10 Best Wine Clubs to Join for Top Notch Experience and Great Gifts
Americans are developing a taste for wine and are gaining an increasing interest in wine clubs. The Wine Institute reports a steady growth in terms of wine consumption from 2014 to 2016. It was noticeable not only in the total quantity of wine consumed in the U.S. and per resident, but also in the total quantity of sparkling wines consumed throughout the country.
Wine stores report a growing interest in rare, quality wines, and wine clubs are growing in popularity by the day. More and more people consider wine to be the perfect gift idea since its success depends less on the receiver’s taste and more on the company, the foods they enjoy the wine with, and the temperature at which they serve it.
If you don’t know what to get your parent, spouse, sibling, work colleague, business partner, or boss, you cannot go wrong with a bottle of fine wine, or, better yet, a wine basket, a wine case, or a wine club subscription. Both men and women love wine gifts as well, with the latter frequently preferring sparkling, rose and sweet varieties.
If you like wine yourself, but you haven’t had the chance to taste too many varieties, now would be a good time to start. There is no better starting point than a monthly subscription. You can start slow, one glass at a time, with a subscription to VineBox, or you can jump directly to more serious subscriptions.
Both solutions will help you try some of the most exquisite wine assortments and take your dinners to the next level. You may want to consider multi-bottle subscriptions, though, because wine tastes better when shared with friends and family and especially when enjoyed in privacy, with the person you love.
The only problem is which wine club you should subscribe to since there are so many of them. We thought you may like some help narrowing down your list of options. After analyzing and comparing the most popular wine club offers, we came up with a list of ten clubs that we consider worthy of your attention.
10 Best Wine Clubs for Subscriptions and Gifts
1. The California Wine Club
California is the U.S. wine paradise and the emblem of the American wine industry. This club lets you enjoy the best of California wines, by carefully selecting their assortments from the thousands of small artisan wineries throughout the state.
They offer various subscription levels and one-time order options at attractive prices and backed up by an attractive Love It Guarantee. Although their offer focuses on California wine, their history is impressive and their reputation is excellent.
2. Wine of the Month Club
What better way to discover the benefits of receiving great wines to your door than to subscribe to the club that invented the concept? This wine club was founded in 1972 and has continued as a family business with an impressive reputation ever since.
Their memberships start at around $24. They too have a satisfaction guarantee policy in place, and an impressive collection of assortments covering some of the finest Italian, German, Argentinian, and French wines, to name just a few. Their activity has been endorsed by Forbes, ConsumerReports.org, and the Food & Beverage magazine, so they should be worth a chance!
3. Gold Medal Wine Club
Reputation is at its best at the Gold Medal Wine Club as well. After 25 years of delivering excellent wines to U.S. consumers, they, too, have been endorsed by reputable magazines like Forbes, Bon Appetit, or Food & Wine, and they have impressive ratings with publications like Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, or The Wine Advocate.
Their subscriptions start at $39, with two bottles of medal-winning Californian wines shipped monthly. They carry some attractive gift sets as well, but their French Champagne offer is the one that will really sweep you off your feet.
4. Cellars Wine Club
Although they are newer to the wine club concept than their above competitors, Cellars Wine Club catches up with enthusiasm, excellent offers, and a clean but effective marketing approach. Their memberships start at $29 monthly for 1 bottle and go up to nearly $400 for 16 bottles. We love their Natural Club, International Club, and their Sparkling Club, but all options are worth looking into.
5. WineCrasher
Another recent entry on the wine clubs market, WineCrasher provides rated wines at excellent prices that have brought them the appreciation of Forbes, UrbanDaddy, or CostcoWineBlog. Their business approach follows two directions – direct sales through the Best Price Wine Store, and monthly subscriptions through the Best Price Wine Club. Their subscriptions start at only $49.99 for three bottles, but the best part is that all the wines they send to club members are from the 89+-points category.
6. Wine Awesomeness
Praised by WineEnthusiast, Thrillist, Harper’s Bazaar, and other reputed publications, Wine Awesomeness has some incredible prices as well. They offer 3-bottle boxes at $49, and 6-bottle boxes at $75. Both options come with free shipping and theblacklabel magazine, and the bottle for the first month is at almost half-price. Their shop and gifts sections are worth visiting as well.
7. 90+ Cellars
Another way to have access to premium wine without breaking the bank is through 90+ Cellars. They buy 90+ wine assortments directly from manufacturers and they bottle them under their own label. Their wine club offers quarterly subscriptions for three bottles at $50 and for 6 bottles at $95. Both options come with free shipping. We love the wide variety of assortments in their store and their catchy blog.
8. Wine Down Box
Although not as popular as its competitors reviewed above, Wine Down Box brings something new to the table. Their subscription, although more expensive, covers artisanal cheese (8 oz.), scratch-made crackers (2 oz.), and handcrafted charcuterie (2.5 oz.). We like their idea of including a personalized gift note on the first box in every subscription.
9. Plonk Wine Club
Conceived by a food and wine expert, Plonk Wine Club focus on crossing borders and discovering new wines. They have a unique focus on organic, limited-production wines, and they classify their subscription options by wine color and quantity. Their prices start at $110 for 3 bottles and go up to $285 for 12 bottles. It isn’t too much, considering the all-natural recipes.
10. VineOh!
We left Vine Oh! last not for their lack of popularity or limited offer but for their focus exclusively on women. Their subscription boxes contain wine, rejuvenating products, treats, and mysterious gifts. Partners can easily share their content: the ladies get the rejuvenating products, the gentlemen enjoy the results of those products, and the couple consolidates their bond over a glass of premium wine and a snack. Box prices start at $59.99, and many subscribers claim the price is well worth paying.
Which of the Above Wine Clubs Did You Join and What Was Your Experience?
Wine is a great way to add savor to your food, consolidate relationships, lighten up moods, and enjoy numerous health benefits. However, your satisfaction will depend on how well you choose your source. If you haven’t done so already, the above list of wine clubs should come in handy. In case you have an ongoing subscription, don’t hesitate to share your opinion on it, to help others figure out what to expect!
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