Wine in my mailbox.
June 9, 2013 6:31 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for a wine club in the US, and I am a moderately snobby wine drinker. Price is important-ish (value more so than price), and I only want red wines. Help?
I went to Vines of Mendoza while I was in Argentina and loved all of the wines I tried there. I was thinking of joining their wine club, but it seems a little pricier than it should be. Is this around what I should be paying for wines of this quality, or is there another wine club that you'd recommend?
To make it a bit snowflakier, I don't want a club that will send multiple bottles of the same wine.
I went to Vines of Mendoza while I was in Argentina and loved all of the wines I tried there. I was thinking of joining their wine club, but it seems a little pricier than it should be. Is this around what I should be paying for wines of this quality, or is there another wine club that you'd recommend?
To make it a bit snowflakier, I don't want a club that will send multiple bottles of the same wine.
We belong to Highway 12 and our good friends belong to Sattui. We're all happy with our wines and I believe Highway 12 is far more moderately priced but Sattui is definitely worth the money. We would probably switch if we weren't sharing our friends' wines so much.
posted by janey47 at 6:49 PM on June 9, 2013
posted by janey47 at 6:49 PM on June 9, 2013
Wow. I was going to recommend Mayo as well. We have been members for a long time. Their wine is reasonably priced and delicious. From what I understand, the family has been in the Napa/Sonoma valley for a long time. They know the terroir and get some great grapes. We have never been disappointed.
Their Reserve wines are top notch, though little known outside of the valley. If you ever make it to Sonoma, go to their reserve room and treat yourself!
posted by john the fourth at 7:35 PM on June 9, 2013
Their Reserve wines are top notch, though little known outside of the valley. If you ever make it to Sonoma, go to their reserve room and treat yourself!
posted by john the fourth at 7:35 PM on June 9, 2013
I like Vinesse quite a bit. The Elevant club has some nice reds each month, at reasonable prices for the quality.
You can also score some primo red wines on wine.woot.com, if you are willing to check on the daily offerings for the standouts.
posted by bearwife at 7:43 PM on June 9, 2013
You can also score some primo red wines on wine.woot.com, if you are willing to check on the daily offerings for the standouts.
posted by bearwife at 7:43 PM on June 9, 2013
For those recommending Mayo, what ARE their prices, roughly? I am sure the OP is interested too. I cannot divine that from anyplace on the website.
posted by bearwife at 7:52 PM on June 9, 2013
posted by bearwife at 7:52 PM on June 9, 2013
Can you explain more about what your goals are for a club? Is it to get wines you wouldn't normally know about or try? To have consistent access to wine you know you like? Something else? I don't know if I'd like to use the word snobby, but I'm a fairly serious wine collector/drinker (to the extent that I have a fairly large offsite storage facility). I haven't found clubs to work very well for me. It seems like I was almost always getting at least one thing that I either didn't want, or wasn't well-priced. I like to have more direct control over what I'm getting.
I am on many, many winery *mailing lists*, but those differ from clubs in that they don't automatically send me wine -- they send an email once or twice a year of what's being released, and then I order whatever I want. No commitment (other than that some of them will drop you from the list if you don't order).
posted by primethyme at 8:14 PM on June 9, 2013
I am on many, many winery *mailing lists*, but those differ from clubs in that they don't automatically send me wine -- they send an email once or twice a year of what's being released, and then I order whatever I want. No commitment (other than that some of them will drop you from the list if you don't order).
posted by primethyme at 8:14 PM on June 9, 2013
Mayo junkie here. They make small runs of lots of different wines, so the variety is fabulous. We're not members of the red-only club, but I imagine the price is probably similar. It's six bottles twice a year, and the price varies a little, depending on what they include, but I believe it's usually under $200.
Another favorite winery of mine, Gundlach Bunschu looks to have a red-only club as well that's six bottles 4 times a year at $200-$350 including shipping.
posted by mostlymartha at 8:16 PM on June 9, 2013
Another favorite winery of mine, Gundlach Bunschu looks to have a red-only club as well that's six bottles 4 times a year at $200-$350 including shipping.
posted by mostlymartha at 8:16 PM on June 9, 2013
I contacted Mayo about pricing and got a quick friendly email saying:
Thank you for your interest in our all red wine clubs. All clubs ship twice a year. Spring and Fall, the prices below are approximate and per shipment.
