A wine club is a developing extension of modern

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

culture. Wine clubs are designed to provide customers with a series of wine bottles on a monthly or quarterly basis that they would otherwise have to find and purchase on their own. Wine clubs often behave in a themed manner, providing recipients with red wines, white wines, or a mixture of the two. Wine clubs are most frequently offered by vineyards or specialty wine shops, but they can also be found as independent bodies.J. Arnold & I. Larnis ''Wine Clubs of Sonoma County'' pgs 1-33 Pelican Publishing Company 2007

History

Paul Kalemkiarian, Sr. created the Wine of the Month Club in 1972 while managing a small

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California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. A 'The Wine Club' opened in 1985 in Los Angeles. In 1992
Gold Medal Wine Club
was created by Linda and David Chesterfield, which focuses on featuring only boutique wineries in CA, OR, WA and internationally. In 2003, 24% of all direct wine sales in the US were made through wine clubs. By 2006, there were approximately 800 official wine clubs in the United States.Members only / Wine clubs have their privileges -- parties, perks and precious bottles
''sfgate.com'', 29 January 2012 In the UK, in 2005, Direct Wines, a leader in wine clubs and wine deliveries, accounted for only 2,5% of domestic wine sales. Many sommeliers created their own wine clubs to offer a way for their customers to buy directly from their lists (Ashley Ragovin with PourThis ow defunct Brian McClintic with Viticole Wine,

Rajat Parr Rajat ("Raj") Parr is an Indian-American sommelier turned winemaker who oversaw the Michael Mina restaurant group's wine program before launching his own wineries in Oregon and the Central Coast of California. Sandhi is his label of purchased gr ...

with Glug Club, Ian Cauble with SommSelect).Liza B. Zimmerman
Sommeliers Step Into The Wine Club Game
''Forbes.com'', 10 April 2018 After the ''

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'' launched its own wine club in August 2009. The wine club was operated by Global Wine Company ow defunct In 2009, the

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ruled it illegal for third-party wine online vendors and newspapers wine clubs to benefit from wine sales since they do not hold the appropriate licence. ''

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'' launched its own wine club through a licensing agreement with internet wine merchant Barclay's Wine in 2012, and

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pub ...

launched her wine club in 2017, followed by

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

the same year. In 2018
The Grape Reserve
created a wine club focusing on lesser known wine varieties and regions. In 2019, the supermarket chain

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

launched a wine club in the UK. In January 2020, the apéritif club startup Haus raised $4.5 million. Wine club software gradually became a feature of wine sales software, since most wine club sales happen through ecommerce websites. In March 2020, the state of

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authorized a state-controlled form of wine clubs.

Variations and costs

Most wine clubs involve all red bottles, all white bottles, or a combination of both, known as "mixed" clubs. However, there have arisen many stylistic variations in what wines are shipped (including grape

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s and

wine regions This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...

and how many bottles. Various wine clubs can have a set theme or many themes that alternate with each shipment. The cost range for wine clubs is vast since wine itself can range vastly in price. The type of wines being selected for club shipments and the number of bottles, as well as the frequency of shipping, will influence the overall cost of a wine club. Common wine clubs are created by wineries themselves, wine stores, online wine retailers, or large media companies such as the New York Times and the WSJ Wine Club, among others. A wine club can offer access to high-end-wine culture. Some clubs like Winc (formerly Club W) an
Firstleaf
hand out a short quiz to its new members before suggesting bottles based on their answers. The Plonk Wine Club and Vegan Wines focus on biodynamic and organic wines
Wine of England
an
Club Vini
only include wine from one particular country. Many wine clubs curate their selections by themes. The Napa Valley Reserve is an exclusive, $150,000-membership-fee wine club.Whet Moser
Bruce Rauner’s Wine ‘Club’ Is More Like a Wine Dude Ranch
''Chicagomag.com'', 3 September 2014

References

{{reflist Wine Clubs and societies Types of organization Wine culture

History

Variations and costs

See also

References