We are starting one soon and wanted to hear feedback from some wine nerds / ITB what their expectations are when they hear “Wine Club”.
I might be painting the forum with broad strokes but I would be surprised if a meaningful percentage of folks were actively in one. Given how discerning the forum is I don’t see folks leaving the selections up to chance. I find they’re better for folks just getting into wine as a way to experiment and learn or those who don’t want to spend the time to curate their own selections.
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@B_Davies, while @J_Dornellas is correct that I am NOT a member of my local wine stores club as I want to choose what I purchase, here are the offerings from FLOR in Portland, OR, which I am not sure will be relevant in Virginia, but you asked so:
Two Shades - 60/month, one red, one white, or two reds and two whites
Whole Bunch - 120/month, 2 reds and 2 whites
The FLOR 4 - 135/month, any combo of any color (all red, white, orange, rose, or sparkling, or any combo of these)
Membership in the club also provides first access to special events (winemaker events, dinners, classes, etc.) as well 10% off additional purchases at time of wine club pickup.
I’ve felt this way… what’s the point of a wine club, but the more I talk to customers about it the more they want one.
We also plan to include events etc. into the wine club so it’s more like a “VIP” status. Really like the idea of having exclusive events with winemakers.
@B_Davies - Yep, I totally understand. I volunteer out at FLOR three days a week for 4 hours a day or so helping with all the unskilled aspects and we have a fairly decent-sized number of members in our wine clubs.
The other thing the wine club is really good for is inventory balancing, when those bottles we love did not move for whatever reason, they are a great candidate for the wine club.
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In a previous role the shop I worked at had a retailer wine club.
It was very flexible where the customer decided on budget, frequency, and # of bottles. We hosted a complimentary tasting to gauge their palate and filter what they liked or disliked then tailored their shipments accordingly. Shipments included wine, a brief description about the producer / wine, and food pairings. We encouraged feedback to implement in future shipments.
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I’ve only ever been part of 1 wine club. $60 for 2 bottles monthly. Every month there was a new theme: volcanic soils, eastern Europe, lost indigenous grapes, high altitude, etc.
Themes were chosen largely based on what the store’s buyers had found to be a specially good deal. I enjoyed being part of it, but as others said, I’m not so sure if I’d join a club like that today.
What I do know for sure is that I dislike more flexible wine clubs where people can choose to get only reds or whites, or adjust the number of bottles they get. Those feel more like a concierge/shopper service rather than a club.