Don’t know much about wine or wine clubs? In this guide I’ll help you sort through the options to give a great wine subscription.
I can’t think of anyone I know (who drinks wine) who was ever unhappy to receive wine as a gift. Their degree of happiness varies based on how well the gift giver did in selecting the wine gift, but some options will please almost everyone.
Learning how to choose the right wine subscription gift for your wine lover is worth spending a few minutes on as you can quickly take a ho-hum wine gift and turn it into a spectacular one.
In a hurry? Skip straight to my list of best wine club gifts or browse these three-month wine club gifts.
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.
By selecting a state now, you will make it easier to know which wine clubs you might want to give as you read my lists and reviews. I'll also present three easy-to-give gift recommendations right now, in case you’re in a hurry.
There are three main ways of handling gift subscriptions. There are prepaid wine memberships where you pay for all of the shipments up front, ongoing wine subscriptions where you have to remember to cancel the membership yourself, and electronic gift cards which put all of the control in the gift recipient’s hands.
Companies who focus on sending out curated wine boxes each month typically offer prepaid wine memberships.
They let you choose the number of months you want to give for any of their club options and you pay for it all at once, including shipping. These services typically offer “buy more, save more” deals on longer subscriptions.
Companies who offer a personalized wine subscription tend to offer electronic gift cards. These include, among others, Picked by Wine.com and Firstleaf.
The rationale here is that the recipient should set up the subscription exactly how they want it, in order to get the most benefit from the personalization. Often personalized subscriptions have variable pricing, because the wine selection varies with each shipment, so you give the amount in a gift card that you want to spend knowing that your gift recipient may end up sending some of her own money on wine.
Lastly, there are a few wine clubs who let you pay for a gift subscription on an ongoing basis. The best exaxmple of this is the International Wine of the Month Club which lets you pick a set number of months AND lets you pay as you go to help spread out the cost of the gift.
In a perfect world the answer is: whatever kind of wine your gift recipient likes to drink. Odds are good that if you’re reading this guide, you don’t know a lot about wine in general, and probably don’t know how best to answer that question. Here are some suggestions:
You can’t go wrong with any of these recommended wine club gifts as each of these companies chooses high quality wine for these wine clubs and aims for “universal appeal.”
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by The California Wine Club
This wine subscription focuses on good-quality, well-priced wines from small family wineries in California. It is perfect to give as a gift or to join yourself.
Next ClubCalifornia Premier Club
by International Wine of the Month Club
An old-school wine of the month club that has every detail buttoned down tight. If you want to discover heavier-bodied, interesting red wines from around the world, and you want a reliable service to deliver them, the International Wine of the Month Club’s Bold Reds Series is a great place to start.
Next ClubBold Reds Club
The Plonk wine club has always been among our favorites because of the proprietor's preference for quirky but delectable wines. Etty Klein sources interesting wines made from grapes and regions you've never heard of (and some you have). Whether you choose four, six, or twelve bottle shipments you'll be glad you picked Plonk.
Next ClubPlonk Wine Club
Likes to drink | Get them this |
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Cabernet Sauvignon | Bounty Hunter Wine: Killer Cabernet Club |
Pinot Noir | Gold Medal Wine: Pinot Noir Club |
French red wine | SomMailier: 3 bottles, 6 bottles, or 12 bottles |
California red wine |
Gold Medal Wine: Garagiste Club The California Wine Club: Signature Series |
Zinfandel or red blends | International Wine of the Month Club: The Bold Reds Series |
Eco-friendly wine |
Organic Wine Exchange: Organic Wine Club MYSA: Natural Wine Club |
Or check my list of Best Red Wine Clubs & Gifts for a bigger selection of great red wine club gifts.
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by International Wine of the Month Club
An old-school wine of the month club that has every detail buttoned down tight. If you want to discover affordable wines from around the world, and you want a reliable service to deliver them, the International Wine of the Month Club’s Premier Series is a great place to start.
Next ClubInternational Premier Club
by The California Wine Club
This wine subscription focuses on good-quality, well-priced wines from small family wineries in California. It is perfect to give as a gift or to join yourself.
Next ClubCalifornia Premier Club
The Plonk wine club has always been among our favorites because of the proprietor's preference for quirky but delectable wines. Etty Klein sources interesting wines made from grapes and regions you've never heard of (and some you have). Whether you choose four, six, or twelve bottle shipments you'll be glad you picked Plonk.
