Find all of Club W wine picks here!
[Update 6/2/2014: Worried about shipping wine in the hot summer months? Club W now uses refrigerated shipping to your closest Fedex hub when temperatures merit. The best part is that there's no cost to you! Have your wine held for pickup at your closest Fedex Print & Ship and your wine will have maximum protection from the damaging heat!]
I have to admit that I've always been a bit skeptical of wine clubs. Sure some of the wine has always looked good, but at best you might get to choose between a shipment of reds versus a shipment of whites. I'm sure you know as well as I do that even though you and Aunt Rosie both like red wines, you don't exactly have the same palate as the woman who enjoys Merlot with an ice cube in it. With all these different tastes, how could a wine club possibly please everyone? And so I figured, rather than love half the wine I received and dump the other half, why not save my money, do my homework and choose my own wine. But then I tried Club W.
Club W does things a bit differently than your average wine club. The first thing you'll notice upon signing up is that they actually ask you what you like! Wait, that's right, this is a wine club that actually wants to fit wine to your individual tastes! Seems like common sense, doesn't it? The Club W "Palate Profile" is a series of 6 questions designed to determine your taste preferences so that their individual recommendations are tailored to your individual palate.
Better yet, if your tastes change (as mine often do with the seasons) just re-do your palate profile and get all new recommendations! Or if you know exactly what you want, skip the profile altogether and just choose your wines. Don't want a shipment (like in August when it's 100 degrees outside and too hot to ship)? Simply put your service on hold and start it up again whenever you like.
Now you might think a service like this would be expensive, but it's not. For just $39 a month (plus $6 shipping) you get three wines tailored to your palate. (That's $13 a bottle.) Up it to 6 wines a month and your shipping is free. Since there's no distributor taking a cut Club W is able to keep their prices firmly in Reverse Wine Snob territory.
Lastly, lest you think this is all hot air, I speak from experience. I tried Club W myself (the palate profile and everything) and was introduced to wines I loved, including some small production wineries that I may never have found on my own. Wines like the Innocent Bystander Pink Moscato 2011 - A Beauty for Breakfast and the fabulous Vinum Cellars family of wines.
And one more thing -- I saved the best news for last. Sign up today through the link below, enter the special code created just for readers of The Reverse Wine Snob and get a free bottle of wine in your first shipment from Club W!
This post contains affiliate links. If you click through using these links and make a purchase we may be compensated. We use this money to pay for the costs of running this site. Thank you for supporting us in this way!
