An audience of two

Friday November 23, 2007

Pros and Cons of wine clubs
I occasionally get asked whether there are any good wine clubs, so with Christmas coming it's a good time to write my thoughts up.

So what is a wine club? The idea is simple - you pay a regular fee (it's usually fixed, but some clubs vary within a set range) and in return the club sends you wine. How often you pay and how much wine you get varies widely. From the consumer's viewpoint it's a chance to try wines that you might not otherwise consider and it's hassle-free shopping.

There are two kinds of wine clubs - those run by wineries and those run by retailers. First let's deal with those that are run by wineries.

Wineries love wine clubs because it's an opportunity to sell wines at full retail price. Most of their sales go via wholesalers or distributors who require discounts of 30%-50%. As a result, in most cases the price of the wine at the winery is greater than that at retail.

Some wineries produce wines specifically for the wine club only, for example Bonny Doon's DEWN club, or Ridge's ATP list. Others, such as Mumm's Club Vivant, ship mostly wines that you can readily find in local wine stores and supermarkets. Find out whether you get advance notice of the wines being shipped and if you can request a substitute if you don't like the sound of anything in this shipment. Also check how much shipping costs, as this can be a significant proportion of the cost.

As far as retail clubs go, those also divide into two camps - those that are pure wine clubs, and clubs that are run by establised retailers. Be very wary of the former category as their mark-ups are usually much higher. Before you sign up, ask what the last two or three shipments were and then use a tool such as Wine-Searcher.com or WineZap to see what the typical retail price is. Don't be surprised to find those "exclusive, low production" wines readily available much cheaper.

Established retailers offer the best deals, since they are already selling those wines without any additional mark-up. There's always the thought that they are using the club to clear out wines that they are overstocked in, but the better retailers such as K&L Wines don't appear to do things like this.

My personal recommendation is that you're better off talking to your local wine retailer. Tell them what you like and ask for their recommendations. Ask them to put together a mixed case for you. They will know what is popular, which wines are highly rated, what's new in. If you build a rapport with your retailer they'll learn your tastes and will introduce you to good deals. Another option is just to buy your wines randomly at Costco. It's just like a wine club, except that the prices are way better.

Disclosure: I'm a member of Mumm's Club Vivant (and have been for several years). I'm also a subscriber to wine-searcher.com.

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