Winc Wine Club was established in 2012. It was originally called Club W, but it was rebranded to form a more relaxed and affordable club. There are plenty of wine clubs out there that cater to the higher end of the market so it’s good to have a club that people who are new to wine can explore. You will receive inexpensive wines, but they are of quality and you won’t be getting bulk wines. In this article, we will take a look at Winc and hopefully, you will be able to decide if Winc is the wine club for you.
What is Winc Wine Club?
Winc Wine Club is different from a lot of wine clubs in that they send you wines based on your preferences by giving you a quiz first. This is not to say that some other clubs don’t offer you a quiz as well, but they are in the minority. The quiz starts off with asking you if you prefer red or white wine or if you like both. Then they ask you what flavours you like.
They bring up pictures of different flavours such as honey, berries, apple, lemon and so on. The next question is a fun question – ‘Some lunatic mixed Skittles and M & Ms in the same bowl. Which do you pick out to eat?’ You can choose either or go for both. Then they give you a list of countries and ask which regions you would like the wines to come from.
Finally they give you pictures of food and you choose the ones you like. Wine and food pairing is very important. For example, you wouldn’t pair a steak with a sweet white wine. In no time at all they come up with four wines that they recommend for you. They put these in your cart and then you can buy them. From reviews we have read, their choices of wine are usually well matched to the client.
Some of the questions may seem odd, but they seem to work. You can read more about the wines online before you decide whether or not to purchase them. They will give you tasting and pairing notes and the flavours of the wines. Before you finalise your order you do get the opportunity to change the bottles.
Once you complete the order, you will be sent a confirmation email and will then receive text updates, the first telling you that the shipment is on its way. It will chase this up with texts saying where your shipment is. They say that delivery is usually within three working days.
It is a good idea to review the wines after you have tasted them as Winc will base further deliveries on your ratings, They will also give you recommendations which you can choose next time.
The Subscription Plan
Many wine clubs give you a choice of different subscriptions to choose from. However, Winc doesn’t. There is just one subscription plan but there is nothing wrong with that. You don’t have to try to make a decision and then wonder if you’ve chosen the right subscription. Winc has the advantage over other wine clubs in that they do personalise your wines so the chances are that you will get wines that you prefer.
You receive a delivery of four bottles each month although you can order more bottles if you want. Four bottles seems a reasonable amount for a monthly subscription. Some wine clubs send you twelve bottles a month and this can be too much for some people.
Although in the quiz you can say that you prefer red or white wine or a combination of both, you can’t say that, for example, you prefer reds, but you would like a white now and again, but that would be asking a lot.
While there aren’t different subscriptions, you can choose wines from the Winc wine shop to put in your delivery. They will suggest featured wines or select wines. Featured wines are $13 a bottle and select wines range from $14 – $35. Your monthly subscription will be adjusted accordingly. You can also choose to buy wines separately from their shop. By the way, a plus for Winc is that they give you a discount on your first delivery.
The subscription plan gives you a personalised experience. It makes you feel that the subscription has been made especially for you which, in a way, it has been. Winc finds you the kind of wines you like at a reasonable cost.
Rating the Delivery
After you have tried your wines , it is important to rate them. Just login to your account where you go to get your wines. There you will find the ‘About My Wine’ button. You can rate the wines up to five stars. It is important to rate each one so that Winc discovers your preferences and is able to customise your future deliveries. The whole process is fun and interactive. You feel as if you really are part of the club.
Do I Get Any Rewards?
Yes you do and this is another perk that Winc offers. If you rate ten bottles of wine that you have received, you will get a credit of $10 against your next delivery. If you keep reviewing your wines, you will get more credits.
Winc also gives you the opportunity to access Wine Favourites. Here you can order morer of the bottles of wine that you like. If you order four or more bottles, you get free shipping. It is certainly an advantage to order more bottles and the more you try, the more you can review. Then you get more credits and so cheaper wine. It’s a win-win situation.
Another perk that Winc offers is the ‘refer a friend scheme’. It’s not only you that gets benefits. In fact, your friend gets $22 off their first shipment. You get a complimentary bottle of wine with each of their first shipments.
