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Why You Should Join a Virtual Wine Club

Arynetta Northcutt
Arynetta Northcutt
February 25, 2022

Virtual wine clubs are online subscription services where professional wine experts do the picking for you, all while educating you along the way. Members select a tier of membership (often based on how many bottles you desire and how often you’d like that desire shipped to your home). With that selection, they receive thoughtfully chosen bottles, along with educational material on the selection, vineyard, and more. Professionally hand-picked and delivered directly to my home, with Cliffs Notes? That’s a win, win, win.

There is a certain joy I’ve felt from suggesting the perfect wine at dinner, or gifting a great vintage to a friend, or pouring a glass for a visitor and receiving that, oh so very satisfying, “mmm, that’s good.”  But, to tell you the truth, that’s almost as much luck as my own personal taste.  Well, maybe 50/50.  I’ve found that it’s hard for me to go wrong with a Malbec or Syrah… until I do.  


But, other than constantly sending the server for a “taste” at my favorite restaurant, or over staying my welcome in a certain wine connoisseur friend’s home, it’s been difficult to really learn about wine.  Aside from the time it takes to actually educate myself on varieties, vintages, and appropriate pairings, there’s also the potentially high cost of trial and error.  So, when I’ve stumbled upon a favorite, I’ve held on tight.  But now there may be a simple, cost-effective way to expand my horizons.


Enter, virtual wine clubs.  


Virtual wine clubs are online subscription services where professional wine experts do the picking for you, all while educating you along the way.  Members select a tier of membership (often based on how many bottles you desire and how often you’d like that desire shipped to your home).  With that selection, they receive thoughtfully chosen bottles, along with educational material on the selection, vineyard, and more.  


Professionally hand-picked and delivered directly to my home, with Cliffs Notes?  That’s a win, win, win.


Here are three reasons you should try an online wine club.


1.  Selection


Did you know that there are some wines that major wine shops, grocery and liquor stores don’t even have access to?  And no, we’re not talking about some obscure five-thousand dollar bottle that a Bond villain may sip, pinkie up, in their lair.  We’re talking boutique winemakers from around the world with small-batch specialties that will never hit your local aisle.  Only wineries, exceptionally in-the-know shops, and, lucky for you, wine clubs have the knowledge and connections to even get the option.  With membership to a wine club, that option is extended to you.  With membership to an online wine club, that option is delivered to your doorstep.


(Oh, and some could probably hook you up with that Bond villain vintage, too.)  


2.  Convenience

Again, we’re talking wine delivered to your doorstep.  No more wandering the wine aisle aimlessly until you stumble into seven different brands of Malbec.  Online wine clubs bring your expertly-selected bottles to you, with excellent accuracy.  And, when the accuracy is less than spot on, some have satisfaction guarantees that will send a less than delighted customer a new selection free of charge.


3.  Palette Expansion


With membership to a wine club, that joy of walking into a restaurant and ordering the perfect bottle, always pouring something exciting at home, or gifting loved ones with the perfect vintage can be yours.  The reason––the education and palate expansion you can receive from your membership.


Remember, we are talking passionate wine professionals that have literally turned their palate into their career, with extensive knowledge, experience, connections, and purchasing power, curating and cultivating a selection of wines, and then educating you about them via succinct, well-crafted information on vintage, pairing suggestions, production, and more.  Some online clubs even offer in-person educational events to their members.  Just like in any situation where you are being taught by a master, your knowledge and confidence will grow leaps and bounds. 


Whether it’s to wow at dinner, gain confidence in the aisle, expand your palate, or just relax into the convenience of automated delivery, a wine club can be a simple, fun, way to fall in love with wine (or, at the very least, always have that inside track to that Bond villain vintage.  Cliff Notes included.) 

Arynetta Northcutt

Arynetta Northcutt is a professional storyteller who revels in sharing the sagas of life, fictional and non-fictional alike, in front of, and behind, the camera. When not acting or writing, you can also find her, among other things, teaching mindfulness and meditation to children through her animated character, Effie Monroe.

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