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Top 5 Signs You're in the Wrong Wine Club

Written By: Matthew Apsokardu on Thursday, June 12, 2008

Concerned you might be in a bad wine club relationship? Here are the top 5 signs it might be time to get out.

You wouldn't tolerate a boyfriend/girlfriend treating you wrong, would you? Well you shouldn't let a wine club do it either! There are a couple telltale signs that can be used to determine if your current club is a dud. Not all of these reasons are commentary on the clubs themselves. Sometimes certain clubs are just a bad match. Of course...other times it's the club's fault and you need to bail like jail.

It might be time to move on if...

5. You've never heard of any of the wines. Boutique wines are great, especially if that's the kind of club you're into. But if you've never heard of the wines you are receiving over the course of many months and even online searching reveals scant results, the wine club may be up to shenanigans. By that I mean they may be acquiring low quality, closeout bottles that vineyards are trying to get rid of. They then pass those bottles off to you as part of "underground, boutique" wines. Be careful about this little trick.

4. The price well exceeds the value. Your wine club may be counting on laziness on your part. They may think that they can sneak in a bunch of cheap bottles while still charging you your $50 monthly fee. There will be fluctuations of bottle value for any club, but if you find that the bottles are routinely less valuable than the cost you are paying, it may be time to cancel that subscription. A good way to investigate value? Compare online, of course (the internet rules).

3. The club doesn't deliver on its claims. Make sure you are getting what you signed up for. If your club claims to be the #1 international wine club in the world, be certain it's not just sending you European and Californian wines. There are many many regions out there to explore, and you should be benefiting from that diversity.

2. The bottles are terrible. Wine can be a tricky thing to ship, and great care should be taken by the club to deliver bottles to you promptly and efficiently. One corked bottle once in a great while is no big deal. That happens. But what if a bottle or two seem corked, cooked, or otherwise compromised almost every shipment? That isn't normal and shouldn't be tolerated.

1. The wines and service just don't suit you. Wine is all about personal taste. Many good clubs have a sommelier or expert on staff to personally select wines. If you find that, time after time, you are not enjoying the wine selection, your tastes might not match up well with the sommelier in charge. No ones fault really, just a clash in preference. Instead of hoping the sommelier changes his/her tune, it might be better to find a more suitable match elsewhere. Also, if their costumer service stinks, don't feel obligated to continue dealing with them. There are a lot of clubs out there hungry for your business.

So, did your club pass the test? If so, congrats -- enjoy with my blessing. If not...it may be time to start shopping around.

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apples7
Santa Barbra, CA
Posted on 6/25/08

Also check how they ship their wines... sometimes in the summer months they ship out bottles to stay on track of the time, regardless of how the weather could effect the bottles.


shadowoptics
Miami, FL
Posted on 6/17/08

I did some research for a friend once about the value of the wines he was getting in a club. He was losing 5-10 dollars a month due to value shaving. It's best to do the homework.

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