An advantage with Winc is that you can skip a delivery whenever you want. You aren’t tied to having a delivery every month, However, it will erase your line-up of recommended wines. On the other hand, you can add bottles to your shipment, but you have to pay shop price for the wine. Still, it adds to the number of bottles you have bought and you can rate these as well and get credits.
If you don’t like a bottle of wine you have received, you can get your money back, but of course they will get suspicious if you keep saying that you don’t like the wine.
Shipping the Wine
As with most wine clubs, you have to be twenty one to order wine from Winc. In addition, someone aged twenty one or over has to be at home to sign for the wine. It doesn’t have to be you, but whoever it is will have to show proof of identity. Winc does send you shipping notifications so that you have an idea when the shipment will be delivered and you can arrange for someone to be at home. You do have the opportunity to change the time of the delivery.
Once you order, the box usually ships the next day and arrives within three business days. It is very rare that it takes any longer. It is only if your delivery schedule comes over a weekend.
Your delivery comes via Fed Ex so you can track your shipment. If there is a FedEx depot close to your home, you can arrange to pick it up from them. This can be a good option as often people have to work and can’t be at home for a delivery. You can also arrange to have the shipment delivered to your place of work. Just remember that the wine will be heavy so if you park a distance away from your workplace, it might be difficult to carry the wine.
Unfortunately, shipments of alcohol are regulated in the US so there are some states that Winc can’t deliver to. These states are Utah, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Michigan, Kentucky, Hawaii, Delaware, Arkansas, Alabama, and Alaska.
Strangely enough, some other wine clubs can deliver to some of these states so if you live in one of these, you might be best looking elsewhere. Some wine clubs deliver to all states apart from Alaska and Hawaii. It is a pity as Winc is such a good wine club.
The next step is the most exciting of all and that is opening your shipment. That is, apart from drinking the wine! The wine bottles are packed in a secure box with custom-cardboard inserts that hold the bottles in securely and stop them from breaking. There is a handle at the top of the box so it is easy to carry when it has been delivered. There is packing tape all around the box to make it more secure.
The wine bottles are separated with cardboard and here you will find some extra treats. There might be an invitation to a wine special, but the best gift is an A – Z wine book. It gives you lots of information about wine and there is an entry for each letter of the alphabet.
There is also an overview of some of the most popular wines Winc delivers. This can give you the opportunity to try out some of their recommendations in future deliveries. The only negative is that they don’t give you details of the wines you have received. However, you can look this up online.
Lety’s Take a Look at a Couple of Wines From Winc
Pacificana Chardonnay
Chardonnay is best known as the white wine of Burgundy and the cornerstone of Champagne. Chardonnay is the world’s most famous white wine variety and one of the most planted on the globe. It can be aged in oak barrels and the variety Winc delivers is. It has oaky notes of vanilla, butter, and oak. There are also hints of apple, pear, peach, and citrus.
It pairs well with light and delicate food such as raw and lightly cooked shellfish like crab and prawns, and steamed or grilled fish. It goes well with food cooked in butter and with nutty flavours. It also pairs with a cheese board. Cheeses such as mozzarella and brie are good choices. It is a vegetarian’s delight as it goes well with most vegetables especially butternut squash and mushroom dishes.
Cocomero Rose
Cocomero is a California rose which has a scratch-n-sniff label which actually smells like one of the key flavours in the wine. The name Cocomero literally translates to watermelon in Italian and this is very fitting as it is one of the wine’s most prominent tasting notes, together with rhubarb honeysuckle, rose petal, and raspberry. This wine is easy to drink and just slips down.
It pairs well with starters such as aubergine rounds with grilled halloumi slices. Brioche topped with peas, ricotta, and prosciutto is also another good pairing. Turkey or chicken burgers are also a good choice. Cheese and cured meats are a good pairing.
Alternatives to Winc
We think that Winc is a great wine club, but it might not be quite what you’re looking for or you might just want to look around a bit more. If so, there are plenty of alternatives out there and we’ll take a look at some of them here.
The International Wine of the Month Club
The International Wine Club features estate-bottled wines, hard-to-find vintages, and rare finds. They offer a choice of four different clubs ranging from value-for-money but quality wines to a club which costs more but offers the finest limited-production wines. You receive two bottles of wine a month.