Next ClubPlonk Wine Club
Likes to drink | Get them this |
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Sweeter wine | Vinesse: Light & Sweet Wine Club |
French white wine | SomMailier: 3 bottles, 6 bottles, or 12 bottles |
Eclectic wine | Plonk: White Wine Club |
Sparkling wine | Vinesse: Sparkling Wine Club |
Champagne | Wine Access: Champagne Club |
Eco-friendly wine |
Organic Wine Exchange: Organic Wine Club MYSA: Natural Wine Club |
Or check my list of Best White Wine Clubs & Gifts for a bigger selection of great white wine club gifts.
Don’t want to spend $150 or more? Browse my handpicked one-time gifts of red wine and white wine gifts to find something suited to your budget.
If you’re close with your wine lover and know their drinking habits, there are a world of niche wine clubs you can give them. Use that search box up at the top of the page to get more specific reviews or feel free to contact me for help choosing the right wine club gift. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
You know exactly what they like. They never stop talking about that latest Pinot Noir, their Bordeaux wine store find, or their beloved Napa Cab. Your favorite wine lover has a type and you should buy for it!
You have a pretty good idea of what they like. Either your wine lover has a vaguely defined set of wine preferences or you have a vague notion of what those preferences are. I suggest a more general choice based on...
Have no fear, I have ideas for you, too! The best advice I can give you is to think about what you know about your wine lover...
When it comes to wine, prices are all over the map. If you’re not into wine yourself, you might not understand the prices and how they correlate to what your favorite wine lover drinks. If that’s the case, here is a quick breakdown of what you get for your gift money.
Be sure to price your subscription gift including the cost of shipping (some are free, some are not). Deals are usually available during the holidays and other gift-giving seasons like February, May, and June. Shop my deals page for the current offers.
My personal recommendation is to decide on your budget and give the best 3-month wine club you can afford.
TIP
A rule of thumb is that an affordable 3-month wine subscription should cost $140-180 for good quality wine.
Your budget | Wine gifts in this price range |
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Under $150 |
3-Month Wine subscription: Wine Awesomeness 2-Month Wine subscriptions: The California Wine Club or The International Wine of the Month Club 1-time wine gifts like wine samplers and wine baskets |
$150-250 | 3-4 months of good wine |
$250-500 |
4-6 months of good wine 3 months of very good wine |
$500-1000 |
6-12 months of good wine 6-9 months of very good wine 3-6 months of exceptional wine |
Shop wine clubs by budget
For certain occasions, a “year of wine” would be the perfect wine gift. Weddings, graduations, and retirements come to mind, but you can be creative in coming up with your own. There are three ways to do this:
Some wine club services specialize in gift-giving and they’ve set up their gift options accordingly. Most of these subscriptions only offer one way to present your gift and it’s important to make sure you know what these options are BEFORE you purchase the gift.
Electronic gift cards. In most cases, if you’re sending an electronic gift card, the recipient is emailed immediately when your purchase is completed. If this is the case for the wine club you’ve selected, you’ll want to wait until the big day to place your order.
In some cases, you can enter your own email address and then forward the gift card on the big day, but make sure you check that the gift card isn’t tied to the email address it was sent to.
Some subscriptions go the extra mile and let you set a future date to send the notification when you check out. They should all do this, but sadly, they don’t.
TIP
Choose the "download and print" option so you can create the notice whenever you want and then email it yourself on the big day.
DIY printouts and emails. For most of the curated wine clubs, they offer some kind of personalized gift note option. Either they generate it for you or provide a link to a form where you can set it up yourself. You can then print the PDF and put it in a card or send the PDF via email.
I’ve noticed lately that some of the wine clubs which used to have an online tool for this now ask you to email customer service to request a customized gift notice. It’s an extra step to plan for.
Some subscriptions go the extra mile and let you set a future date to send the notification when you check out. They should all do this, but sadly, they don’t.
Fancy gift options that cost extra. Some wine clubs love to make a big fuss over their gifts and give you options to really zhuzh it up before the wine arrives.
The California Wine Club offers the industry’s best pre-wine presentation package. For $18 extra (just one time, not recurring) you can send a gift box for your wine lover to open in advance of the first wine shipment’s arrival. It contains a personalized message detailing what is on its way, a wine stopper, and a nice corkscrew.
