Choosing the best wine club comes down to personal preferences including your budget, your tastes and how often you want your wine delivered to you. In this guide, I ranked and reviewed the 5 best wine clubs, so that you can pick the best one for you.
#2
Naked Wines
Best for Exclusivity
USA Today’s #1 wine club in America 2019, 2020 and 2021.
#3
Firstleaf
Best Curated Wines
Take the quiz, rate your wines, find new firsts in every box.
#4
Plonk Wine Club
Best Organic Wines
Rare organic wines, curated for you and delivered to your door.
My Experience with Wine Clubs
One of the best things about joining a wine club is the opportunity to try wines you may not have thought of trying yourself. Also, the wines you get from most clubs are ones that you won’t likely find at your local wine shop. So, that means you’re bound to experience wines that are new to you.
Also, when you join a wine club, you’ll end up learning a lot about different wine varietals and regions where wine comes from. Many of the best wine clubs will includes tasting notes and educational materials along with the wines they send you. Half the fun of drinking wine is learning about it!
And that brings us to one of the big problems with wine drinking. And that is, that it can be very overwhelming, especially if you’re a new wine consumer. There are many choices in terms of types of wine, red vs. white, wine regions and more.
The good news is that trying a wine club can be a great entry point into growing your wine expertise. But, choosing a wine club (sometimes called a wine subscription) can be overwhelming in itself.
So that is why I’ve gone ahead and curated my own list of some of the best wine clubs I’ve experienced. Plus, you’ll find links to detailed reviews I did for each club below. All of the clubs in the list should delight wine lovers of all levels.
Some of the links in this review are affiliate links. That means if you click through and make a purchase, I’ll get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I’m proud to say my reviews are always my honest opinion no matter what.
As a wine drinker myself, I’ve personally tried and experienced each of these clubs and am pleased to share my list with you and everything I’ve learned about each club. I hope you get value from it!
What are the Best Wine Clubs?
Here are my choices for the top wine clubs.
1. Wine Access
Best Overall Wine Club
I cover several different wine clubs in this list, but Wine Access is the overall best in my opinion.
Most just give you one club option. But with Wine Access you get the most flexibility in terms of the type of wine club you want to join. From an entry-level club to exclusive high-end clubs for the most discerning wine consumer.
- Best for – Variety of wines and club choices.
- Pricing – $150 to $525 depending on club.
Wine Access give you access to five distinct subscription based wine clubs. Each club has different options for price levels, shipping frequency and more.
In addition, two of the clubs have different levels based on cost and the number of wines received with each delivery.
Here are the choices within the Wine Access subscriptions:
- Wine Access Connoisseurs and Discovery Clubs – Two luxury bottles or 6 classic bottles, delivered 4X per year.
- Decanter – 6 Everyday Excellence or Rare Luxuries bottles, delivered 4X per year.
- The Michelin Guide – 4 bottles, curated by Michelin Guide restaurant chefs, delivered 5X per year. Also includes food pairing suggestions from the chefs.
- Sunset – 6 wines from California, Oregon and Washington, delivered 4X per year.
- WA Collector’s Club – Prestigious wines from blue-chip estates, delivered 4X per year.
Overall, there’s something for everyone with this wine club.
Pros
- Wide variety of choices and price points.
- Shipping included with all clubs.
- Discounts for club members on individual wines.
Cons
- No phone support on weekends.
- May overwhelm some new wine drinkers.
2. Naked Wines
- Best for – Exclusive wines from independent winemakers.
- Pricing – From $39.99 for six bottles of wine.
The Naked Wines wine club model is different from all other clubs. It’s based on an Angel investment model that connects individual, boutique winemakers to individual drinkers.
To purchase wines, you deposit $40 each month into your wine investment account. As a monthly wine club, you can either purchase new wines each month, or wait until your account builds up funds month after month.
This angel model benefits wine consumers in that the winemakers can focus on making wine and Naked Wines can focus on the sales and marketing for them.
That allows us as wine consumers to get wines at a 40-60% discount.
