Wine of the Month Club Wine Clubs Review

Wine of the Month Club offers a whopping 13 membership programs designed to suit a wide range of tastes and budgets. Programs are tailored by some unusual wine features, including organic/biodynamic wines, pinot noirs, Napa, and sweet wines. There's even a Mystery Case membership for people who enjoy surprises. Customers can further customize their plans by number of bottles shipped, frequency of shipment, and, in the case of some memberships, by choosing one of three quality/price tiers.

Wine of the Month Club's collection differs from many other clubs in one key way. It includes wines from well-known vintners from around the world. Many clubs private label wines—they then call them "exclusive"—so you can't really research them for ratings or judge the price at which they're offered. But if you want to purchase a 10-year-old bottle of Bollinger champagne, you can easily find the wine reviewed on various wine lovers' sites and compare Wine of the Month Club's $449 price tag to what you'd pay at another wine shop, whether online or in-person. 

From the California coastal region to Chile, you'll find wines from around the world in the Wine of the Month Club collection. Wines are selected for the collection upon approval by a two-tiered tasting panel led by wine educator, syndicated columnist, and consultant to New York’s most respected sommeliers, Don Lahey.   

Years in Business

Since 1972

Membership Programs

Wine of the Month Club offers more membership options than any other club we've reviewed. If you're an experienced wine enthusiast with established preferences, there's a good chance you'll find a club that's well-suited to your tastes. Casual drinkers can also use the wide array of membership choices to expand their tasting horizons. Wine of the Month Club's twelve options are as follows. We list starting prices for each of these memberships, but your costs will increase if you choose more bottles in your shipment or more frequent shipping and, in some instances, by the particular wines included in the box from shipment to shipment. 

Shipping Costs

If we have one beef with Wine Club of the Month, it's how confusing the company makes it to figure out its shipping costs. We appreciate that the company offers a lot of choices on how to order wines, allowing customers to choose the number of bottles and frequency at which they receive shipments. But in order to find out how much any shipment will cost, you must add the membership you choose to your cart and begin the check-out process to see a figure. We'd prefer to see standard shipping costs based on the number of bottles per order upfront or in a section of the site devoted to explaining shipping policies. Or they could offer free shipping, of course, as many wine clubs do if your order is large enough.

Membership Length

Some Wine of the Month Club memberships offer you a choice of term lengths while others are sold for set terms such as monthly or quarterly. The company allows customers to join with no commitment. You can cancel your membership without penalty at any time so long as a scheduled order has been shipped.

Wine Selection Process

Wine of the Month Club’s two-tiered wine club selection panel is headed by Don Lahey who has over 40 years of wine industry experience.  The wine tasting panel consists of 40 people who represent the entire range of wine lovers from casual drinkers to novice enthusiasts to senior panel members with years of experience judging wine. 

Gift Programs

Eleven of Wine of the Month Club thirteen memberships can be purchased as gifts. You can shop for individual gift bottles and gift baskets on the site. You can also choose to send a Wine of the Month Club gift certificate to your friends and family. In addition, the company supports businesses that wish to gift wine to their customers through its corporate giving program 

Wine of the Month Club Wine Club Review

Overall, Wine of the Month Club caters to wine drinkers who seek higher quality wines and don't mind paying for them. With 13 membership options to choose from and the ability to further customize orders within them, the club offers more flexibility than many of its competitors. The company's nearly fifty-year history, its excellent reputation with consumer groups, and its satisfaction guarantee are all excellent reasons for wine enthusiasts to consider its many membership options.