Tastings
At Home: A wine club for the grape lover
If you're shopping
for something to give an oenophile, a wine club membership is a gift
that keeps on giving. Such clubs used to have a reputation for poor-quality
wines. But as people's tastes have become more refined, clubs have
been launched to expose aficionados to pricier wines they might not
otherwise buy.
Clubs usually make monthly deliveries that include the wine, tasting
notes, profiles of the wineries, and discounts on reorders. There
are three types:
INTERNATIONAL
These clubs offer the broadest selection. For example, the new Kimpton
Life Wine Society (www.kimptonlife.com/kl_wine.html) ships hard-to-find
wines. Membership runs $50, $100, or $175 for two bottles a month.
At the low end, Wine Odyssey, Wine.com's most popular club for beginners,
is priced at $19.95 a month for two bottles
REGIONAL
These are best for enthusiasts who want to deepen their knowledge
of a particular region. An Italian Wine Merchants membership, which
includes six Spiegelau wine glasses and a 515-page book on Italian
wines, ranges from $97 to $259 a month for three bottles (italianwinemerchant.com).
The California Wine Club (cawineclub.com) offers exposure to California's
boutique wineries for as little as $32.95 a month for two bottles.
PROPRIETARY
Most of the blue-chip California vineyards have their own clubs, which
ship limited-production wines that are not nationally distributed.
Ridge Vineyard's Advanced Tasting Program, for example, serves up
new single-vineyard reds such as syrah and zinfandel blends starting
at about $65 for a two-bottle shipment (www.ridgewine.com/clubs).
One caveat: Some states prohibit wine shipments directly to consumers.
But there are loopholes, so check with individual clubs on restrictions.
click here
to return to the press page