Our cellar enthusiast clubs (6 bottles) are around $225
Our reserve collector clubs (12 bottles)
Are around $500
Our grand Cru club (24 bottles) are around $1000
The wines change every shipment so it's hard to give exact prices but these are close.
posted by bearwife at 9:12 PM on June 9, 2013
Thank you for your interest in our all red wine clubs. All clubs ship twice a year. Spring and Fall, the prices below are approximate and per shipment.
Our cellar enthusiast clubs (6 bottles) are around $225
Our reserve collector clubs (12 bottles)
Are around $500
Our grand Cru club (24 bottles) are around $1000
The wines change every shipment so it's hard to give exact prices but these are close.
posted by bearwife at 9:12 PM on June 9, 2013
You should be aware that many states limit how much wine you can import so be careful. Virginia is notoriously difficult with this. Here are the rules for CT.
posted by TheRaven at 11:32 PM on June 9, 2013
posted by TheRaven at 11:32 PM on June 9, 2013
I can't quite tell if the place you're linking to is one family of wineries or a place that represents a rotating variety of wineries. That will impact my suggestions.
But let me first speak to your price question. For Argentinean wines that does seem a bit high, but having never tasted the wines in question I cannot say. I can routinely score excellent Argentinean Malbecs for $13 and truly out of this world Malbec for $20. As a matter of fact I'm hard pressed to think of a time that I've ever paid more than $30 for an Argentinean wine - so their reserve pricing seems insane to me.
But if you like the wine and YOU feel it's a good value then great.
If you want to join a wine club that will let you try a variety of wines from a variety of producers then you don't want to join the wine clubs of a single vineyard or producer. I do not belong to any of these, but I have had friends who do and a couple of them like the Zagat club. I've enjoyed the wines which were shared with me, and I too, am fairly (very) snobby about wine.
If you already know what you like and want to stick with a single producer you'll likely find things in the US market to be on par with this pricing. I have belonged to probably ten different clubs and they range from really inexpensive ( around $40 for two bottles at Cline several times a year) to reasonable ( $120 for three bottles Tin Barn 2x year) and quite expensive (I don't even remember - but something like $400 per shipment 2x a year at Inglenook). I've settled to two clubs that I continue to get and for me they represent great value, but to others they would probably seem expensive. Roughly $250 for 3 bottles from one and about the same money for six bottles from the other, though I anticipate there will be pricing increases at this one as it's become a bit of a darling in the Sonoma area.
I am also on the mailing list for several other wineries and after a brief sabbatical from wine buying while we relocated I'm hoping to start buying again shortly. This allows me to get exactly what I want from each winery without suffering through the stuff that I'd prefer never to drink again.
Direct shipping is not the same as importing. Here is the relevant information and even though they forbid "Package stores" from selling to CT residents there are more than a few Internet outlets and wine clubs who have figured out how to get around that statute.
posted by FlamingBore at 5:15 AM on June 10, 2013
But let me first speak to your price question. For Argentinean wines that does seem a bit high, but having never tasted the wines in question I cannot say. I can routinely score excellent Argentinean Malbecs for $13 and truly out of this world Malbec for $20. As a matter of fact I'm hard pressed to think of a time that I've ever paid more than $30 for an Argentinean wine - so their reserve pricing seems insane to me.
But if you like the wine and YOU feel it's a good value then great.
If you want to join a wine club that will let you try a variety of wines from a variety of producers then you don't want to join the wine clubs of a single vineyard or producer. I do not belong to any of these, but I have had friends who do and a couple of them like the Zagat club. I've enjoyed the wines which were shared with me, and I too, am fairly (very) snobby about wine.
