Wine Clubs

[SandyM]

I noticed on the latest Wine of the Week string that people were curious about Wine of the Month Clubs.

Disclaimer: I am not a wine conisseur, expert, fanatic, or anything of the sort. As I've stated before, I know what I like, be it an $8.00 bottle of Rosemount or a $50 bottle of Cuvaison. My tastes in wine run the gamut.

My sister-in-law introduced me to a club - you can see more at www.atasteofcalifornia.com (http://www.atasteofcalifornia.com) . Obviously it's California wines, so if that doesn't suit your fancy, then it's probably not for you. Their wine of the month club is the lower end stuff - $7.50 - $10.00 bottles. I started out with that, but then realized I didn't want to receive 2 bottles a month. I upgraded to the "premium" membership (or whatever it's called). I get 2 bottles every two months now. These are $15 - $17 bottles, I believe.

They're little known wineries in California, not widely distributed. The first bottles I received were chardonnays; the 2nd batch I received were merlots. (Is there a plural for wines??? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif)

I have not been disappointed yet. Nothing screams at me just yet, but they've been enjoyable. And I'm not one to just buy a bottle of wine because the label appeals to me, or because the name of the winery is interesting. I stick with the same proven things, and this is my way of branching out, so to speak.

I know there are other clubs, and certainly, where you live has a great deal to do with these clubs. Michigan just recently passed a law where you can have wine shipped to you. There are still several states that, unfortunately, you cannot.

Good luck in your search.

[kwormann]

That is interesting and I am going to look into it, but I THINK, TX wont allow shipments. ANy TXn's know????

[KValley]

Just bumping this up. I'd like to hear others' experiences with ordering wine on-line....

[daner94]

You can't receive wine via mail in GA either-- there are ways around it somehow because my old boss received shipments once a month. The name of the company that shipped the wine was some random name... not sounding like a wine company. I will try to find out what it was and get back with you.

Dana

[Kismet]

I've ordered online from both evinyards.com and american cellars wine club (acwc.com). E-vinyards was great! They had a 3 bottle sampler sent monthly, and the wines were wonderful. Acwc was not as good. They really messed up our order but did fix the problem after many, many, many phone calls. I just found different places to try through a search on the web.

Also, you might want to check out local wine stores for a wine of the month club. I know that here in MN there are a few stores that do it!

[Karen M]

We've shopped from www.geerwade.com (http://www.geerwade.com) several times. Great prices for some great wines.

[Julia1Pin]

Over the past couple of years, we've belonged to anywhere between 2-5 wine clubs (hmmm, maybe that's how we've amassed a 300 bottle wine cellar?).

The wine clubs are always of a particular winery that we enjoy. The following are just IMHO:

The worst was Charles Krug - the wine that was sent to us just wasn't as good as at the winery tastings.

The best are:
Sterling - great selections every month, and every couple of months, you are offered the chance to buy REALLY!!! expensive bottles at 1/2 - 1/3 of the price.
Villa Mt. Eden - can't go wrong with any of the wine!!!!

One caveat to wine clubs - read the literature carefully. If the wine ends up being more expensive through the wine club, than at the winery (which is usually more expensive than at the store), don't sign up! this is apt to happen if they charge a set price per month, and you see that in the past they've sent 2 cheap wines for the set (usually $50) price. This is how we decided AGAINST the cakebread wine club, even though we really enjoy their wines.

-Julia

[SusanMac]

SandyM -- thanks for starting this thread! (that was me who asked for club recommendations)

I'll definitely check out these links. I'm considering trying a club from a local store, but since I figure that I already shop there, I'd rather have access to different wineries. I especially like the idea of clubs that distribute smaller wineries that are hard to find, since it makes experimenting fun.

[Nancy171]

I've had good experiences with wine.com clubs(which is now evineyard.com), both as gifts and for myself. I enjoyed the opportunity to get out of my California-only wine rut (easy to fall into when you live here), and my sister in Indiana enjoyed trying wines from small vinyards that don't have Midwestern distribution.

[SusieO]

Kim: www.evineyard.com (http://www.evineyard.com) will ship to Texas. I had a good experience when I ordered from them.

[caregiver50]

We have enjoyed being members of two wine clubs in the past few years and have found some really good wines. One especially good wine club was with Viansa Wine Club. South Carolina has put a stop to shipping in wine also.