The 9 Best Wine Clubs for Wannabe Winos

Choosing wine always leaves me feeling a bit more unmoored than when I’m scoping out craft beer, whiskeys, rum, gin, or, well, almost any of the alcoholic beverages I drink. When I talk about beer and whiskey with friends or shop owners, the brand is always top of mind.

Whereas with wine, I feel like it takes a very devoted oenophile to reference the vineyard. Most folks just seem to go no further than red, white, or rosé. Maybe they mention Cab or Malbec or Chardonnay, but it’s hard to absorb recommendations from other folks in the same way.

Sometimes I wish I could just lie on my back and pay somebody to choose and pour the wine right in. I’m still working on finding someone to do the pouring, but at least there are subscription-based wine clubs that’ll do the choosing.

Whether you’re just starting to exploring wine or you’re a veteran with a permanently red-tinted tongue, we’ve rounded up a selection of the best wine clubs to determine which are worth your money, your attention, and that bit of your liver.

quick look at the best wine clubs

• For those with taste – In Good Taste Club Mini
• Premium and customizable – Cellars Wine Club 90+ Point Club
• Little money, lotta wine – Wine Insiders Club
• Trip around the globe – The Sunday Times Wine Club World Highlights
• Personalized for you – Firstleaf Preferred Plan
• Natty wine is mighty fine – MYSA Mixed Natural Wine Club
• Education that gets you buzzed – World Access Discovery Club
• Retro is back – Wine of the Month Club Classic Club
• Pricey but premium – NakedWines Fine Wine Club

how we evaluated

Variety was top of our mind. We wanted to see a range of whites and reds, at the very least. Rosés were a good addition, too. And there had to be a mix of various styles within those subtypes. Nobody wants a club that’s just Petite Sirah after Petite Sirah.

We also considered age. I wasn’t expecting 10-year-old wines, but I’d be disappointed to find every one of them only a year or two old. Young wines can be decent, but wines aged at least a few years tend to have their rough edges smoothed out.

And we also considered that a variety of wines from different locales as a big plus. Many, many countries have rich winemaking traditions. It’d be a shame not to explore most of them.

for those with taste – in good taste Club Mini

Consider me humbled by the quality of the wines included in this kit. When setting out to test wine clubs, I’d expected… well, not much, if we’re being honest. I’ve had beer clubs before that just dumped subpar beers on me, so I was expecting very young wines that burned like grape-flavored battery acid.

But by the time I polished off a particularly delicious run of Merlot and Garancha, I was a believer. Like most wine clubs, none of these wines are particularly rare or premium. But they taste good, with many more hits than misses. That’s the whole point, right?

You can choose from a 8- or 16-pack of individual-serving-size wine bottles, either selecting the wines yourself or letting In Good Taste surprise you. Each bottle holds 6.3 fl. oz. A standard serving of wine is 5 fl. oz., so that’s a generous pour in each bottle.

This wine club made me a believer in single-serving wine bottles. I could cook dinner for myself and just make sure a red was chilled and waiting, without the pressure to finish an entire bottle within the next few days.

As one customer writes, “I really loved being surprised by what I was going to get. I love that I am able to try different wines, without having to commit to a large bottle.” Amen.

I had a few that were nothing special, but more often than not I was licking up the last drop of a bottle. There’s a nice variety of reds, wines, and rosés across a variety of regions, which further expands the range of flavors you’ll experience. Their advent calendar is a worthy holiday purchase as well.

premium and customizable – cellars wine club 90+ Point club

Customization is the strong suit here. You can choose monthly installments from two to 12 months or have it auto-renew every month. You can specify shipments every month, every other month, or every three months.

Want both 750 ml bottles in each shipment to be reds? Both whites? One of each? Can do. Every box includes two bottles of wines rated 90 points or higher on a selection of “trusted wine scales, including Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, and Stephen Tanzer,” says Cellars.

There are a total of eight options, if you include two that ship cases of 12 wines every three months. From the Red Wine Trio Club to the Sweet Club that focuses on sweeter white wines, you can mix and match to your heart’s content.

Concerned about receiving a bad bottle, and then you’re on the hook for an entire 750ml of it? Cellars offers a “100% ‘No Bad Bottle’ Guarantee. We stand behind every bottle of wine we sell,” they say.

little money, lotta wine – wine insiders club

Every 12 weeks, you get 12 750 ml bottles of wine. For your first shipment, you also get “three free bottles of a premium, 93-point gold medal winning Bordeaux included in your first shipment,” according to Wine Insiders.

