I've been a part of dozens of wine clubs over the years and found most of them are pure garbage, consisting mainly of wines easily found at steep discounts or white label bulk wine. There have been a few good ones though. For example there is a local wine shop here in Denver which has an excellent wine club and also does take home tastings on group zoom calls. Excellent value there, and a great educational opportunity as well. But be careful, some of the big wine clubs actually charge more for the wines than if you sourced them yourself, and you will get subpar wine over and over again.
I've never been part of a wine club, but a wine club that has an international and eclectic vibe seems to be a great idea to widen your knowledge and broaden your palate. Nice to see Hungarian wines gaining traction in the U.S. and great video and tasting. Cheers!
Great review - I’m a huge fan of Madeline and Wine Folly. I’ve tried 3 different wine clubs and have mixed reviews. They’re probably less necessary after I’ve learned more, and would be happy to drop my remaining two and join the Wine Folly one for the educational content so I can continue to “learn by drinking!”
I have belonged to several wine clubs over the past seven or eight years. I have enjoyed all of them,, but the best one is Naked Wines. It offers tremendous variety, different price points, and the best feature of all is that the customer chooses each and every bottle of wine in each shipment. I have also enjoyed excellent customer service.
I am another fan of Naked Wines. I love being able to support small wineries, even if they are led by big names in the field. Some of the wines I get from them are absolute gems! And just like any other wine club, some not so much. :) But the styles of wine offered are as diverse as the people making them, and there is always something new to discover. I am also part of Wine for Normal People's wine club through Wine Access. While I don't always use her quarterly pre-selected shipment, I will select from the wines she has in the list for the club, and one or two of them have become favorites of mine, that I go back to over and over.
The best way to learn about wine is by tasting, and the best way to taste broadly is to have a group that you belong to. You could start when yourself with your friends or with people who have similar interests. I experience this when I first joined the American wine Society. We had a focused tasting every single month.
I consider myself a hardcore wine geek and I think Madeline P is awesome! She’s great for the industry and imo, the industry shuns her, and others like her, at their own peril
Story time: went to culinary school in the early 80s, school policy was if you had a teacher led club, and collected dues, the school would match. Only 4 of us in the group, 5$ a month = 40$ for wine. The start of my wine education. Cheers
I recently joined a local club in Phoenix metro area, out of an independent wine shop. They have different levels but I'm doing 4 wines for $140 per month. I agree that I like the surprises, as they tend to get off the beaten track, drink-now wines. However my overall impression is, when you factor in quality and typicity, you are paying roughly double or more for something similar at say Costco. As a developing wine nerd, I feel like I'd rather get one or two bottles of $30-60 wine at costco and really get a special or unique experience than fairly typical $15 tasting bottle that they are charging $25-$35 for.
Just an fyi: Gioventú means youthness and "Sangiovese nell'anima" stands for Sangiovese in (our) soul ;) Sounds like a very nice package you got there, Matthew!
Any feedback on Gary V's wineclub? I have been fairly impressed with a lot of the wines in the monthly offering. I often compare pricing on Vivino and find there's at least one good deal every month. On occasion, I've jumped on Gary V's wine text wagon as some of those offerings can be very competitive. But like most wine clubs I guess you have to know what you like, what you don't and be prepared to jump off if you're not getting the quality or value you expect.
A wine clubs are not good. Lock you in to buying a pig in a poke, and stunt your own development as a shopper and a drinker. I’ve never had a problem with SommSelect. They have the most interesting and diverse offerings, second only to Garagiste. Locking people into curated wines is the equivalent of “not teaching a man to fish.” Your flogging this club undercuts your credibility.
Podcast with Madeline of Wine Folly: th-cam.com/video/HKW0OXoPH6Y/w-d-xo.htmlsi=j72_KldjYonkXd0a
I am from Tokay ! This video hit my heart. Love your work so incredible educational and fun ! Thank you so much !
You come from a place of wonderful wines! Koszi
Your my wine club, Matthew. I watch your reviews then select the ones available here and buy them 😊 Thank you Cheers 🍷
😅😜🤣
This was a great video to watch! I’d love to see more of your reviews for other wine clubs too but def appreciate this one!
🙏🙏
I've been a part of dozens of wine clubs over the years and found most of them are pure garbage, consisting mainly of wines easily found at steep discounts or white label bulk wine. There have been a few good ones though. For example there is a local wine shop here in Denver which has an excellent wine club and also does take home tastings on group zoom calls. Excellent value there, and a great educational opportunity as well. But be careful, some of the big wine clubs actually charge more for the wines than if you sourced them yourself, and you will get subpar wine over and over again.
Agreed, many are crap that just bottle bulk wines and charge more. I prefer those that select actual small producers
I've never been part of a wine club, but a wine club that has an international and eclectic vibe seems to be a great idea to widen your knowledge and broaden your palate.
