a range of elegant award-winning wines sourced from local and international wineries. With Firstleaf, you can try California wines from Napa or Sonoma and imported wines from Argentina, France, and Italy, with many award-winning competitions from different industry competitions.

Firstleaf offers quality wines at up to 60% off standard retail prices. This is achieved by cutting out the middleman – avoiding importers, distributors, and retailers by partnering directly with wineries. 

How Does Firstleaf Wine Club Work?

Firstleaf is a personalized wine club; based on a few simple quiz questions at the beginning of the wine subscription process, the Firstleaf team of experts will send you an introductory order of six wine bottles. After tasting these wines and providing feedback online, your tasting profile is updated, and the algorithm will then begin selecting wines for your next shipment.

The process of rating all the wines you have received and tasted from the club ensures that each box you receive improves in matching your wine tastes! From our experience as an ongoing registered customer – it does works!

Firstleaf Wine Club Membership Programs

The Firstleaf wine club involves two different stages:

  • Introductory Shipment – includes six wines. The wines are matched to your initial tasting profile after answering a few simple questions. This initial shipment then further develops your taste profile based on how you rate the wines you received.
  • Club Shipments – after you rank your introductory wines, every next club shipment will include six wine bottles that are personally matched to your palate and preferences. If you don’t like a bottle included in your box, you can change it before it is shipped. The first club shipment will arrive a month after the initial shipment. You can then stipulate your preferred delivery frequency, whether every month, every two months, or three months.
Firstleaf wine logo
2024 Exclusive: Get first 6 bottles for $36 + Free Shipping

Firstleaf – who is it for?

The Firstleaf wine club is ideal for people who appreciate drinking wine but prefer an accessible and affordable wine experience. The Firstleaf wine club is great for domestic and international wine lovers alike. This club is also very attractive for drinkers of white wine and rosé wine.

Firstleaf Wine Club Membership Length

Once you subscribe to the Firstleaf wine box service, the wine shipment will frequently arrive, unless you pause or cancel it.

About the Firstleaf Wines

When looking at the Firstleaf wine selection, you can see that their expert wine team is always looking for the next up-and-coming wine trends. Their selection includes wines that have won awards at multiple important competitions within the wine world.

Since Firstleaf has direct relationships with the wineries, the prices you have access to are incredibly attractive and are usually 40%-60% lower than standard retail prices!

Firstleaf offers a wine selection that continually changes. The club’s wine tasting team works hard to find the best wines for their customers. Their list of wines is endless and includes hundreds of different wines from all over the world. 

  • Red wine types– Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Zinfandel, red blends and more
  • Whites wine types– Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, White Blends, and more
First leaf red wine
Firstleaf red wine selection
Firstleaf wine logo
2024 Exclusive: Get first 6 bottles for $36 + Free Shipping

Firstleaf Wine Club Wine Brands and Winemakers

The Firstleaf winemaking team travels worldwide to find top-notch wines. This team works closely with many domestic and international winemakers and vineyards, sampling more than 10,000 wines every year! Only less than 2% make it to the final cut, with 92% award-winning wines. To date, the Firstleaf wines won over 1,000 medals from different wine industry competitions.

firstleaf wine awards

Recommended Award-Winning Wines  – Firstleaf Wine Uncork

As part of our ongoing Firstleaf reviews, we tested these award-winning favorites wines:

Isolde’s Rapture 2016 Red Blend 

An absolute stunner red wine bottle that has left judges and Firstleaf members amazed. This wine took home 95 points and a Double Gold medal (unanimous Gold votes from every judge) at the 2018 International Women’s Wine Competition and was voted “Best of Show” for red wines at the 2018 Denver International Wine Competition.

Disorderly Conduct 2016 Dark Bold Red

At the 2018 Women’s International Wine Competition, judges unanimously awarded this wine a Double Gold, 97 points, and named it Best of Class.  A full-body wine that has notes of spices and bold red fruit. It will pair very well with spicy and aromatic food favorites like Indian food or spicy sausage.

Hawthorne Grove Winery 2015 Chardonnay

This wine bottle won numerous silver medals, five gold medals, one double gold medal, and was also voted as 2016 Monterey County Winery of the Year. This fantastic white wine has a good balance of mouthwatering acidity sweetness taste, with notes of lemon and tropical fruity flavors. It’s best matched with fresh pasta of a light fish dish.

Paso Del Tiempo

Firstleaf has a long love affair with Spanish wines, and this one is a great example! It is a real stand-out wine that received a double Gold medal at the 2016 Harvest Challenge. It was also awarded the competition’s two highest honors – ‘Best of Class’ and ‘Best Red‘. It has a unique smokey flavor that matches well with firewood pizza or heavy meats like short ribs.

