If you’re a wine folly and wish to explore new wines from different wine regions around the world, joining a wine subscription club is an excellent service to consider. Curated wines are hand-picked by experts based on your preferences and delivered right to your door.
This review will revisit our hands-on experience with the Firstleaf Wine Club – one of the largest wine clubs with a direct-to-consumer subscription model founded by Philip James.
Continue reading for our updated and revised review of the Firstleaf Wine Club for 2024 to learn about the subscription options, wine quality and brands, club pricing, and special perks for registered members.
In a Glance – Intro to the Firstleaf Service
Firstleaf is the most personalized wine club in the USA, with a large portfolio of affordable, award-winning international and domestic wines. They cut out the middlemen and share the savings with you so you can enjoy amazing wines at much lower prices.
Firstleaf wine subscription service is focused on making your customized wine-tasting experience easy to use and fun to explore new varieties. With Firstleaf, you can try California wines from Napa or Sonoma or many imported wines from places like Argentina, France, and Italy. Many of them are award-winners from industry competitions.
Firstleaf offers quality wines at up to 30% off standard retail prices. This is achieved by avoiding importers, distributors, and retailers by partnering directly with wineries and vineyards around the world.
Pros:
- Affordable customized wines
- Large selection of award-winning wines
- Excellent customer support team and satisfaction guarantee
- Flexible delivery days and shipping options
- Access to the wine concierge team for taste profiles and pairings
Cons:
- Only available in 6 and 12-bottle shipments
- Not as many options for swapping out selections
Who is Firstleaf For?
The Firstleaf Wine Club is ideal for people who appreciate discovering new wines but prefer a customized and affordable wine experience. You receive deliveries of personally curated wines from around the world that are delivered right to your door.
Firstleaf Wine Club is great for domestic and international wine lovers alike. The wines are reasonably priced and sourced from high-quality vineyards from world-renowned regions. The large selection of varieties, flavors, and types of wine always keeps things interesting and exciting.
Your wines are chosen by experts specifically for you based on a few simple quiz questions at the beginning of the wine subscription process. Once you taste and rate the wines you have received, your custom taste profile is updated, resulting in an ever-improving box of new wines that are hand-picked for your palate.
In our previous experience with Firstleaf and from our new hands-on review in 2024– it really does work!
Wine Club Subscription Plans
The Firstleaf Wine Club offers four different membership plans to fit various budgets and palates. Each plan includes a 6 or 12-bottle selection of amazing wines curated for your preferences at discounted prices.
Choose from the Classic, Preferred, Premier, or Fine Wine Plan. The subscription cost for each tier increases, as does the retail value of the wine selections and your discount on club orders.
Each plan includes the two unique stages of membership:
- Introductory Shipment – After answering a few simple questions, your first six wines are matched to your initial tasting profile.
- Club Shipments – After you rank your introductory wines, every club shipment includes six wine bottles personally matched to your updated palate and preferences.
You decide how often you want to receive your deliveries, and you can change the frequency anytime. Choose between every 2 weeks and every 12 weeks, depending on what fits your budget and lifestyle.
The Ordering Process – How to Get Started?
Ordering your first wine box is simple and fun! Sign up on their website or the new easy-to-use app to get started. Next, you will take a short quiz designed to create a custom taste profile based on your preferences to match you with custom wines specifically for your palate:
Your personalized wine choices will be selected for you based on your quiz results:
If desired, you can swap out bottles, add extra bottles from the wine shop, or double your order to 12 bottles for free shipping.
A few days later, your customized introductory box will arrive with six bottles of wine specially curated for you! Rate the wines you receive to update your wine profile, called your WinePrint, to reflect what you like best when picking new wines for upcoming deliveries.
You can change your preferences or swap out wines anytime on the website or new app.
Variety of Firstleaf Wines
The Firstleaf winemaking team travels worldwide to find top-notch wines. Firstleaf wines have won over 3,200 wine awards, with over 500 of their wines winning gold medals and over 100 awarded double gold and platinum medals.
The large wine selection continually changes with an endless list of wines from all over the world—including French, Spanish, Italian, New Zealand, and local wines from California and Washington. They offer all varieties of red, white, sparkling, and rose wines for every palate. Plus, there is a dedicated section for premium fine wines.