Pros
- Unique Angel-investment model.
- Wines not found elsewhere at a discount.
- Award winning and highly-reviewed club.
- Has a fun and interactive social aspect.
Cons
- Must remember that account is refilled monthly automatically.
- Mostly California wines.
3. Firstleaf
- Best for – Wines curated just for you.
- Pricing – From $44.95 for six bottles of wine.
What’s unique about Firstleaf is how well they tailor their wine recommendations to you, based on your tastes.
They do this through a quiz based, interactive rating system and flavor profiling.
The quiz process helps Firstleaf understand the types of wines you might like. For example, they ask you about tastes such as sweet vs non-sweet, what varietals you already know you like, wines you know you dislike, your preference for exciting vs boring wines and more.
Once done with the quiz, you’ll get a list of wines they suggest you try. You can also swap out those suggestion for other wines they have in stock before making your purchase.
Overall, I found the quiz process to be fun and intuitive and appreciated their suggestions.
Pros
- Wine Concierge team to help you choose.
- Large selection of wines.
- Refer a friend program with discounts.
Cons
- No option to choose shipper at order time.
4. Plonk Wine Club
- Best for – High quality, sustainably grown organic wines.
- Pricing – From $110.00 for four rare organic bottles of wine.
The Plonk Wine Club sources rare organic wines from around the world, including 20+ international and domestic regions.
The wines they source are sustainably grown, organic and bio-dynamic.
Plonk is owned and founded by Etty Klein. She’s American Sommelier Association and WSET certified, and a curator of organic wines.
The club embraces diversity in wine choice and as a wine consumer you benefit from this.
I’ve personally tasted several of the wines curated and can attest that they are clean wines of high quality.
Pros
- Curation of organic, sustainably grown wines.
- Minimal-intervention and biodynamic winemaking.
- Can choose ongoing or one time pre-paid plan.
- Gift subscriptions available.
- Free shipping for club and wine shop.
Cons
- Prepaid packages non-refundable.
- Can’t select individual wines in club shipments.
- Returns or refunds not offered if you don’t like a wine.
5. WSJ Wine
- Best for – Letting experts select premium wines for you.
- Pricing – From $69.99 for twelve bottles of wine plus free gifts.
While many other of the best wine clubs try to curate wines for you based on your tastes, the WSJwine club sends you what they feel are the best wines for your money, including occasional sparkling wines. Although you can see what you’ll be getting ahead of time and can make changes.
And I have to say, their selections don’t disappoint, in my opinion. Whether you order all reds, all whites or a mixed case, the wines you get will be high quality, no matter what.
Many are highly rated and have received awards. Plus, they send you great tasting notes and free gifts when you purchase their club.
Pros
- Expertly selected wines.
- Free gifts and detailed tasting notes.
- Been in business for many years.
- VIP offers for wine club members.
Cons
- Introductory offer limited to one per household.
- Wines and offers differ depending on your state.
Best Wine Clubs – FAQ
It depends on what is important to you in terms of cost, variety and the type of wine you enjoy. Each wine club offers something different and you should research and choose the one that best fits your needs.
Yes, wine clubs are worth it because you get to try unique wines at discounted prices. This is especially true with the introductory offers that many wine clubs offer.
Costs vary depending on the club, shipping options and your specific state sales tax.
Most wine clubs are actually wine subscription services. They send you deliveries of wine to your door based on a schedule, often monthly or quarterly.
There’s little difference between the two. A wine club and a wine subscription service both send you deliveries of wine based on a schedule.
Yes, to cancel a wine club membership you contact the wine club and tell them to cancel your subscription.
Best Wine Clubs – Summary
No matter which one of the best wine clubs you decide to try, you’re sure to discover great wines that you won’t find at your local store or favorite restaurant.
Do keep in mind that most wine club’s introductory offers are significantly discounted. That means that subsequent deliveries after the first one will be at regular price.
But even at regular price, you’ll likely be getting great wines at a good value. And, you’ll have a continued supply of wines coming in to keep your wine rack stocked!
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