I am pretty new when it comes to purchasing allocations. Recently I began receiving offers from several wineries. Some wineries seem to have very exclusive wines since I cannot locate them for sale thru wine-searcher, or if I can, they are more expensive. So it makes sense to me to purchase the allocation. On the other hand, some of the other wineries offer wines that seem to be obtainable from brick and mortar stores at the same price or cheaper. I still see a lot of members here purchasing allocations from these wineries. What are the advantages of doing this vs purchasing from your local store?
Advantage: Limited availability goes to list members not retailers. Low yield years, one offs…
Some of the wineries wines will be available at retail but others only offered to list members.
You don’t have to buy everything offered. If you do you don’t want to be on that list.
YMMV from winery to winery.
You’ve identified the two main reasons already. A third reason is certainty. You might find a certain wine available for sale cheaper than the mailing list, but you might not. There also might be some miscellaneous benefits (such as the ability to visit the winery or visit at a lower price). Some people also just like to support wineries they like.
Time and research into pricing will show you the few that must/should be purchased from winery lists, many need not be .
For me the primary reason to be on a mailing list is to have the opportunity to purchase wines that are not available at retail.
Also, mailing lists are quite variable. The best ones offer an allocation of wines where you can choose which wines to purchase and how many to purchase.
I think I am in line with what others have said…
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Guaranteed access to wine I like, with no gambling on whether it will hit the stores and in what amounts.
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Access to wine that will never hit the stores. Someone also mentioned small lots, “one offs,” etc.
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Not having to “hunt.” I hate the time that can be wasted looking at retailers.
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Directly supporting a company I am fond of. I’d prefer they get that retail price vs. some distribution channel.
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Sometimes there are mailing list benefits: release day party, tasting availability, etc.
Just wanted to add provenance is important as well. It’s nice to know that the bottle has been stored properly and not kept on a shelf near a door.
Some of the big names are, frankly, a rip off. BV, Shafer, Phelps, etc, offer club discounts but their wines can be found cheaper at local retail or online.
Duckhorn is one of the larger ones I’ve bought from their club because many of their single vineyard Merlot and Cabs can’t be found through retail. 20% discount and free shipping can bring the prices into reasonable range.
Another reason for being on a list/club is for free tastings and invites or discounts to events. Most wineries, especially the smaller ones, go all out for wine club member visits. Wine dinners and pick up parties are some of the best perks of club/list memberships.
I really like that most of the money goes to producers I care about, rather than distributors.
I’m with David on this one. Would rather have the money going to the winemakers and the people working to make the wines. in a smaller wine market like I’m in, its often possible to find some of these wines, but I end up having to hound retailers to special order them from their distributors for me, and that’s just annoying. even if I’m paying an extra couple dollars for shipping, sometimes that’s just not worth the ten messages I have to send plus followups when I could just get exactly what I would and cut out the run around.
Another factor is, even if you could find some of the wines at retail for cheaper, if you’re having to order from several places to cobble it all together, maybe the effort and the shipping is more than if you just bought it all from the producer.
But for the most part, your large, commercial winery wine clubs are usually a bad deal. The only reason to sign up for BV, Mondavi, Phelps, etc. is if you just don’t want to have to think about it and/or if you are really going to get a lot of value out of visiting and tasting there.
David, the biggest thing is you’re asking the right questions. Think about what you want, what value you’re getting, what makes sense for you. The answer will not always be that the direct buying from the winery is the better option.
Some wineries seem to have very exclusive wines since I cannot locate them for sale thru wine-searcher,
Why does that matter?
If the wine is crap, and it’s hard to get, do you buy it?
There’s a lot of wine out there. If you buy from lists, you end up buying wines you already know. If you don’t buy from lists, you buy what strikes your fancy. If I tell you I have a hard to get wine, do you immediately load up on it or do you taste it and see if it’s something you’d care about for the price I’m selling at?
If you’re pretty new like you say, first figure out what wines you like and whether you want the offered wine in the first place. Most people don’t buy from any lists and they’re quite happy. If you find a few domestic producers you like, and if they sell through a list, then the above comments matter.
There’s a long list (pun intended) of wine enthusiasts on this board who started out buying from lists and eventually came to regret it. Not that all lists are bad, but they can quickly fill your cellar with wines you may no longer enjoy years from now.
Some wines that I love just can’t be bought retail. For me it’s as simple as that.
A sub-response to the “getting exclusive wines” part of the tale.
If there is a winemaker whose style I enjoy, it’s fun to get access to a “different grape project” he or she may have undertaken on a small scale and then get to see that person’s interpretation of that grape. Hence, I even like that aspect of some of the lists I am a member of.
Amen. One less transit point and risk of it being kept in less than ideal conditions.
For me, the access to wines I enjoy that are hard to find (or much pricier) at retail is #1.
There’s also an educational component to some lists, where through their comms you learn a bit more about sites and varietals. Bedrock is really good on this score and that’s one reason I continue to purchase direct even tho a number of their bottlings now show up at my Binny’s.
+1
If you’re buying from the list to get things you want and can’t get otherwise, that’s one thing.
But for the wineries who produce enough that they can’t sell it all directly, you’ll probably get a better price in a store. Wineries generally sell at full list price. If they discounted, they would piss off their distributors and retailers, and they’d lose their distribution channels. So, if the wine is available retail, it will almost always be cheaper than at the winery.
If that’s the case, the only reason to buy direct is David Buecker’s – because you want your money going to the producer. If you buy when the wine is released, storage/provenance shouldn’t be an issue.
To be fair, that can easily happen with retail purchases as well.
Agree with what others have said about the advantage. Also consider the price difference - it’s infrequent where retail is substantially cheaper (absent discount bin, coupon, special sale), which usually tilts towards buying directly.