We expect the included wines to change, but as of writing this there are quite a few bottles from 2020 and 2021, which I like to see. There’s a healthy range of countries and styles, too, from Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon to American Muscat.

Each shipment also includes “a comprehensive look at the varietals, producers, and regions that are featured in your wine club shipment,” says Wine Insider, and “in-depth tasting notes… flavor profiles, serving tips, and pairings for each wine we’ve selected.”

For your second shipment, rather than the three Bordeaux wines, you get a chrome lever-pull corkscrew. The marketing says there are free “wine accessory gifts” with select shipments, although it doesn’t go into more detail about which gifts or how often they arrive.

Trip around the globe – The Sunday Times Wine Club World Highlights

Yep, it’s that The Sunday Times, the English newspaper. Apparently the news is so bad these days that even the newspapers want to fill you up with booze. The name World Highlights makes it plain that the object of this subscription is to explore the range of winemaking regions.

You get 12 750 ml bottles every 12 weeks, which is typical for most wine clubs. You can select from reds, whites, or a mix without any price difference, and they toss in a pair of wine glasses, too.

The website tells you exactly which ones you’ll receive. You can swap them out if you notice one you’re not interested in, though, and choose the replacement. It’s a nice touch of customization.

Personalized for you – firstleaf preferred plan

Want some way to strengthen the chances you’ll receive wines you’ll like, but not entirely confident enough to pick them out yourself? Firstleaf walks you through an impressively detailed process before your first box ever ships out.

You’re asked if you drink red or white wines, or both, and then how sweet you like your wine. It runs you through rating several wine styles, how adventurous you are, your experience level, and how much you like certain foods, like almonds, mushrooms, and key lime pie.

When you’re finished, it won’t just scoop up a selection of wines tailored to you. It’ll explain the details of the types of wines you favor, calling out preferred tasting notes, acidity levels, fruit intensity, body (thinness or thickness), and more, which is revealed in your own WinePrint.

It’s a great touch for those who are interested in going deeper into the world of wine but don’t yet feel confident in all the fineries of lingo. There are four plans in total, of which the Preferred is the second-cheapest.

natty wine is mighty fine – mysa mixed natural wine club

“We believe in supporting small, local winemakers only,” MYSA says, so expect surprises and discoveries, rather than the same, big vineyards you see on shelves all the time. Natural wines are a fast-growing segment of the market.

This subscription is on the expensive side. That’s why we’ve highlighted the six-bottle pack, which sells for about the same as most other clubs’ 12-packs. There are 3- and 12-bottle packs available, though, and you can set delivery intervals at one, two, or three months.

education that gets you buzzed – wine access discovery club

The Discovery Club includes six bottles per shipment and aims for include “an educational theme in each shipment.” Relax. There’s are no “If a train leaves Portland at 112 km/h and a hot air balloon leaves St. Louis…” type problems. Wine education. It teaches you about wines.

Become fluent in tannins, texture, and terroir… to broaden your palate and your perspective. Whether you’re learning about how soil type and altitude impact your sip or you’re cultivating a newfound love of new-wave wines, one thing is certain. You’ll taste it all,” says Wine Access.

You can choose from reds, whites, or a mix. There are eight other clubs available, too, if you’d rather go for a different theme.

retro is back – wine of the month club classic club

Yep, it’s not just a catch-all term for these types of wine club subscriptions. It’s the name of one of the originals, still going strong since its founding in 1972. Just look at that retro art.

There’s not much customization beyond choosing two, four, six, or 12 bottles in each shipment that comes every three months, and you can choose from reds, whites, or a mix. There are frequently sales to cut down the retail price, and there’s cachet in the original club.

Pricey but premium – nakedwines fine wine club

Perhaps you have some confidence in your ability to select a wine from Trader’s Joes or the off the shelf of the local liquor store. What you really want is a schooling in more expensive, rarified wines. That’s where the Fine Wine Club comes in.

Unlock the rest of the wine clubs in this guide, each boxes clocks in at an average of $42 per bottle. There’s no customization available here. You get six surprise bottles four times a year, with the promises to “Get exclusive access to some seriously special bottles you won’t find anywhere else.”