Winery wine clubs - Should you join one?

The pros and cons of joining a tasting room's wine club

When you visit a winery, chances are that you will also be getting a pitch about joining a winery’s wine club.

Most all wine clubs work the same way. Members of the wine club receive 3 to 4 shipments of wine per year. Usually two bottles are sent in each shipment. The number of shipments and the bottle amount will vary from club to club.

The wine club is basically a marketing strategy used by the wineries to promote and sell their wine. In some wineries, you will be prodded to join the club, while in other wineries, the wine club may not ever be mentioned. Often, the winery employee will get some type of commission for getting visitors to join the wine club.

Benefits of joining a Winery's Wine Club

Wine clubs may ship you varietals before they are released to the public.

Wine clubs may ship you special wines such as reserve wines or special releases that are not available anywhere except at the winery or to members.

Wine shipments are usually discounted 10 to 20%.

Wine club members receive a discount on any wines or merchandise they order from the winery or purchase at the winery.

Wine club members say they enjoy and look forward to receiving the wines and the element of surprise that comes with each shipment.

If you like the wines produced by a winery, it is a convenient way to taste the latest offerings.

A winery may offer special events at the winery for wine club members only.

There is no cost to join a wine club.

You can quit a wine club at any time.

Disadvantages of joining a Winery's Wine Club

Shipping charges may exceed the discount advantage

The selection made by the winery might be a wine variety you don’t enjoy.

The discounts are based on full retail pricing. With many of the wineries, especially the larger wineries, you can actually find a better deal at various wine shops that deal in volume sales.

Even though you can quit a wine club at any time, most people don’t get around to notifying the winery. You will need to call or email to notify the winery that you want to quit the wine club. Human nature usually means that you won’t quit a wine club anytime soon.