If you already know what you like and want to stick with a single producer you'll likely find things in the US market to be on par with this pricing. I have belonged to probably ten different clubs and they range from really inexpensive ( around $40 for two bottles at Cline several times a year) to reasonable ( $120 for three bottles Tin Barn 2x year) and quite expensive (I don't even remember - but something like $400 per shipment 2x a year at Inglenook). I've settled to two clubs that I continue to get and for me they represent great value, but to others they would probably seem expensive. Roughly $250 for 3 bottles from one and about the same money for six bottles from the other, though I anticipate there will be pricing increases at this one as it's become a bit of a darling in the Sonoma area.
I am also on the mailing list for several other wineries and after a brief sabbatical from wine buying while we relocated I'm hoping to start buying again shortly. This allows me to get exactly what I want from each winery without suffering through the stuff that I'd prefer never to drink again.
Direct shipping is not the same as importing. Here is the relevant information and even though they forbid "Package stores" from selling to CT residents there are more than a few Internet outlets and wine clubs who have figured out how to get around that statute.
posted by FlamingBore at 5:15 AM on June 10, 2013
So I'm not heavily into wine, but so far I've enjoyed most of the bottles I've received from nakedwines.com. Not a wine club per se, but you can definitely order just reds if you want, and they do mixed cases (so you're not getting 12 of the same bottle in a case).
posted by Grither at 5:41 AM on June 10, 2013
posted by Grither at 5:41 AM on June 10, 2013
Wine shipping laws in the states.
I would find a good local store to test wines. Check local wine tasting events to find out what is available and what you like. If you find something you like and want to get a case, it will be a pain if it isn't locally available. If price is no object then getting a case shipped is easy but from your post it seems that price is an issue.
posted by JJ86 at 6:17 AM on June 10, 2013
I would find a good local store to test wines. Check local wine tasting events to find out what is available and what you like. If you find something you like and want to get a case, it will be a pain if it isn't locally available. If price is no object then getting a case shipped is easy but from your post it seems that price is an issue.
posted by JJ86 at 6:17 AM on June 10, 2013
Response by poster: primethyme: I'm looking to try wines that I wouldn't otherwise know about and to have consistent access to wine—I'm both lazy and uncreative, so when I do manage to make it to a wine store during CT's exceedingly short liquor business hours, I tend to just grab a bottle that's tried and true and never experiment with much else.
flamingbore: The place I linked is a tasting room in Mendoza that carries a bunch of different wineries in the area (and from other parts of Argentina). To say that I know exactly what I like would be a slight exaggeration: I know that I liked virtually every Argentine Malbec that I've had. I tend to like Chilean Cabs, and I don't like white wine (for the most part).
posted by cheerwine at 7:53 AM on June 10, 2013
flamingbore: The place I linked is a tasting room in Mendoza that carries a bunch of different wineries in the area (and from other parts of Argentina). To say that I know exactly what I like would be a slight exaggeration: I know that I liked virtually every Argentine Malbec that I've had. I tend to like Chilean Cabs, and I don't like white wine (for the most part).
posted by cheerwine at 7:53 AM on June 10, 2013
The Los Olivos Tasting Room is terrific for California Central Coast wines -- lots of pinots and a few other moderate reds (malbec, syrah, sangiovese, viognier). They do cabs, but it's not really what those wineries excel at.
I've been there in person, but I understand they have a wine club, with various price levels. They'll do exactly what you ask -- give them some hints about your preferences and they'll make selections and ship them to you. The site's clunky, and not informative, so maybe send an email or give them a call?
I'm a member of the Rancho Sesquoc wine club (Sesquoc is a smallish Central Coast winery that makes quality wines at good prices). You can specify that you only receive reds, for an additional fee.
posted by notyou at 8:24 AM on June 10, 2013
I've been there in person, but I understand they have a wine club, with various price levels. They'll do exactly what you ask -- give them some hints about your preferences and they'll make selections and ship them to you. The site's clunky, and not informative, so maybe send an email or give them a call?
I'm a member of the Rancho Sesquoc wine club (Sesquoc is a smallish Central Coast winery that makes quality wines at good prices). You can specify that you only receive reds, for an additional fee.
posted by notyou at 8:24 AM on June 10, 2013
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posted by whitneyarner at 6:37 PM on June 9, 2013