- There are many wine clubs out there to choose from, regardless of what type of drinker you are.
However, you can divide them into two broad categories for the purpose of narrowing your search to the best wine club: those dedicated to beginners and those for the aficionados.
In selecting a wine club, you need to keep several considerations in mind: whether the club offers an enriching and dynamic experience, its ability to cater to your specific needs, and whether it can provide great value to you.
- Wine Clubs for Beginners
If you are new to the world of wine drinking, the best wine club for you should be both delicious and informative. It should offer you tasty wines without necessarily denting your wallet.
Being a beginner, it’s often helpful to keep costs low as you develop your palate and flavor preferences. Also, the best wine club for novices should also be informative. It should provide valuable information on wine type, pairings, and flavor profiles.
A wine club offering their members an educational experience is a helpful introduction to the variety and flavors of wine.
Wine Clubs for the Adventurous
The best wine club for an adventurous drinker is all about the experience. If you are an adventurous drinker, you may already know so much about wines that your preferences are clear and developed, but you may want to feed your enthusiasm for wine by trying new vintages and brands.
The best wine club for you should provide detailed information about each wine’s grape and vintage, allowing you to pinpoint your desired characteristics.
However, even the most conservative wine drinker may want a change every now and then, so the variety of wines available makes flavor exploration convenient and fun!
Winery-Specific Clubs
If you love a particular winery, you might want to consider participating in a wine club that specializes in that particular brand. It will grant you access to your favorite wines, as well as the periodic discounts that they sometimes offer.
Many wineries offer clubs devoted to their own vintages, so for those truly devoted fans, the consistency provided by a brand-specific membership may outweigh the benefits of variety. However, winery-specific clubs are not be the best for people who wish to try out different brands or have not yet established their favorites.
Brand Name Recognition
Joining a wine club often guarantees you high-quality drinks, but for some people a recognizable brand is especially appealing. Companies such as Wall Street Journal, Virgin Airlines and The New York Times have their wine clubs although they have no specialization in wines.
However, they hope that their reputations alone would be enough to bring oenophiles to their doorsteps. Such companies outsource their wine selection from anonymous wine distributors who ensure they supply high-quality drinks. These clubs may lack some of the wine-specific perks of a specialty-run wine club, but for many the draw of belonging to a recognizable name brand is worth it.
What Works Best for You
The right wine club will not only help you discover what works best for your palate, but also the convenience and details that matter most to you. You may not know whether you prefer engaging customer service, thoughtful details or a smart design – until you start sampling wine clubs.
Though largely subjective, a few test runs will give you a clear idea of the features that matter most.
If you’re looking for a shortcut, Reviews.com recently spent 6 weeks exploring 20 popular wine club options. They considered factors like selection variability, the ordering and delivery process, and of course, the taste of the wines themselves. Ultimately, they found three great options for oenophiles looking for the variety and convenience of a wine club, and you can check out their results here.
The Bottom Line
If you are out to select a wine club, remember that it goes beyond the glass –It’s really about your tastes and preferences.
A seasoned drinker can never go wrong with any of the wine clubs mentioned above.
As Monique Soltani once put it:
“Wine is a belly-to-belly business,”
so your best bet is to go with your gut!
By: Julien Miquel
***Grabbed from: http://socialvignerons.com/2016/12/11/what-you-should-know-about-the-best-wine-clubs/