Shop wine clubs with: immediate email notification, plan-ahead email notification, downloadable gift notes.
Wait for the wine to arrive. If you prefer the wine to be a surprise when it arrives, there are options for you, too. Typically gift fanfare is only in the first shipment and includes a variety of options. These are usually included with the gift at no extra cost (though some options do cost extra) and are not customizable. Gift fanfare includes: wine in organza bags or tissue-wrapped bottles, a nicely printed gift note, a nice gift box inside the shipping container.
The Gold Medal Wine Club offers the industry’s best gift packaging on delivery day. My readers get an exclusive deal for a free artist-designed gift box, a matching personalized gift note, and a bonus bottle of award-winning red wine for any Gold Club gift of 3-months or longer.
Exclusive Deal For Gifts. Give a wine club gift of 3 months or longer and get a bonus bottle of wine, a free artist-designed gift box, free gift bags, and a free printed gift notice. Click for This Deal.
If you’re ordering a different subscription from Gold Medal (they have a great selection of premium wine clubs), you’ll need to pay extra for the gift box and custom gift notice (unless you’re giving 12 months or you happen to give your gift during their annual Early Bird Sale in October).
For some services though, you can only add a brief gift message that gets printed on the packing slip. If the presentation matters to you, make sure you check on this detail before you order.
On the surface, no. Convention dictates that gifts should include gift messaging and hopefully gift wrap. But those aren’t the only differences between joining a wine club or giving one as a gift. Most wine subscriptions are billed on an ongoing basis — they charge your card and then ship you wine. More on the different ways to give a wine subscription gift.
It depends. When a wine gift will arrive is a highly variable subject. Some wine clubs send the first shipment immediately after ordering, some send it within 3-7 days of the order being placed, and some ship once a month. Additionally, where the warehouse is located that the package will originate from, how far the wine has to travel to reach your recipient, any other logistics/delivery hurdles can drastically affect when the gift will arrive.
This variability is why I strongly recommend choosing a wine club gift that has a send-ahead gift notification so you have something to give on the big day and to let them know the wine is coming.
If you’ve waited until the last minute but still want the wine there by the big day, two-day and next-day air delivery options are usually available (at a hefty premium). Expect delays during the winter holiday season and plan to order early.
Many wine clubs will replace any bottles your recipient didn’t like and modify their subscription accordingly. My favorite (and highest-rated) wine clubs honor this policy under the term “Satisfaction Guarantee.” This is usually a “replacement/refund” policy, not a money-back guarantee. There are a few wine clubs who offer a money-back guarantee and they get my highest ratings. Be sure to check the Satisfaction Guarantee rating on my review pages if this is important to you.
Yes and no. All alcohol deliveries require an adult signature and this is pretty strictly enforced by the delivery companies like FedEx, UPS, and the local delivery firms used by wine clubs. If this is an issue for your gift recipient, there are two workarounds I recommend: have the deliveries sent to his/her workplace or have the recipient sign up for UPS MyChoice and FedEx Delivery Manager.
Have the deliveries sent to his/her workplace. This isn’t an option for everyone, but if your recipient can receive packages at work, this is ideal. There is always an adult around to sign for a package and the wine will be kept in a temperature-controlled environment until he can bring it home.
Have the recipient sign up for UPS MyChoice and FedEx Delivery Manager. These are free services offered by each of the companies and they are SUPER useful for wine club deliveries. In most cases the recipient can reroute a delivery to another address (for a small fee with UPS) or to a business who contracts with the delivery company (this option is free) — I get my FedEx packages at the Walgreens around the corner from my home when I won’t be around on a delivery day. These services can also be used to manage vacation holds (a big part of why they’re super useful).
At this time I don’t know of any U.S.-based wine clubs that offer delivery in Canada. There are a few wine clubs in Canada that you can purchase from the U.S. for Canadian delivery.
Not exactly. I don’t recommend single-bottle clubs BUT there are some alternatives which offer that degree of affordability for you as the gift giver. I do not recommend single-bottle wine clubs because the economics of them aren’t good. In most cases, you might like to send a $20 bottle of wine once a month. The shipping cost for that bottle is likely around $20 also. This makes single-bottle wine clubs very expensive for what you get and so most companies don’t offer them.
Send a one-time wine gift that fits your budget instead.