Bodewell 2019 Sauvignon Blanc

An aromatic 92 Points white wine from sunny Yakima Valley in Washington. This wine won “Best in Show” in the 2020 USA Wine rating competition. It has a tropical aroma, with tasting notes of bright fruit.

When we came to review Firstleaf, we also took a deep look at their awards. The wine club claims that 92% of its wines are award-winning and presents the awards on the wine pages on the website. We researched for you and checked the wines in our shipments. We confirmed one or two awards for each bottle to make sure their declaration is valid and reliable.

firstleaf red wine selcetion
firstleaf white wine selection
Firstleaf wine logo
2024 Exclusive: Get first 6 bottles for $36 + Free Shipping

Firstleaf wine club main benefits

100% Satisfaction guarantee

This wine subscription service goes the extra mile to keep its customers happy. If you got wine bottles you did not enjoy, you could contact Firstleaf customer support for a full money-back guarantee. With this kind of promise, you can try the wines without any worries.

Special Discounts For Members

Above the attractive offer of the first introductory offer, as a member, you can also buy wines a la carte at the website store – with a fantastic club price of six wines for only  $15 per bottle!

Educating Buyers About Wine

Every shipment you get will include designed wine cards that contain a wine profile (describing the body, sweetness, etc.), tasting notes, dish pairing recommendations, and some basic information about the region the wine came from. Wine profile describing the wine’s body, acidity, sweetness, fruit, and tannin. 

Once the first shipment of 6 bottles arrives and you rate the wines, the Firstleaf wine education work is not done. The company takes pride in offering a professionally certified wine concierge service, created to answer any questions you might have, help personalize future shipments even better and provide tips for a meal pairing.

Moreover, Firstleaf’s online wine school is available to guide you through the world of wine –  articles and videos about the most widespread grape types, best wine regions, a detailed guide to wine bottle shapes, and many more.

Convenient Service

Other than the convenience of receiving personally matched wines directly to your home, Firstleaf makes sure to make their service as flexible as possible. You can update the frequency of shipping and delivery date, finetuning your wine preferences and quiz, skip a month when needed, and cancel your account with no hidden fees. This can all be done very quickly through the Firstleaf customer service at  800-461-7203 or email at [email protected]

firstleaf wine

Differences Between Firstleaf & Its Competitors 

The wine club industry includes a few significant competitors, each with its business model and offering. We could find a few significant differences between Firstleaf and its competitors, as following:

  • Firstleaf works directly with wineries and winemakers. This model enables to cut out the middleman and save a lot of the extra charges, allowing customers to enjoy fantastic wine selections at affordable cost.
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of their wine orders.
  • An advanced algorithm that matches the delivered wines to your taste profile.
  • Fantastic introductory shipment offer.

See the Full Separated Comparisons With Each Competitor:

Firstleaf wine logo
2024 Exclusive: Get first 6 bottles for $36 + Free Shipping

First Leaf Shipping Policy and Delivery Box

Firstleaf ships to 44 out of the 50 USA states, using either UPS or FedEx Ground shipping to deliver their wine boxes within 2 to 5 working days. 

The First leaf wine box delivery arrives in a medium-size, labeled box. Inside the box, there are 6 bottles packed in a specially designed wine carton holder, which keeps the wines protected during the delivery.

Inside each box, you will also receive six cards with full tasting notes and pairing recommendations for each wine, and an informative printed Firstleaf newsletter, with many interesting facts and articles about the club and the wines.

Firstleaf wine club
Firstleaf wine club
firstleaf shipping map
Firstleaf shipping map

Firstleaf  wine club return policy

With Firstleaf, you will not pay for something you didn’t like, and that is a big guarantee! If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with a wine you got in your Firstleaf delivery, they will credit you for it. All you have to do is notify them at [email protected] within 30 days of delivery day, and they will give you store credit! 

If the shipment is returned to the club due to refusal of delivery or there wasn’t someone above the age of 21 available on the delivery date- the club will refund your money, excluding a $20 restocking fee. 

Bottom Line

Final Thoughts of This Firstleaf Review- It is Worth Trying!

If you are looking for a wine club that will allow you to enjoy excellent wines at affordable prices, Firstleaf is a great choice! This wine club is actually one of our top favorites, and we give it a total thumbs up!

The Firstleaf wine club offers club members a vast selection of hundreds of quality award-winning wines. What’s also great about the Firstleaf wine club is that it is 100% personalized to your palate.

Since the club has partnered directly with the winemakers, they can cut out the expensive middlemen and offer you substantial savings. 

