Wine of the Month Clubs Rated 3-Stars and 3.5-Stars

Overview: This 12-bottle case of wine club really jumpstarted this type of affordable wine subscription in the US and features value-focused white and red wines from around the world. Their $12 international wine selections typically offer better value in white wine than red. Take advantage of their introductory offer of just $69.99 for a case, but be warned, you are signing up for recurring shipments at $149.99.

What We Love: We've received many shipments of wine from the WSJwine Wine Club over the years, but we continue to hold the club in relatively low esteem. It's perfect for a wine lover who wants an inexpensive selection of International wine delivered to their door every quarter. It's not a good fit for anyone who likes wine that sells above $15 at the grocery store.

Could Be Better: Because of the success of the WSJwine club, many other wine clubs are competing with 12-bottle case clubs priced around $170 per quarter (including shipping costs). Some of them are offering much better quality wine for that price so we know they could, too.

Overview: The premium-level wine club from Vinesse where over the years we've seen the quality-to-price ratio go from incredible to disappointing and everywhere in between. If you want a wine of the month club that delivers better quality wines that you can't easily find, but want the protection of a rock-solid satisfaction guarantee, this is a good choice.

What We Love: We like that you can decide how much of this wine club you want in your household's wine mix. You can choose 2, 4, 6, 8, or 12 bottles per shipment, though the delivery choices of 5, 7, or 14 times a year are kind of odd. Like most wine clubs, we advocate for joining with the highest number of bottles at an appropropriate frequency to save on shipping costs — a big savings with Vinesse.

Could Be Better: We'd like to see a little less of the superlatives... "super-premium" wines don't carry a $35 price tag. Regardless, these are definitely premium wines worth their price.

Overview: This value-driven International wine club with a very popular following from the Original Wine of the Month Club ™ lets you pick red wine, white wine, or a mix. Whether you're buying for yourself or as a gift, this is one of the lowest cost wine clubs around.

What We Love: Paul Kalemkiarian, second generation proprietor at Wine of the Month Club ™ goes out of his way to source interesting wines at rock bottom prices. He always is looking for ways to cram more value into his shipments, and being a member comes with the perk of receiving opportunities to buy addititional wine at ultra-low closeout prices.

Could Be Better: Most wine subscriptions in the $12 / bottle price range (does not include shipping) offers wines that have flaws. While we think these wines are better quality than others in this price range, we sometimes we pick up off flavors in the Classic Series selections. We'd like to see a drop more quality control for this subscription.

Overview: From the wine sales partner for Wine Enthusiast magazine, this wine of the month club is a no-hassle way to try new red and white wines from around the world. The wine director at WineExpress, Josh Farrell, hand picks each wine for their subscriptions.

What We Love: WineExpress is the retail arm of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Who better to select the best wines for a wine of the month club than a company that rates wine?

Could Be Better: It's been a long time since we received a shipment from WineExpress, but the last ones we received we felt sent out an uninspiring selection of wine (medium- to large-production and widely available) and were priced too close to retail to be considered a good deal. We'd like to see them include previously-shipped wines on their wine club pages.

Overview: From the wine sales partner for Wine Enthusiast magazine, this wine of the month club is a no-hassle way to try new red wine from around the world. The wine director at WineExpress, Josh Farrell, hand picks each wine for their subscriptions.

What We Love: WineExpress is the retail arm of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Who better to select the best wines for a wine of the month club than a company that rates wine?

Could Be Better: It's been a long time since we received a shipment from WineExpress, but the last ones we received we felt sent out an uninspiring selection of wine (medium- to large-production and widely available) and were priced too close to retail to be considered a good deal. We'd like to see them include previously-shipped wines on their wine club pages.

Overview: From the original Wine of the Month Club (really, they're the first!) you get wine delivered every month at really low prices. The proprietor drives a hard bargain and passes those deals onto his customers. This California Series is like their mid-level wine club but it focuses only on California wine. It's perfect for people who aren't sure if they're \wine club people\" and as a gift to a young wine-lover just starting to explore."

What We Love: Paul Kalemkiarian, second generation proprietor at Wine of the Month Club ™ goes out of his way to source interesting wines, and for this wine club, he only ships the best California wines he finds at this price point, after tasting hundreds each month of course.

Could Be Better: We're not sure why, but unlike the other wine clubs from The Original Wine of the Month Club, they don't list the past California Wine Club shipments on their website, and we wish they would!

Overview: The Macy's Wine Cellar subscription, is a great way to get affordable wine delivered to your home or office on a quarterly basis. A wide selection of wine regions and grape varieties introduce you to wines from around the world.

What We Love: An affordable wine subscription with a top-notch satisfaction guarantee (theirs, not ours).

Could Be Better: We'd really like to see a gift option for this wine club.

Overview: California produces some of the best wines in the world, with stunning wines to sip from up and down the extra large state, but this is not the wine club to buy them from. California Treasures ships wine at $15-17 a bottle, plus shipping, but this isn't a price-point where California wine excels. It's better in the mass-produced sub-$15 price range, and at $25+.

What We Love: One of the best features of any of the Vinesse wine clubs is their tasting notes. They sometimes feel a little sparse, but you always get the basic wine information, some winemaker info, a food pairing suggestion, and most-importantly, cellaring instructions (not that we think these are cellarworthy selections).

Could Be Better: It's been a while since we tried the California wine club from Vinesse, and at last check it left us disappointed. We've received a number of their other wine club's shipments recently and were quite impressed with how far the quality has come since they hired a new wine buyer. It's probably time for us to try the California Treasures club again, but in the mean time, we don't recommend it.

Overview: We recently received several shipments from Vinesse, including the Cabernet Sauvignon club, and they've really stepped up their wine buying. If you're interested in more than just California Cabernet and you don't want to spend a ton of money on it, we really recommend this Cabernet wine club. Plus, you get Vinesse's rock solid satisfaction guarantee for every bottle, taking all of the risk out of joining a wine club.

What We Love: We strongly support all niche wine clubs. The taste of wine is subjective and we think everyone should drink what they love. Given the high delivery fees on this Cabernet subscription from Vinesse, we recommending joining the 12-bottle wine club and have the shipments sent as often as is appropriate.

Could Be Better: We'd love to see customers rewarded for buying bigger allotments. "Buy more save more" pricing would be a great addition to the line-up. We'd also really like to see the shipping costs come down dramatically.

Overview: This 12-bottle wine club is one of the more fun affordable wine subscriptions. It features value-focused white and red wines from around the world. Their $12 international wine selections typically offer better value in white wine than red. Take advantage of their introductory offer of just $79.99 for a case, but be warned, you are signing up for recurring shipments at $149.99 per case.

What We Love: We've received many shipments of wine from the Virgin Wines parent company over the years, but we continue to hold the club in relatively low esteem. It's perfect for a wine lover who wants an inexpensive selection of International wine delivered to their door every quarter. It's not a good fit for anyone who likes wine that sells above $15 at the grocery store.

Could Be Better: Because of the success of the Virgin Wines club, many other wine clubs are competing with 12-bottle case clubs priced around $170 per quarter (including shipping costs). Some of them are offering much better quality wine for that price so we know this company could, too, but it's worth trying with that $79.99 introductory pricing.