TastingRoom.com vs Nakedwines.com
Not sure which personalized wine subscription you want to join? This page compares TastingRoom.com and Nakedwines.com 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, TastingRoom.com or Nakedwines.com?
On practically every level Nakedwines.com is far superior to TastingRoom.com. At Nakedwines.com the personalization includes the ability to choose your own bottles and how many; their program is 100% refundable, not just as credits and the focus is on the winemaker and their story, not branding. The wine at TastingRoom.com is very average for the price, not really worth committing to. See why.
What are the key differences between TastingRoom.com and Nakedwines.com?
The biggest differences between TastingRoom.com and Nakedwines.com are: Cost per shipment, Satisfaction guarantee, Number of bottles per shipment, Quality of wine, Price of wine, Educational materials, Convenience features, Giftworthiness, Delivery frequency
What are the key similarities between TastingRoom.com and Nakedwines.com?
TastingRoom.com and Nakedwines.com are quite similar in these areas:
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- TastingRoom.com vs Bright Cellars
- TastingRoom.com vs Firstleaf
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- TastingRoom.com vs Winc
- Nakedwines.com vs Bright Cellars
- Nakedwines.com vs Firstleaf
- Nakedwines.com vs Picked by Wine.com
- Nakedwines.com vs Winc
TastingRoom.com |
Nakedwines.com |
| Do they ship to you? | |
|---|---|
| AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY | AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NY, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY |
| Overall rating This rating reflects all of the wine club elements below and is weighted for personalized wine clubs. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 2.3 stars | 5 stars |
| Wine styles | |
| Choose any: Red, white, or mixed with an option to add rosé & sparkling | Choose any: Red, white, rosé, and sparkling |
| Wine regions | |
| Choose either or both: USA, International | Choose wine from around the world |
| What to know | |
| Firstleaf is an algorithm-based personalized wine club where you have limited ability to intervene in the selection. By delivering a range of wine grapes, regions, and styles, Firstleaf is always a top contender for a personalized wine subscription. One of Firstleaf’s strong suits is their huge breadth of inventory. There are hundreds of different wines available at any time, increasing the odds you’ll get something you like. Firstleaf relies heavily on slick marketing which says their wines all being award-winning, but this isn’t a good measure of a wine club. |
Nakedwines.com is not a typical wine subscription in that they do not auto-ship your wines. Each month you deposit $40 and when you’re ready, you order as much wine as you want (at least 6 bottles). Nakedwines.com’s relationship with independent winemakers makes it unique. I also love that they give you so much information to help you decide which wines to try. Unlike their competitors, any unspent funds are fully refundable (and they’ll also credit bottles you didn’t like). It should be easier to sign up for a membership without getting the introductory six-pack deal. |
| Best wine clubs The editorial lists where I include this wine club and its ranking on that list. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 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. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 4 stars | 5 stars |
| TastingRoom brags about being the first personalized wine subscription, and their initial approach — which was widely panned by customers — is still their approach. They send you a tasting kit with miniature bottles which you rate, so they can get a sense of what you like to drink. Other than the algorithmic personalization tied to your "tasting profile," your ability to further personalize your shipments is limited. I never found my recommended wines matched my palate well. |
Unlike other personalized wine clubs, Nakedwines.com does NOT start with a quiz. Quite the opposite... you start with a bundle of six bottles they choose. Their personalization comes in two forms: 1) you pick every wine you orders and 2) As you rate wines, the store reflects your preferences. I have never used Nakedwines.com recommendations to choose wine — I like to personalize my wine shipments by picking my own wine. Given the amount of data they have about customers and what they like (or don’t), I would bet they are good at guessing which wines you might like based on how you’ve rated previous wines you purchased from them. And if they’re not, they’ll give you all of your money back... so there’s nothing to lose. |
| |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| Number of Bottles | |
| 6 | 6 (minimum bottles per order) |
| Delivery Frequency | |
| Monthly | Monthly |
| Introductory Offer | |
| You must accept their Tasting Kit for $14.99 as part of your first shipment, but they give you a 33% discount on your first shipment (worth $22.50) | Deal Save $100 on 6 bottles + $20 |
| |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| TastingRoom.com (6 bottles) | Nakedwines.com (6 bottles) |
