Wine Clubs-who benefits-whose do you

[CtznCane]

I'm wondering what everyone thinks about wine clubs. What's in it for the consumer and what's in it for the winery? What should the criteria be for joining one? I especially hope we'll hear from Winery people how they view the consumer and wine club.

We belong to several wine clubs. Probably too many. Since we have lived in the wine country and now live close to it we also like to support wineries we like as well. Most of the wine clubs are shipments of 2-3 bottles (lowest membership level at some most wineries) 3 to 4 times a year. I think this works out pretty well. The main problem or gripe that I have is that most of the wineries (perhaps luck of the draw) seem to come in the same months. Usually the committment is for a minimum of 1 year and then you get different perks in the form of discounts on wine, merchandise and on events. Aside from $ savings I also like the ability to get more wines which may not be available elsewhere or outside of the wine club.

For those of us lucky enough to live near or within a few hours of the wineries the events are really nice. I know next week Concannon is having their food and wine pairing for club members which we enjoy. Since there is typically no choice about what wines you will receive a major guideline for us is pretty much liking a wineries wines across the board. Now for a small winery, like say Raymond Burr who only makes 3 wines, it is pretty easy to iknow if you like or don't like all the wines. For one like Concannon Vineyards or Chateau St.Jean on the other hand, who produce many different wines it is a little harder to make the blanket statement of 'all.' Another of our strategies, with some clubs is to join for a year and then switch to another winery. This way we keep our costs to what we feel is reasonable and get to try other wineries.

Our last criteria for a wine club is not being in one where the wines we receive can be bought for less in the stores. While there is no avoiding some of the wines being able to be found it is getting wines that are only available at the winery to some extent that also makes a difference to us. That being said I'll give a few of the ones we like and why.

Concannon Vineyards - In terms of shipments theirs are 6 bottles twice a year. This year both shipments have been $99 but the retail value has been$135-140 so the savings have been quite good. With 15% discounts, or 20% on cases and wines we like which we cannot find retail this club is a real value. They currently have an extremely nice Muscat Canelli that retails at 12 dollars and their Late Harves J. Reisling is one of my favorites. They've also held some special sales that members get first crack at that are first rate.

Schramsberg - Shipments are 4 times a year and 2 bottles each. Whle not cheap, they do keep their shipments at a flat $85 + tax and include the shipping. Based on the wines we've received the value usually equates to about 20% off and free shipping. We're lucky enough to be able to drive there and the free tastings (they normally charge $20 and (it is worth it) that adds up over time.

Gloria Ferrer - Shipments are 2 bottles 4 times a year and they keep the cost in the low to mid 50 range. Their combo is typically one sparkling and one still wine. Their Pinot Noirs are top notch and we thinkg their sparkling wines all represent good values. At the winery (tasting salon) we have found them to be among the friendliest people and they go out of their way. They also have put on some top notch events for wine club members.

[wnissen]

With the many sources for wine in the San Francisco Bay area, I tend not to purchase anything by mail if I can help it. So I'm a member of the most basic club at my local wine shop, The Wine Steward in Pleasanton. It's a good club, $20 a month (roughly) for one domestic and one imported red. Some of it is Parker values (Thorne-Clarke Terra Barossa Shiraz), and some is stuff I've never heard of from relatively obscure appellations. Between my wife and I, we only consume about a case a month at home, so a single-winery club would just be too much. I don't think I could handle drinking 50% of my wine from five producers. But I cast a broad net and prefer not to drink the same bottle again and again.

Walt

[Rebel Rose]

I'm on the waiting list for Leonetti, and have been for two years.

But I can get all the Turley I want!

We designed our wine club around just two shipments of 3 bottles a year, because we know people like to get wine from different sources without necessarily committing to cases of the stuff! So ours is more of a "sampler pack" program, but we also offer other levels so that people can sign up for 6 or 12 bottles per shipment. And we have a few people who have standing orders for a full case of each wine.

The Turley program is highly individualized. They send out a letter in advance offering you a selection based on what you've purchased before. Then, you get to decide whether to accept that offer, or change the wines to something else. They don't accept credit cards , so you send your check and after it clears, your wine is sent. Talk about labor-intensive! But they have a lot of club loyalty due to the quality of the wines and the very personalized approach.