We enjoyed the wines we tasted from the Firstleaf selection, and with the added value of their satisfaction guarantee promise, we feel safe to recommend giving Firstleaf a try highly!

Firstleaf wine logo
2024 Exclusive: Get first 6 bottles for $36 + Free Shipping
FAQ

frequently asked questions

Firstleaf built a strong reputation in a short period, with a portfolio of wines that have won more than 1,000 wine awards. Firstleaf is a wine subscription service that focuses on algorithms. It tends to explore more about your needs and interests when you try various bottles of wine and provides you with a customized experience over time.  Firstleaf is unique in that you can evaluate the wines after testing to allow its algorithm to discover more wines based on your personal choices. With Firstleaf you can also customize your wine box to red, white, or a mix of both kinds.  The Firstleaf wine club is an excellent customized wine delivery, and we would strongly suggest that you check it out if you are looking for a decent wine recommendation package!

They offer a unique yet affordable experience, outstanding customer service, and high-quality wines.

If you are ever disappointed with the wines and the club, canceling is easy and straightforward! You can delete your account at any time and without any inconvenience, costs, or complicated instructions.  Your Firstleaf account cancellation is free of charge. The Firstleaf customer service agents can walk you through the cancelation process if needed.

If you’d like to delete your subscription account, make sure to follow these necessary steps:

Go to Firstleaf.club/unsubscribe (if you’re not logged in, you need to sign in to your Firstleaf account) Choose your reason for canceling, and then click cancel subscription and follow the steps. Double-check your email to validate cancellation. You can’t be charged for any scheduled orders once the account has been deleted.

The basic membership is monthly, but you can tailor your shipments to be delivered every two months or three months, with the choice to arrange shipping dates.  To do so, you can go to the Firstleaf wine club website and login into your account.

Firstleaf is a value-driven and completely customizable wine club! The wine club delivers packages centered on your tastes rather than random choices of wines that do not suit your style. They consider your feedback and ratings to react and adapt wine selections to fit your preferences. That way, you have better control of the wine you receive, while they ensure you get top-quality wines at the most affordable cost.

By placing your initial shipment, you immediately register for future orders in the club. If you’re disappointed with the wine or your membership, you can withdraw your subscription at any moment by referring to firstleaf.com/unsubscribe.

This wine subscription stands out from the crowd because it works one-on-one with hugely respected wineries to offer consumers a constant stream of award-winning bottles of wine at a great discounted price.

Once you inform them what you look for in a wine, whether it be red, white, or both, international or national, they can deliver you an intro package of three bottles at an affordable price.  Using Firstleaf isn’t only about accessibility, affordability, or personalization, though these are all reliable causes why you should try it. It’s also a much more convenient way to experience excellent wines from top vineyards around the world.

We would say the Firstleaf, along with Winc and Naked Wines, offers the best value for your money. You could see the complete list of the top affordable price wine subscriptions in our review here

There are many options to choose from, so we understand you may have apprehensions regarding which one is the best. There are many aspects to look at when reviewing a wine club – the quality of the wines, the customization options, the number of wines you get with each shipment, the bottom line price, and so on. From our deep experience and from looking at all the above parameters, we feel safe to say that the top three wine subscriptions in the US are Firstleaf, WINC, and Naked wines. You can see here our detailed review of the best wine clubs out there

Firstleaf, a direct-to-consumer online wine club, was created by Philip James in 2016. He is the CEO of the company up until now. It is owned by the ‘Penrose Hill’ company, also owned by James, which is included in the top 100 largest US wineries.

YES, YOU CAN! You can buy a Firstleaf gift card directly through their website. The gift amount can range from $25 to $200, as you choose. You can send the gift card directly to the email of your giftee or your email, so you can forward it when you choose, at your convenience.

As always, we do our best to bring our readers the best coupon codes and promotions.

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About this Wine Club Review

We love wine in general and the comfort of using a wine club service. That is why we have been reviewing wine clubs for years – starting in 2018. 

Since then, we have received hundreds of separate shipments from the different wine clubs in the market, each with a few bottles of wine to test.

We are still, as in the past, actively reviewing each wine subscription, so this review is updated all the time. Like all other reviews we conduct, this review incorporates our hands-on experiences over the years. The review covers all aspects of many of the services, not just the wines – Are the wine shipments personalized or not? What are the wine sources and special features? How often would you get a shipment? Is the size and timing of each shipment flexible? How easy is it to use the service or make changes? Do you get a satisfaction guarantee for wines you didn’t enjoy? Do they offer giftings? And more. You can see our full review methods 

We hope our honest and detailed review will make it easier for you to understand each service better and make an intelligent, educated choice!

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