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Best Wine Club

kiwichris

kiwichris

Team Smoked Charcuterie
Albatross 2024 Club
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Location
Thornton, CO
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Golf
The wife & I like our bottle or two and we have tried a few wine clubs since the virus, mostly for the introductory offers to stock up. Seeing what other clubs members out there may be a part of and what value for money/quality of wine/best shipment they see.

We tried the following:
Wall Street Journal - great 15 bottle introductory offer
Macy's Wine Club (same as WSJ) - good wines but essentially same as WSJ
Wine Insiders - Some good wines so far, good deals now & again.

Previously a member of Naked Wines - great small vintner wines or wineries but we had let that one go a while back.
 
We haven't joined any of the mixed wineries clubs in a while, Since we've traveled to a few wine regions we've joined specific winery's clubs. That's kinda a fun way to support a place you've been and to remember/savior your vacations.
 
Totally agree on that option, unfortunately we go through more than we can support on a quarterly wine club basis for our favorite wineries.

Which ones have you joined?
 
personally i think they’re all garbage. nothing more than a vehicle to pawn off overrun, otherwise unsellable juice.

i think you’re better off finding a local boutique shop and giving them a monthly budget, and asking them to put together a case a month for you. you’ll build a rapport with a local business, and have fun learning more about the wines you enjoy.
 
People have had success dealing with WSJ... I think they enjoy wine, but don't need the uber expensive taste.
 
Gman79 said:
People have had success dealing with WSJ... I think they enjoy wine, but don't need the uber expensive taste.
Click to expand...
If you look now they have a screaming intro offer (at least they had), we got 15 bottles delivered for under $100 & the free gifts were unavailable so they threw in a Magnum as a sorry.
 
kiwichris said:
Totally agree on that option, unfortunately we go through more than we can support on a quarterly wine club basis for our favorite wineries.

Which ones have you joined?
Click to expand...
A few Napa clubs. Trefethen, Raymond, & Cuvaison. Although we've left all but Trefethen so far. And totally agree don't try to support ALL wine needs via wineries. lol
 
Have you tried Paso Robles region? Took my wife there few years ago (childless times) and found some amazing wineries there - Anglim, Ecluse & Croad would be my top 3 from that trip (Croad is also another Kiwi electrician turned wine maker).
 
We tried Naked Wines last year and didn't have a good experience with it. Seems that bait and switch was their business model. We never got what we actually ordered, so we dropped them. Wife looked at another one (don't remember the name), and every time we looked at their website, the prices changed. Even looking at it at the same time on two different devices showed different prices for the same bottles. It seems scams are rampant in that industry.

We just stock our cabinet now with mostly local wines from southern Illinois and central Missouri. We don't have delicate taste in wines, so it's easy for us to find stuff we like.
 
kiwichris said:
Have you tried Paso Robles region? Took my wife there few years ago (childless times) and found some amazing wineries there - Anglim, Ecluse & Croad would be my top 3 from that trip (Croad is also another Kiwi electrician turned wine maker).
Click to expand...

paso robles and central coast have some of the best value around. excellent wines without breaking the bank.
 
I dont really do much wine, so I'm not sure about clubs, but there is one that sponsors a podcast that I listen to.

tryfirstleaf.com/DRINKINBROS
 
kiwichris said:
Totally agree on that option, unfortunately we go through more than we can support on a quarterly wine club basis for our favorite wineries.

Which ones have you joined?
Click to expand...
Madonna
It's in the Carneros region of Napa. Toured it several years ago and loved their wine. They only sell through their club or at the winery. We get a couple of bottles every quarter. Can always add more at a discount.

Madonna Estate Winery | NAPA, CA | Home

Madonna Estate Winery Handcrafted Wines Proudly Grown On Our Estate Organic Vineyard - Home
madonnaestate.com madonnaestate.com
 
Agree with what many have said regarding mixed clubs, you're going to get a lot of wines that weren't moving that they are now unloading in the clubs. The only club we belong to now is from a local wine shop that has 4 new wines each month. We have belonged to a number of individual wineries clubs where we were able to select our monthly allotment. We always stayed away from wineries that would not allow you to determine which wines were sent. We really prefer tastings as the best way to build our cellar. As my neighbor with the 5,000 bottle cellar always says, I want wines in my cellar I to want to drink!
 
Desmond said:
Just signed up to receive texts to see what comes up:

www.lastbottlewines.com

Last Bottle Wines - View Today's Offer

Wines you actually want to drink at the lowest prices you'll ever see!
www.lastbottlewines.com www.lastbottlewines.com
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that’s a fun one. i’ve bought a fair bit from them. some really good stuff too, but often their flowery descriptors don’t quite deliver. and always check something like wine-searcher.com to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
 
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