Classic Wines Spotlight: Gold Medal Wine Club
Written By: Matthew Apsokardu on Wed, Dec 3rd 2008
Wines clubs are getting big these days. It makes sense - they deliver quality wines to your doorstep each and every month. It's like a mini-Christmas 12 times a year.
Wine clubs are also great for building communities. By connecting wine lovers all across the country, progressive clubs can create real world or online social networks. Just the very nature of receiving new wines every month prompts recipients to start their own wine circles (After all, it’s tough to finish all of those bottles yourself).
Gold Medal Wine Club is an establishment that is leading the way when it comes to customer service and innovation. Classic Wines had the chance to sit down with them and find out more about their operations.
CW: Thanks for joining us today guys. Could you tell us a little bit about what Gold Medal does?
GM: The Gold Medal Wine Club searches for small production, award-winning wines from the world’s best boutique wineries and delivers them direct to wine enthusiasts across the country. These highly allocated, hard-to-find wines are usually only available at the winery and not typically found in stores.
CW: How do you go about selecting which wines actually make the cut?
GW: The wines featured in each of our 5 Series must meet strict selection criterion that includes multiple medals from major wine competitions, and high ratings from national wine publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine & Spirits, and Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate.
CW: Seeing as how there are so many wine clubs out there (and the number is growing every day), what sets Gold Medal apart?
GW: All visitors to the Gold Medal Wine Store receive incredible discounts off winery direct prices. Gold Medal Wine Club members receive greater discounts than visitors, receive additional discounts for multiple series memberships, and also receive additional loyalty discounts based on membership longevity at checkout.
CW: Could you talk a little bit more about the different programs you offer? I understand you have a fairly wide variety of clubs to choose from, aimed toward both high end collectors and budget oriented wine lovers.
CW: That’s true. We offer 5 different wine club series so you can find one or more that suits your particular wine preferences and your budget. We have small production, hard-to-find, award winning wines from California and the world’s best small wineries. Each wine we feature is offered at an incredible value and we guarantee you will truly enjoy them.
Just a little information about each of our main clubs:
Wine Criteria for Pinot Series
NEW! Every other month, two bottles of captivating, world-class Pinots from California and around the world are featured within the Pinot Noir Series. Each Pinot is a highly regarded, hard-to-find selection from top winemakers, with a very limited production. This Series brings you some of the finest ultra-premium Pinots from the best boutique family wineries.
Wine Criteria for Platinum Series
Our upper-level wine club series, the Platinum Series features ultra-premium 90+ rated wines from California’s best small wineries. Platinum Series wines are collectible, special selections �" many with multiple Gold Medals and frequently produced in hundreds of cases, not thousands. Each month, two of these rare, exquisite wines are delivered directly to your doorstep.
Wine Criteria for International Series
Outstanding wines from the great, boutique wineries of the world. The International Series features premium wines imported exclusively for Gold Medal Wine Club, which means they typically can’t be found anywhere else in the United States! Each quarterly delivery is accompanied by our unique Adventure Package, which includes tasty, imported gourmet food products from the featured country.
Wine Criteria for Diamond Series
Our exclusive, top-of-the-line wine club, the Diamond Series showcases legendary wines from California and the world’s most renowned wineries. Each quarterly shipment features two hand-selected, highly allocated 93+ rated wines providing for the ultimate wine tasting experience. Based on the incredibly low production of these legendary wines, the Diamond Series is limited to 500 members.
Wine Criteria for Plus Series
The Plus! Program is a special add-on option to your regular scheduled wine deliveries in the Gold Series, Platinum Series, and Diamond Series. It’s a great way to discover more outstanding hard-to-find selections from California’s best small wineries. Wines featured in the Plus! Program always meet, and typically exceed, the criteria for the individual Series the wines are featured in.
CW: Very neat programs. Thank you for spending some time with us, and if anyone was on the fence about joining a wine club…maybe this helped give them the nudge they needed!
