Picked by Wine.com vs Bright Cellars
Not sure which personalized wine subscription you want to join? This page compares Picked by Wine.com and Bright Cellars side-by-side using my detailed ratings system. The ratings are based on my experiences with each club — including tasting the wine over multiple shipments.
Which is better, Picked by Wine.com or Bright Cellars?
On every level Picked by Wine.com is far superior to Bright Cellars. At Picked the personalization is handled by a human being who gets to know your preferences, the range of wine available to you is much greater, and you can choose a price point which works for you. See why.
What are the key differences between Picked by Wine.com and Bright Cellars?
The biggest differences between Picked by Wine.com and Bright Cellars are: Cost per shipment, Satisfaction guarantee, Number of bottles per shipment, Quality of wine, Price of wine, Educational materials, Convenience features, Giftworthiness
What are the key similarities between Picked by Wine.com and Bright Cellars?
Picked by Wine.com and Bright Cellars are quite similar in these areas:
FYI: I find great wine deals so you don’t have to. To keep me on the hunt, I earn a commission when you buy wine based on my recommendations.
- Picked by Wine.com vs Firstleaf
- Picked by Wine.com vs Nakedwines.com
- Picked by Wine.com vs TastingRoom.com
- Picked by Wine.com vs Winc
- Bright Cellars vs Firstleaf
- Bright Cellars vs Nakedwines.com
- Bright Cellars vs TastingRoom.com
- Bright Cellars vs Winc
Picked by Wine.com |
Bright Cellars |
| Do they ship to you? | |
|---|---|
| AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, MD, MA, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY | AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY |
| Overall rating This rating reflects all of the wine club elements below and is weighted for personalized wine clubs. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 5 stars | 2.7 stars |
| Wine styles | |
| Choose any: Red, white, or a mix | Choose any: Red, white, or mixed |
| Wine regions | |
| Choose wine from around the world | A selection from around the world, you don’t pick |
| What to know | |
| Picked by Wine.com is a unique personalized wine subscription in that every bottle you receive is handpicked just for you by a human sommelier, not an algorithm. Wine.com has been sitting out the wine subscription business for almost a decade, but when they came back in, they created a thoughtful, human-led product designed for wine lovers, not just wine drinkers. I’d like to see options for bigger (and smaller) shipments, options which include rosé and sparkling wines, and options to spend more than an average of $40 per bottle. |
Bright Cellars is an algorithm-based personalized wine club where you have limited ability to intervene in the selection. Their point system is designed to say how good of a match a wine is for your palate. Their customer service has always been excellent and friendly. You can work with them to apply some limits to your matches (for example, "never send me Merlot."). I wasn’t impressed with any of the wines I received and compared to other personalized wine clubs, the wine is too expensive for what you get. The membership seems overly focused on beginning wine drinkers and doesn’t accommodate more experienced wine lovers very well. |
| Best wine clubs The editorial lists where I include this wine club and its ranking on that list. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| This wine club is not on any lists | |
| |
| Personalization Rating This rating reflects the degree of personalization available, not how well I think they do at matching wines to my taste preferences. Why? Each service requires a number of shipments before they hone in on your tastes (usually at least 3 shipments) and the quality of the personalization is, well, personal. Some services might be really good at your tasting profile but terrible at mine (and vice versa). This is why I don’t rate the ability of wine clubs to personalize your selection, rather I share my own experiences and let you be the judge. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 5 stars | 3 stars |
| Like other personalized wine subscriptions, your Picked subscription starts with a quiz. This is a much smarter, wine-centric quiz than the other services. It includes detailed preferences and even a write-in section. Once you have input your selections, a professional sommelier will pick wines to suit your stated preferences. As you taste and rate wines they ship you, your sommelier will adjust his/her selections. The more info you provide, the better the service will be. I was impressed with the wines I received based on my quiz results and additional information I provided. The sommelier did not know I am an affiliate marketer, but she definitely paid close attention to my wishes. |
Starting with a quiz during signup, Bright Cellars uses an algorithm to match your personal tastes. Their ability to match gets better over time, when you rate the wines you receive. You’ll need to contact customer service to swap out recommended bottles you don’t want to try. The quiz does not ask you about your wine preferences, it asks about your chocolate, coffee, tea, juice, and non-wine preferences. I found their automated systems did a terrible job recommending wine for me. After a chat with customer support, they made some tweaks to my profile and my matches improved. |
| |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| Number of Bottles | |
| 6 | 4 |
| Delivery Frequency | |
| Monthly | Monthly |
| Introductory Offer | |
Deal Save $50 on membership |
Deal Save $40 |
| |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| Picked by Wine.com (6 bottles) | Bright Cellars (4 bottles) |