| Total Price per Shipment | |
| $94.99 | You deposit $40 each month and spend it when you want to. Your price per shipment will vary depending on the wines you put in the box. |
| Price per Bottle Including Shipping | |
| $15.83 | Variable (You choose your wine and how many bottles) |
| Price per Shipment | |
| $75.00 | Variable (You choose your wine and how many bottles) |
| Shipping Cost | |
| $19.99 | Shipping is $9.99 for orders less than $100. Shipping is free for orders over $100 except in Hawaii ($70 per box) and Alaska ($130 per box). |
| Price per Bottle Before Shipping | |
| $12.50 | $8.99 - $39.99 (You choose your wine) |
| |
| TastingRoom.com Wine Review | Nakedwines.com 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. | |
| 3 stars | 4.25 stars |
| Over the years I’ve tried many wines from TastingRoom.com and I almost always find them to be of average quality. They tend to taste too similar to me (meaning they don’t taste like the grapes on their labels). | Nakedwines.com wines are often mistaken for private label, but since Nakedwines.com is a winery, that is not accurate. They offer wine at a variety of prices and the quality varies with price. In general, their $15 wines are better than those of similarly-priced wine clubs. |
| Price of Wine | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 2.5 stars | 5 stars |
| As the wines from TastingRoom.com are all private label, there is no way to verify if their prices are fair. From a quality perspective, I find their wines a bit overpriced for what you get. | Nakedwines.com wines are exclusive so prices can’t be verified, however you are able to buy wine from them without a subscription, those prices seem fair, and members get a substantial discount. The wine seems very fairly priced based on my experience with similar wines from other sources. |
| |
| Satisfaction Guarantee This rating reflects the quality of the club’s satisfaction guarantee, not my guarantee of your satisfaction. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 5 stars | 5 stars |
| If you don’t like a wine you receive, you can contact customer service to get a credit applied to your account. "Everyone’s palate can be different, and we want to be sure that the premium wines we send delight you. So, if a wine doesn’t meet your expectations, please let us know and we’ll give you full credit toward your next retail purchase in our Bottle Shop." |
If you don’t like a wine you receive, you can contact customer service to get a credit applied to your account. "You get your money back. We only charge you for the wine you love, guaranteed. Just email us at chat@nakedwines.com or call us at 1-800-813-4882." |
| 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. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 1 stars | 5 stars |
| TastingRoom.com has an abysmal online customer service record. This frequently stems from people who ordered the tasting kit and didn’t know they were signing up for a membership. Their new website makes it clear you are joining a wine club and they automatically add the tasting kit to your first order. | Nakedwines.com has an impressive customer service record as recorded online. I have not personally needed their customer service team’s assistance yet. |
| Educational Materials This rating reflects how much information you get about the wine you receive. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 2 stars | 4.5 stars |
| The tasting notes for TastingRoom.com are all online. The new website just launched and there is very little info about each wine. Definitely not enough to help you learn about the wine you’re drinking. | The wine information for Nakedwines.com wines is all online. They offer excellent information about each wine, including info that is useful both before you buy it and when you are ready to drink it. In addition to details about the winemaker and the wine itself, they also provide storage information, service information, and food pairing suggestions. |
| 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. | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| 3 stars | 5 stars |
| Choose a delivery date? | |
| Yes | Yes, you only get wine when you place an order |
| Skip a shipment any time? | |
| Yes, skip shipments whenever you want | You decide when you want wine, so no need to skip shipments. You can pause deposits if needed. |
| Fully manage account online | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Cancel online | |
| No | Yes |
| Choose alternate delivery location | |
| No | 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 |
| |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| Upgrade to 12 bottles | |
| Get 12 bottles for $150 (2 each of 6 different wines) | n/a |
| Switch delivery frequency | |
| Switch to deliveries every other month or quarterly, in addition to delivery on demand | n/a |
Good for Gifts? | |
| TastingRoom.com | Nakedwines.com |
| Giftworthiness | |
| 2.5 stars | 2.5 stars |
| Gift options? | |
| Yes | No |
| Gift format | |
| Electronic gift card | n/a |
| Gift wrap | |
| No | No |
| Gift notification | |
| Yes, an email is sent at time of purchase | n/a |
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.
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