Mailing List Good and Bad Deals

Probably shouldn’t ask this question so soon after BerserkerDay and I’m really not looking to get on any more lists but thought it would be an interesting discussion to see what people think are the good and bad wine clubs / mailing lists. These should be clubs without long waitlists. They could be good deals because you just can’t get their wine otherwise and the wines sell for more on the secondary market or they give a good discount for members. Most have free tastings for members which is how I often originally get on a list to save on tasting cost but will often drop after a year or so because it winds up I can get their wines in retail for the same or less.

For instance, I’ve looked into Phelps and while you get a decent discount for Insignia the cost of their secondary wines are quite a bit higher than retail which pretty much wipes out the savings for Insignia. Plus you can usually find Insignia at a decent price online and I’m not extremely keen on their other offerings.

My wife and enjoy Duckhorn for their Merlots and you can’t find some of the single vineyard stuff in retail (I know, family vineyard bought out but investment group). You need to buy a case to get a 20% discount. They have a ton of secondary options so a few times I’ve filled out a case with these as cellar defenders to get 20% off the couple of wines I’m interested in. With the 20% these wines seem to hold up ok in value vs retail but I don’t think the club is worth being in if you’re not willing to fill out a case. IMO the Discussion is good but not as good as other Napa Blends at the price and the Paraduxx line seems overpriced.

Ridge gives you a great deal on Monte Bello and the prices on their secondary offerings seem to hold up with retail but the downside is the long time between paying for the Monte Bello futures and when you receive it. I think it’s still a good deal because of the MB discount and their secondary wine prices are very reasonable and the wines are good.

Cheers

I buy a large majority of my wines through mailing lists. Mainly because they are normallly not readily available at retail. I avoid clubs because clubs pick the wines for you. I taste to find what lists I want to be on rather than be on the list to get free tastings. Once I’m on the list I have the wine in my cellar and don’t need to go to the producer to taste it. Most times a waitlist is worth the wait and I’m not talking about cult wines. See Carlisle

To me, very few lists are any kind of “deal”. I buy them for access to the wines, or sometimes loyalty to the (usually small) producer.

MB is a good deal. And a really good wine, which is the real reason why, at the end of the day, it is a “deal”.

Alan? Is that you?

LOL!

Finally terminated my last mailing list relationship ("it’s not you; it’s me) by dropping Ridge. Only one that made sense for me, and it ceased doing so given the aging curve of (a) the wine and (b) me.

Why is that a downside? These are wines that are often consumed with 10-25+ years of bottle age. Any younger than that and they are just taking up space. Let Ridge pay for the storage.

True enough. Maybe because it doesn’t scratch my itch for having the bottle in my hands but since they will most likely stay in the cellar a good 10+ years what’s the difference, right?

The only good mailing list deals are where the wine you want are only available through the mailing list and they allow you to choose what to buy. My best ever mailing list decisions have been Carlisle and Quilceda Creek where I have been buying for 15 and 18 years, respectively. For me, sharing allocations among friends can improve the utility of mailing lists.

IMHO there are no good wine club deals.

Macdonald is a pretty good deal.

Vincent is definitely a mailing list where the offers are attractively priced. Pre-release, but the offers come out not all that far in advance of when you get your wine.

Please tell me about the Fait Main mailing list.

It’s dead at retail.

The big commercial wineries like Mondavi, BV, Phelps, Duckhoen etc. are usually terrible wine club deals. They list their wines way about actual retail, and even the wine club discounts often leave you above best retail pricing.

What you said.

Plus I like that my cellar does not look anything like Binnys. Not saying wines from Binnys is bad. But if I need one from Binnys, I can get there quick. They will have something for me. My cellar is full of stuff not available at Binnys.

Scherrer is a good one for Zin Futures. You get limited release Shale Terrace as well as the OMV Zin for about 30% below release price

We have been buying from Ridge, Rafanelli, Carlisle and Turley for at least 15 years, if not more. Ridge is for the Monte Bello futures primarily, and to receive an occasional discount on other wine, while the others are to be able to secure allocations that are difficult to find at retail. An added bonus for us is that we live in the Bay Area, and we can attend some really nice events here for no cost, or for a nominal cost. The Ridge MB Barrel Sample events or the semi-annual Carlisle pick-up days, for example. And, each of these wineries are so friendly that supporting them directly is a pleasure.

Ed

Living closer to Napa/Sonoma would make club or list membership a much better value. I get notification of so many events and special offers that I just can’t take advantage of that my teeth are getting ground down.

For my money, supporting smaller operations like Vine Hill Ranch, Macdonald or Roy Piper make those lists a worthwhile expense (the quality of the wine doesn’t hurt either). Other lists are ways to have access to otherwise unavailable wines like Marcassin , Aubert, Shafer HSS or Schrader. The only list I’m on that does not precisely meet either of those categories is Alpha Omega. With AO I have found that, while a good portion of their wine is fairly available, their single vineyard cabs and top blends are not. At the time I first tasted at AO they offered a membership that only required you purchase a case of wine per year and gave you access to nearly all the wines on offer. So I get to choose the wines I want from an extensive list including their single vineyard cabs and top blends for the price of 12 bottles. The downside is that their top level wine prices have skyrocketed as most have in Napa. I have decided to drop my Schrader membership due to high cost, the realization that I may not be able to enjoy the slow aging wines by the time they are ready to drink and the fact that I have over 70 bottles already on hand. The last reason is not that bad of a problem to have!

Rivers-Marie Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley PN are good deals at $30, or at least my wife says so. Bedrock is pretty cheap for their OV Zin too.