There's nothing wrong with popping down to your favorite shop to pick up some wine to go with dinner, bring to a party, or celebrate finally getting that big promotion. But when it comes to discovering new wines, joining a wine club can be a great way to deepen your knowledge, expand your palate, and get access to bottles that your local retailer likely doesn't keep in stock. Besides: Who doesn’t love coming home to a case of reds, whites, and rosés selected just for you?
If you're eager to broaden your horizons when it comes to wine and learn to talk vino like a pro, joining one of these world-class wine club might just be the best way to unleash your inner sommelier.
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1 | Gold Medal Wine Club
Already a wine fan who’s looking to start tasting some deeper cuts? This California-based wine club is run by a professional wine judge and concentrates on indie and family-owned wineries. But the real draw of this club is the variety of membership levels, which can focus on reds, a mix of reds and whites, strictly pinots, or only wines above a certain rating.
2 | Les Marchands Wine Club
Anyone who enjoys a bit of surprise will feel right at home with a wine club like Santa Barbara-based Les Marchands, which is run by a born-and-bred California winery native.
With subscription levels starting at $49 a month, the Daily Drinkers Club will score you two mystery wines that could be local Californians or foreign, while the Grand Cru will net you two or three top-quality bottles of Burgundy for $249.
3 | International Wine of the Month Club
As one of the earliest entries into the remote wine club arena, this 26-year-old operation employs a rigorous testing process where all wines are approved by a group of highly-qualified experts before being approved by a panel of 30 to 40 judges. All of this front-end research will score you two bottles of wine a month, which can be customized by red or white preference and categorized by rarity.
4 | SommSelect
If you’re one of the millions of people who got sucked in by the documentary SOMM, you now have a chance to experience that expertise first-hand. Ian Cauble, a 37-year-old master sommelier and featured exam-taker in the documentary, helms the selection process for this wine club, which nets you one of two packages that put you entirely in an expert's hands. Want to make your wine club something all your friends can enjoy? Go for the Blind Six package, which is a selection of three reds and three whites that come wrapped in black paper (complete with judging instructions) so you can play real-life sommelier at home alone—or the next time you host a party.
5 | The New York Times Wine Club
Leave it to the paper of record to develop one of the most worthwhile wine clubs out there! While the system here may be simple—judges travel to more than 13 countries to sample the best of the best, whittling the selection down to less than 1 in 50—they pride themselves on providing mostly exclusive wines that can’t be bought anywhere else. Members also gain access to a slew of delicious recipes that will pair perfectly with selected bottles.
6 | The California Wine Club
If you’re so into Sonoma or all about Napa, consider becoming a member of the California Wine Club. As the name suggests, this club focuses on the best vino from America’s largest wine-producing state, focusing on the lesser-known family-owned vineyards and granting access to some of the most exclusive aged Napa Cabernets. Members can also count on tasting notes and educational material written by experts, VIP tours at featured wineries, and an online “wine cellar” to help you keep track of your favorite bottles.
7 | Winc
The most important thing about ordering wine is being confident that you’re going to be uncorking something you really love. Winc uses a simple six-question quiz to figure out your personal taste preferences, using the results to tailor-fit your monthly shipment of four fantastic bottles produced by a global team of top-tier winemakers. You can also specify from month to month whether you’re looking for more reds, whites, or rosés, or even take months off with no penalty. Hello, Dry January!
8 | Wine Awesomeness
For a lot of the best bottles out there, the story behind the wine can be as important and compelling as the juice itself. Wine Awesomeness helps incorporate this idea into their wine club membership, which not only includes access to some of the best hard-to-find wines on the market, but also includes a monthly issue of thebacklabel magazine. In it, you’ll find stories covering food, wine, paired recipes, tasting notes, and culture that will make that small production Grenache you’re swirling in your glass taste even better.
Naked WinesIn a certain sense, buying a nice bottle of wine can be seen as an investment. But what if your subscription to a wine club made you an investor in a more concrete sense? Naked Wines refers to its members as “angels,” where a $40 “investment” goes towards helping independent winemakers sell top-notch vino at rock bottom prices. Your subscription includes a monthly drop of an exclusive bottle, as well as access to 60 percent off retail purchases and pre-sales on limited releases.
Naked WinesIn a certain sense, buying a nice bottle of wine can be seen as an investment. But what if your subscription to a wine club made you an investor in a more concrete sense? Naked Wines refers to its members as “angels,” where a $40 “investment” goes towards helping independent winemakers sell top-notch vino at rock bottom prices. Your subscription includes a monthly drop of an exclusive bottle, as well as access to 60 percent off retail purchases and pre-sales on limited releases.
