Personally, any good cut of barbecued red meat with a hearty red (cab, petite sirah or Rhone variety) is pairing heaven!

Shipping club wine at a significant discount to retail price;

Charging low or no shipping;

Always complementary tastings at the winery, including some reserve or library selections;

Making excellent, low-production “club only” wines and distributing them only to club members; and

Hosting COMPLEMENTARY club events including parties, BBQs and tastings.

The disappointing club experiences I’ve had are ones where I’ve seen a wine I was shipped at retail for far less than I was charged, or felt like wine was “dumped” on the club members.

It’s clear to me, after evaluating several clubs which ones are really trying to establish a client base and which ones are just interested in taking some additional cash off it’s members.

After many years of running our business model we found that it’s just easer to order what you want when you want it…we have no club and are very happy by not having to deal with making everyone happy when they get the odd ball wines we sell…

Each winery has to look at their market and ask is a wine club is best suited for their consumer, so not pro or con just laying it down as the truth tells it all.

Cheers !!!

Hadn’t occurred to me that wineries might dump their slow sellers to the Club; seems suicidal, since Clubs so often are the economic anchor of a winery. But then, I sometimes buy the discounted slow-mover special they’re offering on purpose.

Most clubs I’ve seen offer a cross-section, or all reds, or all whites, and sometimes a high-end level and a cheaper level. It would be hard to create a club that offered Only the Good Stuff–at least, at a price I could handle!

I was talking to a national chain the other day, that has a few different monthly wine clubs and was told that their wine club members were asked which wines of the shipment were their favorite….then those wines were carried in their retail stores. I don’t think anyone expects to pay to be a company test group…too often it is low quality close out wine that is being shipped.

For us, yes shameless plug at Uncorked Ventures, we’re trying to provide wines that we’ve not only tried ourselves, but generally speaking wines that are not available at your local wine store.

Every month, wine club members receive two hand-selected bottles of premium wines with accompanying notes from wine experts. They also get recipes and suggested food pairings.

Your wine club membership delivered to your work address, even to your relatives or neighbors, wherever is more convenient. Remember that only an adult over 21 years old can sign for the package. State laws and the availability of carrier services determine who will deliver your wines.

For many, the cost of shipping the wine is more compared to the cost of just buying wines at a local store. However, keep in mind that once the cost for shipping is factored in, the price might end up the same if you had purchased the wine at the local store instead.

Recent surveys reveal that members are quite satisfied with their wine clubs because of their impeccable wine selection and additional information about the wines. They are also happy with being able to taste different kinds of wine from different countries without having to track down the selections at various stores.

Thanks
Neil

I love to try all kinds of wine…the more I taste the more I grow in my palate and understanding of wines and styles… with 10,000 wine grapes in the world it’s funny we only stick to but a few…10,000 wine grapes and 1,000,000 ways to make the wine…GL Cheers !!!