[melkor]

We're on the Turley list, they sent out two offer letters a year - you can pick what you want from each offer, write a check and your wine ships at some seemingly random point. I believe all their wine ships at the same time for everyone on the list. It's the only list we're on. If we didn't live here, we'd likely sign up for the Ridge ATP program. The wine clubs/lists for wineries that have large distribution don't make a lot of sense, since you can often buy the same wine for less $ elsewhere.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I think it depends on who you really like and why. Ladera's wine list is a pre-release list where the Spring release is always at least one bottle of Howell Mountain cabernet + something else the owner chooses and the Fall release is Lone Canyon cabernet + somethink else the owner chooses.

Our wine club members get the wine at a significant discount than can be purchased retail (the more they commit to purchasing, the bigger the discount), they get it released to them a full six weeks before a general release with the option of buying more before the general release, plus private bottlings that are NOT offered in general distribution (this coming Spring, our club members will get a Howell Mountain malbec that will never get distributed).

When I was in Gundlach Bundschu's wine club, I enjoyed similar privileges with wine club-only releases and bottlings. THOSE are the wine clubs I prefer -- the rare and hard-to-find kind.

I don't belong to any now, but working ITB, I've got connections to get rare bottles that used to be elusive.

[derricks]

Do you mean wine store wine clubs as well?

We belonged to Ridge's ATP program for a while (until I got laid off from my last job). That one gave us a chance to try more unusual bottlings, and we found some great wine that way. I think it's quarterly. Or maybe bi-monthly.

On store-level wine clubs, we used to belong to K & L's "value wines" club. We had great success with that when we started, but then the buyer changed (I think) and the wines became less interesting. Now we belong to the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant's club, which we've enjoyed thoroughly. We've found a bunch of interesting wines, and have often bought more bottles, sometimes cases, of the wines from our shipment. So we've probably helped more wineries than if we belonged to one or two wine clubs. Both of these are montly clubs.

The Chron had an article about wine clubs a while back, but now I can't find it. Urgh.

[Echezeaux]

One advantage to being signed up for regular shipments is that you may have access to wines you wouldn't normally find in shops.

However, on the down side:

You do limit yourself by being fairly committed to drinking wines from the same vintner on a rather regular basis.

If you have a great shop or two in your area, you might find getting some sage advice from them can open up a whole new world of wine to you. There is so much good wine being made all over the world, it's a shame to experience only a tiny percentage of it!

When you're subscribing to a winery's "club," you do allow them to pawn off less-than-their-best wines on you. The winery knows its subscribers will take what they are offered, allowing a winery to sell, for reasonable (and sometimes unreasonable) money a fair bit of wine. Since many of these "subscriber's wines" are not sold in the market, the winery doesn't have to worry about fussy merchants and sommeliers rejecting their wares.

You allow some winemakers the opportunity to "learn on the job" by making some experiment batches. Sometimes these may be good...sometimes they're a bit odd.

I spoke with a fellow who told me he's "on the list" for a certain famous winery's Pinot Noirs and is the proud owner of 14 or 15 cases of them...but he doesn't drink wine very often and now he's got wines decaying and going over the hill in his storage area instead of wines getting better...the wine is backlogged in his garage and most probably won't ever be opened when they're approaching their peak...

You ought to take a look at your own drinking habits and your options with repsect to the availability of good wines in your own backyard.

[Rebel Rose]

When you're subscribing to a winery's "club," you do allow them to pawn off less-than-their-best wines on you.  The winery knows its subscribers will take what they are offered, allowing a winery to sell, for reasonable (and sometimes unreasonable) money a fair bit of wine.  Since many of these "subscriber's wines" are not sold in the market, the winery doesn't have to worry about fussy merchants and sommeliers rejecting their wares.

That's true in many cases, unfortunately. However, it's not always true. We send only our best wines of each vintage. Turley sends only excellent wines. It pays to take a little time to research the club program . . .

You ought to take a look at your own drinking habits and your options with repsect to the availability of good wines in your own backyard.

and that's excellent advice!