Red Wine Varieties: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Carmenere, Garnacha, and more.
White Wine Varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Bordeaux Blanc, Riesling, and many more.
Sourcing & Sustainability of the Wines
The team works closely with many domestic and international winemakers and vineyards, sampling more than 10,000 wines every year, with only 2% making the final cut! Both Firstleaf and its partners also focus on sustainable practices and eco-friendly packaging.
The Firstleaf wine selection shows that they are always looking for the latest 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 can access are incredibly attractive and 30% lower than standard retail prices!
Our Experience with Firstleaf – Is It Good?
We were pleasantly surprised with how quickly the box arrived and how well everything was packaged. The wines came separated by cardboard inserts that were fully recyclable, and the bottles were safely protected during shipment.
Each delivery comes with quality, full-color, detailed reference cards for each wine, with information on where they are from, their taste profiles, and much more.
Between the informational cards and the beautiful wine bottles, the experience was special, especially compared to the alternative of grabbing a random bottle off a liquor store shelf. Tasting the wines was fun and felt like a classy wine-tasting experience with a professional sommelier.
Among the six bottles we received, two whites and four reds, these two award-winning wines were some of our favorites:
Comarca 2020 Garnacha
This wine boasts over 30 brand awards, including best of class and a platinum medal, and now we understand why. We really enjoyed this wine and could almost feel life slow down a little with each sip. The fresh fruit, florals, and herbs were reminiscent of its origins in sun-soaked Spain. The cranberry and dried herbs notes pair well with lamb and aged cheese. Need we say more?
Le Coq Gaulois 2021 Bourdeaux Blanc
We loved how unique this wine was, and it was something we had never tried before. The combination of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon was acidic in a bright and lively way, with a depth of minerality and a satisfying mouthfeel. This French wine has won over eight brand awards and pairs well with fresh seafood, summer salads, and goat cheese.
As part of our first box, we also tried these high-quality and delightful wines:
1/3 WA 2022 Chardonnay
A new Washington Columbia Valley Chardonnay is light and creamy, with notes of fresh green fruit and subtle oak influences. It pairs well with a fresh pear salad.
Alrededor 2020 Tempranillo Blend
This gold medal-winning classic from Spain features notes of baking spices and mulberry, which pair well with smoked meats and velvety soups.
The Perfect No. 6 2020 Red Blend
An Australian blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon that has been awarded over 17 brand awards. Notes of mulberry, cedar, and allspice pair well with chicken and portobello mushrooms.
Rali 2020 Pinot Noir
This fruit-forward Chilean pinot was awarded 92 points and a gold and silver medal. Its notes of black pepper and cherry pair well with roasted vegetables and pork chops.
The Firstleaf Delivery Box – Is It Well Organized And Eco-friendly?
The Firstleaf wine box delivery arrives in a medium-sized, discreet, unlabeled box. Inside the box, six bottles are packed in a specially designed wine carton holder, which keeps the wines protected during transit.
Inside each box, you will also receive six cards with full tasting notes and pairing recommendations for each wine, as well as an informative printed Firstleaf newsletter with many interesting facts and articles about the club and the wines.
Firstleaf is a pioneer in the eco-friendliness of its packaging. All of Firstleaf’s delivery materials are recyclable and sustainably made. They have even surpassed the Sustainable Winegrowing Program’s (SWR) directive to decrease glass in wine bottles.
What Do Customers Think of Firstleaf?
Firstleaf customers enjoy the affordability and variety of the wine. It can be a great service to discover types of wines that you might like but aren’t aware of.
One Reddit reviewer shared: “My partner and I have recently signed up for the FirstLeaf wine club. We’ve received 12 bottles so far which have been great “daily drinkers” when we don’t feel like cracking an expensive bottle. I’d say 7/12 bottles were decent wine, 2/12 were excellent bottles that I’d buy again, 3 or so were pretty meh. But for the price, I can’t complain.”
Another subscriber wrote: “I’ve tried a few wine clubs and the one I like the most is the Firstleaf wine club. I’m not really tied to one specific local winery so for me I look for interesting wines that I haven’t tried before. They’re the only one I know of that has a master of wine as their winemaker and actively change what they recommend based off of your own ratings. I’m not sure if they have wines that are specifically designed to be aged though.”
