Wine Clubs: Three Reasons to Join a Local Wine Group

Joining a wine club is an easy way to ensure you get a regular number of bottles of wine without needing to put in a lot of thought. "Wine of the Month" is the most well-known wine club but is far from the only option available to wine enthusiasts.

Wine Clubs come in a variety of forms: direct shipment from a favorite winery, shipment from a wine distributor, or pick up from a local wine store. Each of these forms has its benefits, and all help you avoid those unfortunate "we have no red wine" moments that can come up at the most inconvenient moment.

Benefit #1: Joining a wine club is convenient.

When you join a wine club, you don't have to think about buying wine and often do not even have to leave the house as it will be delivered to your door. The wine club will provide you with wines of a consistent quality or type on a regular basis, and won't force you to walk the aisles of the liquor store wondering what to buy. For people who live in small towns without easy access to a good liquor store, membership in a wine club is an ideal method to obtain a stead supply of good wine.

Benefit #2: Joining a winery wine club means you get the wines you like on a regular basis.

If you frequently only the same wine or only from one specific winery, a wine club is an easy way to have the wine come straight to your house, and provide the opportunity to buy more at a discount. Many wineries have membership clubs. Membership generally includes a regular shipment of wine, usually quarterly, of 4-6 bottles of wine and the additional opportunity to buy featured wines at a discount. Another appealing feature is members can access wines only sold at the winery or at limited locations. Every winery has different restrictions and benefits as a part of membership, but many will let customers designate "red only" or other preferences. Also, winery wine club members generally get to try new releases first. Go to your favorite winery's web site and look to see if it has a wine club option.

Benefit #3: Joining a wine club lets you try new recommended wines.

One of the perks of being a member of a wine club is that someone is screening the wines for you. While this does not guarantee that you will like the wines because everyone's tastes are different, membership in a wine club means that someone liked the wines well enough to recommend a lot of people try them. Whether the wine club you join is through an on-line distributor and wine is delivered to your house, or through a local wine store where you pick it up, you will get to try a variety of different wines.

Additionally, most wine clubs allow members re-ordering privileges of wines they liked at a discount and to give gift memberships. Membership in a wine club is a convenient way to ensure a steady supply of wine.