| Total Price per Shipment | |
| $120-240, variable based on which settings you choose | $88.00 |
| Price per Bottle Including Shipping | |
| $20-40, variable based on which settings you choose | $22.00 |
| Price per Shipment | |
| $120-240, variable based on which settings you choose | $80.00 |
| Shipping Cost | |
| Shipping is included | $8.00 |
| Price per Bottle Before Shipping | |
| $20-40, variable based on which settings you choose | $20.00 |
| |
| Picked by Wine.com Wine Review | Bright Cellars Wine Review |
| Quality of Wine This rating reflects how the wine is sourced and produced, as well as how it compares to similar wine clubs. | |
| 4 stars | 1 stars |
| Wine quality varies widely around the world and by grape variety or blend. Because Wine.com’s sommeliers have their pick of their huge inventory, and sommeliers are specially trained to spot great wine values, you can expect good quality wine at any price setting | Bright Cellars’ wines are "private label" of generally poorer quality to less-expensive wine clubs. They offer a broad range of styles and wine regions, and the quality from each area varies slightly. |
| Price of Wine | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 4.5 stars | 1 stars |
| Wine.com generally charges below retail and you are paying Wine.com’s listed prices for the wine in your shipment. | As Bright Cellars wines are private label or exclusive, prices can’t be verified. The wine seems overpriced, based on my experience with less-expensive wine clubs. |
| |
| Satisfaction Guarantee This rating reflects the quality of the club’s satisfaction guarantee, not my guarantee of your satisfaction. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 5 stars | 2 stars |
| If you don’t like a wine you receive, you can contact customer service to get a credit applied to your account. "If any bottle misses the mark, we’ll give you a full credit to apply to a new bottle." |
The messaging here is mixed. Their Terms & Conditions says damaged or defective bottles may be refunded. "While most items are not refundable, if you received a damaged or defective product, we may refund at our discretion if we are notified within 30 days of the order date. Please be aware that gift card purchases are non-refundable." Their marketing page says otherwise: "Your delight is guaranteed. If you don’t love a bottle, we’ll send you a replacement." |
| Customer Service Record This rating is a mix of my own experiences with their customer service team and general ratings from across the web over time. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 4 stars | 5 stars |
| Wine.com has an impressive customer service record as recorded online. In my past dealings with Wine.com, their customer service team has been top notch. None of my customer service interactions were related to Picked. | Bright Cellars has an impressive customer service record as recorded online and my own experiences with their customer service team were excellent. |
| Educational Materials This rating reflects how much information you get about the wine you receive. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 3.5 stars | 2 stars |
| The wine information for Wine.com wines is all online. The amount of information they provide varies widely from detailed tasting notes and background information about the winery to basic info to describe the wine. | Bright Cellars includes a tasting card for each wine in your shipment. These cards have very basic information on them. Plenty of info for a beginner, but not helpful for anyone who wants to learn more about where the wine came from or how it was made. |
| Convenience A subscription should be easier than shopping at the store. That means you have control over when and where deliveries occur and that it is easy to make changes to your account online. | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| 5 stars | 4 stars |
| Choose a delivery date? | |
| Yes, you only get wine when you place an order | Yes |
| Skip a shipment any time? | |
| You decide when you want wine, so no need to skip shipments. You can pause deposits if needed. | Yes, skip shipments whenever you want |
| Fully manage account online | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Cancel online | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Choose alternate delivery location | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Get SMS delivery updates from the club | |
| No | No |
| Get email delivery updates from the club | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Email reminders before card is charged | |
| Yes | Yes |
| |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| Switch delivery frequency | |
| n/a | Switch to deliveries every other month or quarterly |
Good for Gifts? | |
| Picked by Wine.com | Bright Cellars |
| Giftworthiness | |
| 2.5 stars | 5 stars |
| Gift options? | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Gift format | |
| Electronic gift card | Electronic gift card |
| Gift wrap | |
| No | No |
| Gift notification | |
| Yes, an email is sent at time of purchase | Yes. You can choose to send a gift box with a corkscrew to announce your gift ahead of time ($10), or you can send an email to notify your recipient on any day you choose. |
Review by: Jessyca Frederick |
After 15+ years trying 1000s of bottles from 100+ different wine clubs, I know what it means to be a wine club worth joining. My reviews can help you find a great wine club for you and the best wine club gifts for any budget and for any wine preference.
Feel free to ask me for a personal recommendation. I won't harvest your email address for a marketing list — I don't send marketing emails.
Learn more about my review process and why you can trust me.