Plonk Wine Club
This is a wine club that offers boutique wines. The wines are also organic and have been grown using biodynamic farming methods. No pesticides or chemicals have been used to grow the grapes. You do pay a bit more for this as you would expect, but if you are interested in the environment this is the club for you. You can choose to have either four or twelve bottles of wine a month.
Vinebox
Vinebox is a unique experience. They sell vials of wine, each filled with the equivalent of 100ml of wine. You can buy the vials in packs of three, six, or nine. Then you can decide which wines you like and order the 750 ml bottles from their bottle shop.
The only disadvantage is that the vial sets are expensive for what they are. However, you need to just order them once, decide which wines you like, and then just order the full bottles in the future. However, if you’re not on a budget, this is a novel way to try out new wines.
Hello Fresh Wine Club
This is another unique wine club. It actually started up as a company that delivered meal kits. Then it decided that it would become a wine club as well. It sends you six bottles of wine a month. You can choose red, white, or a combination of both. They then pair the wine with appropriate meal kits. You can, however, order the wine separately if you don’t want the meal kits.
The California Wine Club
The California Wine Club delivers wines from artisan wineries and deal with limited-edition wines. They have five different wine clubs and most of the wines are from California. However, there is an International Wine Club which delivers handcrafted wines from such countries as Argentina, France, and Germany.
There is also a Pacific Northwest Series Wine Club which delivers wine from Oregon and Washington. All the wines are only available from the club or from the wineries themselves. You can’t buy any in the local supermarket or wine shop. There is even a club that sends you aged Cabernets which have been aged for eight to twelve years.You get two bottles of wine a month. It’s a great club, but it is pricey.
Martha Stewart Wine Club
Martha Stewart is another reasonably priced wine club but she doesn’t give you a quiz so you get what she has chosen. However, she has tasted every wine that she sends out and you can read all about the wines you are going to receive on her website. These descriptions are all in detail so you will be fully informed about the wines you are going to receive.
You can choose red wine, white, or a combination of both. You will enjoy twelve bottles of wine every twelve weeks. You pay less for the first shipment as you do with Winc, but you also get a free seven-piece lever-pull corkscrew set. You can order more of the wines that you like and, in fact, the cost of the wine club is probably more reasonable than Winc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it Difficult to Cancel your Membership?
No, you can cancel your membership at any time and there will be no questions asked. However, you might get emails asking if you want to join again. If you feel that you don’t need any wine for one month, it is easy to just skip a month.
Do you Have to be at Home for the Wine Delivery?
No, you personally don’t have to be at home to sign for the delivery. However, someone over twenty one needs to be at home to sign for it. If this is a problem, have the wine delivered to your place of work or, as it is delivered by Fed-Ex, pick it up from your local Fed-Ex office.
How is the Wine Produced?
Winc uses wine that has been produced using minimal-intervention methods and sustainable farming techniques. The wine is definitely environmentally friendly.
What if I Don’t like a Bottle of Wine I Sent?
This is simple. Just tell Winc and they will send you another bottle free of charge. Of course Winc will get suspicious if you keep doing this.
How Do I Know What Food to Pair the Wine With?
Go on Winc’s website and they give you ideas for starters, main courses, vegetarian dishes, and desserts.
Does Winc Give Customer Support?
Yes, they do. In fact, they give excellent customer support. For a start they have support articles on their website so you can see if your problem is described here. If it isn’t, you have a wide choice of other ways to get in touch with them. You can send a text, a message on Facebook, fill out their contact form, email them, or, best of all, you can phone them.
Conclusion
We think that Winc is an excellent wine club. Perhaps it might not suit the true wine connoisseur who has a great knowledge of wine and is looking for aged wines or limited-production wines. However, if you just enjoy wine or are new to wine, Winc is the club for you. They deliver reasonably priced wines, but they are of high quality. We love the quiz.
It is comprehensive enough to choose the wines that you should like. The quiz is also a little bit of fun and when you receive personalised recommendations, you will feel as if you are truly a member of the wine club. Shipment is speedy. You usually get your delivery within three business days. The club is great for those who want to get the wines they prefer on a budget. We certainly recommend it.
