Friday November 23, 2007 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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Dave, I agree wholeheartedly with your recommendation that you get to know your local wine retailer.
I had hoped you might get to the end of this interesting post without mentioning C**tco (substitute T**co for your anglophile audience). So a few thoughts for the undecided might help...
Yes, they offer huge discounts.
Yes, they offer the convenience of a one-stop-shop.
Yes, they have huge areas of free parking.
Yes, they offer "choice" - we can debate that another time.
Yes, they want world domination.
Yes, they want to put small, local suppliers out of business.
Yes, they are damaging ecosystems by encouraging monoculture from their suppliers.
Yes, I hate shopping in an enormous barn of a place with Stepford staff instead of real local people with whom you can build a relationship.
Support your local independent business...they spend their profits in your town too, unlike the multinationals.
Posted by Warwick on November 27, 2007 at 12:05 AM PST #
Dave, I read in one of the Wine Spectator forums a post from you referencing the Wine Club in Santa Clara. I live in San Jose and have been a customer of theirs since 2001. Would be interested to hear via e-mail what your recent experience has been.
Posted by Dave on January 09, 2008 at 09:17 AM PST #
To the other Dave: I'd respond via email, but you didn't leave an address.
To be honest I haven't had much in the way of recent experiences. I think most of my 2007 wine purchases have been direct from wineries, though I have shopped at K&L a few times and at BevMo at least once. It's been a while since I visted the Wine Club; I used to hit the tastings fairly frequently, but with two kids it's just not practical. However I have nothing against the store and would recommend them based on my experiences in the past.
My post on the WS board probably concerned some 2003 Sauternes futures that I ordered a couple of years ago. I got the call over the Christmas break that they have finally arrived, but haven't had chance to pick them up yet. Don't know what took so long, but I'm guessing the delay was at the other end.
Posted by Dave Tong on January 09, 2008 at 12:22 PM PST #
Another advantage to K&L's club(s) is that they have a great deal if you want to order more of whatever they shipped you that month- the usually offer re-orders at a substantial discount.
If I weren't spending so much on various allocation lists, I'd sign up for their low-end monthly club.
Posted by kenneth on March 24, 2008 at 06:47 PM PDT #
We might be a little biased, but we think there's room in most wine-drinker's lives for both great local retailers AND wine clubs.
1. If you go into a retailer and say "this is what I like" and they successfully give you wine you like, that's awesome! How likely are you to discover something you don't already know you like though?
2. We like to buy our everyday favorites at the grocery store, but that selection is fairly stagnant and it involves lugging six bottles of wine around (gotta get the extra 10% discount!)
3. We like winery wine clubs because if you've ever been wine-tasting you know that most of the good wineries don't sell their wines to retail outlets... only restaurants and winery-direct-to-consumer. These clubs are great if you're a fan of a particular winery.
4. Last but not least, if you want to discover new wines, branch out into new varietals and regions, skip the hassle of the stores and lugging wines around, and get that fun "surprise" feeling every month, we recommend augmenting your local wine purchases with a wine club. You can the wine club ratings and reviews at WineClubReviews.net to help you find the right club for you, inside your budget, too.
Posted by Wine Club Reviews on November 02, 2009 at 06:04 PM PST #