With the coronavirus pandemic changing shopping habits that most of us have always taken for granted, wine clubs are suddenly more than just one option in a wine-buying strategy. A well-chosen selection of wines delivered right to your door every week or month? It’s hard to think of a better way to guarantee that you’ll have enough bottles of the good stuff to weather the COVID-19 storm.
Of course, wine clubs have historically had a reputation as a hit-or-miss proposition. Though many of them promise the opportunity to taste wines that you otherwise may not have considered, there’s an inherent risk in not quite knowing what you’ll receive with each shipment.
Fortunately, there are a number of excellent ones out there, and many of them are embracing the American drinking public’s expanding palate. From clubs that are run by respected online retailers to selections curated by boldface names in the wine industry, this is a good time to reconsider what wine clubs have to offer.
Here are five of the best, all worth serious consideration.
Belle & Bottle
Washington State-based Belle & Bottle offers a nice range of club options that run the gamut from monthly to quarterly shipments. For $50 to $60, the 30 Club consists of two West Coast bottles each month. The Bubbles Club includes a quarterly shipment of one Champagne and two other sparkling wines, all for $90 – $100 each time. Check out their web site for the full listing of options. And if you feel particularly passionate about one or two of the wines you’re sent, you have the option of buying them individually, which is a nice touch.
Bounty Hunter
Based in Napa, Bounty Hunter lets you know right on their website what to expect from their monthly or quarterly mailings: “We like bold, fruit-driven, pure wines and we know you do too. You’ll never receive lean, funky, oxidized or austere wines in your shipment.” $199 gets you into The Killer Cabernet Club, and The Most Wanted Sixer runs to $599 and includes “the best of the best, from Napa to Bordeaux to Tuscany,” including six bottles of “bold, fruit-driven, primarily domestic wines at the top of the quality pyramid.” There are plenty of options in between, too.
Cellar 503
Want to take a deep dive into the world of Oregon wine? Check out Cellar 503, where each month, a different theme shapes the wines that are sent. September 2019 focused on unusual grape varieties, including Blaufrankisch, Chasselas, and more. October trained the spotlight on a cross-section of winemaking vessels, like amphorae and concrete. And the producers are excellent, with standout names like Keeler, Anne Amie, Maysara, and more.
SommSelect
Founded by Master Sommelier (and one of the stars of the Somm films) Ian Cauble, SommSelect offers two options: Drink Like a Somm includes four bottles each month for $99, plus shipping, and The Somm Six is $199 plus shipping for half a dozen bottles that range from drink-them-now reds and whites to more age-worthy ones. There’s a bind-tasting option, too, in which the wines come wrapped and numbered and accompanied by a tasting notebook and guidelines on how to blind-taste them like a pro.
Tasting Room
Tasting Room is one of the most fully customizable wine clubs around. Before you sign up, answer a handful of questions on their website (Do you prefer milk or dark chocolate, or neither? Do you drink coffee with sugar, cream, or black? Which fruits do you like most?). Their algorithm will then create a “wine tasting kit” of six mini-bottles for as low as $9.95 that you taste and report back on. Full-size wines will then be sent out at a frequency of your choosing, and your ongoing assessment of the wines will work to ensure that the selections are fine-tuned to suit your tastes.