Other Wine Clubs like Firstleaf
If you are looking for similar wine clubs like Firstleaf, you should consider Bright Cellars, Winc, or Naked Wines.
These wine subscription services personalize wine selections to customer preferences and offer a great selection of wines from quality vineyards.
The subscription terms are flexible and affordable, with some nice wine options for every palate.
Pricing
Pricing varies depending on the subscription plan you choose. After introductory pricing, which is usually $45-$50 for the first box, the plans range from $90 for the classic plan to $150 per box for the fine wine plan. These pricing figures are true to our recent check-in in 2024.
Is Firstleaf Good as a gift?
Firstleaf makes a great wine gift option! They make it easy to give the gift of quality wine with convenient gift cards, wine bundles, or single bottles of wine. Browse their large collection by price, variety, or by personal preferences.
You can easily ship wine to another location as long as someone over 21 years of age is present to sign for the package.
Customer Support and Members Benefits
Firstleaf Wine Club has a great, dedicated customer support team and an extensive FAQ section. If you ever have any questions or issues, you can contact them by:
- Help Center on the Firstleaf website: https://help.firstleaf.com/hc/en-us
- Online Chat: Click the chat icon on the Firstleaf website
- Phone number: 1-800-461-7203 Monday to Friday from 5:30 am – 5 pm PT and on Saturday/Sunday from 6 am to 2 pm PT
- Schedule a call with a wine concierge: https://firstleafclub.setmore.com/beta
As for special benefits for Firstleaf members, memberships come with outstanding benefits like:
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
This wine subscription service goes the extra mile to keep its customers happy. If you receive a wine you don’t enjoy, they will replace it for you without questions asked.
Special Discounts For Members
Above the attractive 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.
Wine School
Firstleaf’s online wine school is available to guide you through the world of wine – articles and videos about the most widespread grape types, the best wine regions, a detailed guide to wine bottle shapes, and many more.
Wine Concierge
The company takes pride in offering a professionally certified wine concierge service that is designed to answer any questions, help personalize future shipments even better, and provide tips for meal pairing.
Delivery Areas
Firstleaf currently delivers to 47 of the 50 states in the US, including Washington D.C. However, due to state regulations, they are not able to deliver to Utah, Mississippi, or Rhode Island.
What to Consider When Choosing a Wine Club?
Wine Preferences
Look for a subscription service that supplies the types of wines you like. Maybe you prefer Italian or French red wines, or perhaps white wines from Napa are your favorite. Look for subscription services that carry these types of wines and partner with vineyards you will enjoy.
Budget
There are great options for more affordable wine subscriptions, or you can splurge for pricier options that offer premium wines. You can also pause memberships or change the frequency of deliveries to fit your budget.
Number of bottles per shipment
Some wine clubs restrict the number of bottles you can order, while others will allow you more freedom to customize your deliveries. Look for one that fits your needs based on how much wine you drink and how much you want to order.
Frequency of delivery
Some people value flexibility in delivery frequency when choosing a wine club. Some subscriptions deliver monthly, while others allow you to choose the delivery date and how often you receive shipments to fit your lifestyle.
Personalized shipment or not
In traditional wine clubs, the service chooses all the wines for you. You may prefer that model or want to select some of your own. As illustrated in this article by Commerce 7, wine clubs are now offering more flexible terms, easier cancellation, and more personalization options to cater to modern user preferences. This means there are even more options for great wine subscriptions that fit busy lives and hectic schedules.
The Bottom Line – Is Firstleaf Worth It?
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 its members a vast selection of hundreds of quality, award-winning, and premium 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 highly recommend giving Firstleaf a try!
Why Trust Us?
At The Wine Club Review, we are passionate about wine. We diligently review different wine clubs to bring you the most up-to-date and honest information to help you decide which subscriptions best suit you.
We compare pricing, ordering processes, quality and variety of wines, and overall satisfaction to curate unbiased hands-on reviews. You can rest assured we have done the hard work for you so you can relax and enjoy quality wines from around the world.
