If you purchase by the case, that’s a $72 difference - enough to buy nearly 4 more bottles. If that’s insignificant, please send me the excess money you have littering your wine cellar before you decide to use it as kindling this winter. ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
While there are some high-end napa wineries that have clubs, I find that for the most part you can always seem to find their wine on the secondary market for at or below the club price. My wife and I are technically club members at one high-end winery, but only because their club price is easily below the secondary market price for their wines.
However, the above being said, we do have two true club memberships that each have between 4 and 6 shipments per year. One is Zinfandel based and the other is known for their whites, but we love their wine, the club price is always slightly below secondary market, not all of their wine is even available on the secondary market, and the wine averages out around $30/bottle.
Definitely personal preference, here, but there are some great club values out there, but I think it does require some digging around.
I will give you two oft repeated quotes that come to mind:
“Try before you buy” and “I’m going to go broke saving all this money”
But if it is a wine you like that is difficult to come by otherwise it is worth considering. I am on several winery lists but I also feel like I should drop a few.
Aren’t some wineries so small (production) the only way they can make money is through club structure? We are members of a couple of Napa wineries who make incredible wines, yet cannot find them through distributors. Like some previous posts, if it hits your palate it may be worth it.
Ryan, that’s a neat line.
Chris, check-out Herman Story, as I have a friend who’s told me in the past that it’s more of a club than a list, per se: http://hermanstorywines.com/
Happy hunting,
Kenney
You want to be on the mailing list ahead of the club unless you are getting an additional benefit for being in the club. Also you need to really like the wine to be in the club. It is certainly worth it when the wine isn’t widely available via retail or secondary market. I am in a couple of clubs and they will usually let you change what gets shipped. For instance in one of my clubs I swapped out extra Pinot for the Chardonnay. Another club I swapped out the Pinot for cab.
Of the single vineyard clubs, which ones do you guys recommend? I’m looking to subscribing to one. I’m a fan of Napa cabs and red blends.
Many will tell you Ridge is one mailing list you should get on. I’d say Chappellet if you can get in on their Pritchard Hill allocations.
Chris… this is my take. Information from any viable source is useful. There is a lot of useful information here on this board about wine and wineries. Berserker day is a viable way to order and try some otherwise unavailable wines. Large scale serious tastings, and small, are very useful. Wine tasting groups as well. Try before you buy sounds good, and is a reasonable concept, except how do you get that opportunity if wines are only available from the winery. And, most great wineries make small release terrific wines that are only sold to mailing list or out of tasting rooms. Yes, travel is a good way to try wines! I do agree that the best lists allow you to pick the wines you like, and don’t dictate that you need to buy wines that you don’t really want.
And, tasting as many different wines as you can is the only way to determine what you like. For example, do you like particular varietals young or with age. A lot of wines are actually designed to be drunk either young or old. You mentioned Cabernet. A lot of great wines are made to drink earlier. But, you aren’t going to drink Howell Mountain Randy Dunn or Spring Mountain Philip Togni wines young. And, actually many wines are specifically one way or the other. Cabernet from Argentina or Chile, Sonoma as opposed to Napa, Washington State, Italy, Bordeaux… tremendous differences. For that matter, there are terrific Cabernet based wines from Paso Robles via Daou. But there is an example for you. Daou Winery makes a terrific high end Cab (Lion), and a Cab/Syrah blend (Mayote), and many other terrific wines… but they only sell their less expensive wines thru retail. And, it is a gorgeous place to visit!
The reality of winery vs. retail is that you can’t get Saxum. Alban, SQN, really without getting onto their list. Many of us share purchases from these lists because it can get to be so much wine. You can’t experience the full line up of Carlisle, Turley or Bedrock or hundreds of other wineries without being on their lists. Some of them won’t take visitors, others only take visitors who are already on their lists. The trick is to taste them wherever possible at WS Experiences, the Hospice du Rhone in Paso, and regional wine events in these various regions (Boston Wine Show). Make a friend of the owner of the best wine shop in your area, and when traveling don’t just ask for suggestions… ask him/her if they can arrange tastings and appointments thru distributors at wineries you either wouldn’t get into otherwise, or where the quality of the tasting is going to be much better if a distributor arranges it.
Finally, as all of the people on this board would relate in a less cynical moment… it is the experience of learning, of growing your palate, of experiencing the wine and the people behind the wine… that makes this such exceptional fun!