Nice to see Hungarian wines gaining traction in the U.S. and great video and tasting. Cheers!
Yes I thought you would like that!
Great review - I’m a huge fan of Madeline and Wine Folly. I’ve tried 3 different wine clubs and have mixed reviews. They’re probably less necessary after I’ve learned more, and would be happy to drop my remaining two and join the Wine Folly one for the educational content so I can continue to “learn by drinking!”
I am very impressed by her selection and education
I have belonged to several wine clubs over the past seven or eight years. I have enjoyed all of them,, but the best one is Naked Wines. It offers tremendous variety, different price points, and the best feature of all is that the customer chooses each and every bottle of wine in each shipment. I have also enjoyed excellent customer service.
Yes so many vary and a lot are NOT worth it IMO
Hey Dennis, I belong to Naked Wines as well and love them (Matt Parish).
I am another fan of Naked Wines. I love being able to support small wineries, even if they are led by big names in the field. Some of the wines I get from them are absolute gems! And just like any other wine club, some not so much. :) But the styles of wine offered are as diverse as the people making them, and there is always something new to discover.
I am also part of Wine for Normal People's wine club through Wine Access. While I don't always use her quarterly pre-selected shipment, I will select from the wines she has in the list for the club, and one or two of them have become favorites of mine, that I go back to over and over.
That is a good way to do it
Sebestyén is indeed a great winery! We are very proud to be the Belgian importer of these fantastic elegant wines!
Great wines!
Fun and informative. I’m so glad I came to your channel via a podcast.
🙏🙏🙏😎
The best way to learn about wine is by tasting, and the best way to taste broadly is to have a group that you belong to. You could start when yourself with your friends or with people who have similar interests. I experience this when I first joined the American wine Society. We had a focused tasting every single month.
Agreed!
Loved this video!
🙏
I consider myself a hardcore wine geek and I think Madeline P is awesome! She’s great for the industry and imo, the industry shuns her, and others like her, at their own peril
She is FANTASTIC. The wine industry is pretty archaic in a lot of ways
Interesting slightly exotic selection. Viña Zorzal is around 10 euro in my country. What a steal.
Yes!!!
I belong to Bonner private reserve, and get high altitude wines from Argentina, great wines that I would never find elsewhere. Highly recommend
Nice!
Do you have any advice on how to start a tasting group? Unfortunate none of my friends are interested in doing it.
Ask your local shop if any customers do it
Story time: went to culinary school in the early 80s, school policy was if you had a teacher led club, and collected dues, the school would match. Only 4 of us in the group, 5$ a month = 40$ for wine. The start of my wine education. Cheers
What a deal!
I recently joined a local club in Phoenix metro area, out of an independent wine shop. They have different levels but I'm doing 4 wines for $140 per month. I agree that I like the surprises, as they tend to get off the beaten track, drink-now wines. However my overall impression is, when you factor in quality and typicity, you are paying roughly double or more for something similar at say Costco. As a developing wine nerd, I feel like I'd rather get one or two bottles of $30-60 wine at costco and really get a special or unique experience than fairly typical $15 tasting bottle that they are charging $25-$35 for.
Yes some clubs are crappy like that. I was a fan of this selection.
Just an fyi:
Gioventú means youthness and "Sangiovese nell'anima" stands for Sangiovese in (our) soul ;)
Sounds like a very nice package you got there, Matthew!
Grazie a mille
Madeleine’s club sounds excellent.
Most wine clubs here in Oz are completely commercial clearance offerings.
It is!
Any feedback on Gary V's wineclub? I have been fairly impressed with a lot of the wines in the monthly offering. I often compare pricing on Vivino and find there's at least one good deal every month. On occasion, I've jumped on Gary V's wine text wagon as some of those offerings can be very competitive. But like most wine clubs I guess you have to know what you like, what you don't and be prepared to jump off if you're not getting the quality or value you expect.
Haven’t had his wine club but the wine text thing has good stuff sometimes
Nice video, from viña zorzal i recomend señora de las alturas or golerga i think are more your style. ;)
De las Alturas showed up in Navarra video…
Take a look at Roscioli Wine Club (Rome ITA).
I’ve reviewed it on the channel many years ago ;)
I tried WSJ wine club once 20+ years ago, not one good bottle, it was what I call kitchen sink wine, that’s were it ended up.
😮😮😮😮
A wine clubs are not good. Lock you in to buying a pig in a poke, and stunt your own development as a shopper and a drinker.
I’ve never had a problem with SommSelect. They have the most interesting and diverse offerings, second only to Garagiste.
Locking people into curated wines is the equivalent of “not teaching a man to fish.”
Your flogging this club undercuts your credibility.
I disagree, the selection here is good and the materials she provided is an added bonus