Wine Clubs Rated 4-Stars and 4.5-Stars

California is home to some of the world's best wine regions and wineries, many of which are boutique wineries. A boutique winery is typically a small-family operation with limited distribution beyond their tasting room. This wine of the month club is a great way to get introduced to what California wine has to offer at reasonable prices and it makes an excellent gift.

Consistency. We've been receiving their shipments for years and we've never had a wine we didn't like. You can't really ask for more than that from a wine club.

Gold Medal always offers beautiful gift packaging, but you usually need to order a whole year's worth of wine to get it free. Our readers get an exclusive deal on their premium gift package, included with any Gold Series gift of 3-months or longer. Your wine lover will also get a bonus bottle of red wine in their first shipment.

An affordably-priced personalized wine club that learns what you like as you receive, drink, and rate six bottle shipments. International, domestic, and award-winning wine from a thoroughly modern wine subscription box service.

Compared with other wine subscriptions in this price category, we think Firstleaf has nailed ease-of-use, presentation, and offers reasonably-interesting wines. We also really like that they identify the body, acidity, sweetness, fruitiness, and tannin level for each wine they sell. You can review the wine before it is shipped and swap out wines that have characteristics you don't like.

Since Firstleaf is a personalized wine subscription, gifts are given as electronic gift cards. This gives the recipient the chance to customize the wine selection, as they're meant to do. Gift cards are issued in denominations of $25-200. We recommend at least $100 to make sure he or she doesn't have to pay for any part of the first box.

Wine Insiders, founded in 1982, generally offers a better quality of wine than their well-known competitors in their quarterly case (12 bottle) wine subscriptions. Coupled with convenience and an outstanding customer service record, we think this is a good choice for many wine drinkers.

Two things stand out about Wine Insiders — the wine is better than most of their direct competitors and they excel at making wine delivery convenient. These are important features that make them stand out in the crowded wine subscription space.

This is the entry-level wine club from the International Wine of the Month Club, but unlike some other wine clubs in this price range you'll always receive Estate-bottled wines. Also for a wine club in this price range you get excellent tasting notes and winery information for every wine that's shipped.

Unlike some other wine clubs which focus on acquiring closeout wines to ship to their members, this wine club cares a great deal about coming up with consistent selections befitting their reputation of 25 years in the business. Their tasting panel includes proprietor Kris Calef, wine professionals, and everyday wine drinkers, so they excel at finding palate-friendly wines with wide appeal.

Wine club gifting is an area that this company excels at. They give you the most options of any two-bottle wine club, from when you pay for each shipment, to all of the standard customizations, gift notice options, etc. The first shipment of all gifts includes organza-wrapped bottles for an extra touch.

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.

The California Wine Club appears on many of our lists of best wine clubs because they overdeliver on value, customer service, and quality.

The Premier Series is the perfect wine gift for a Californai wine lover. For an extra $18 you order a pre-wine gift package announcing the gift. Send it to yourself to present in person on the big day or send it directly to your wine lover so they know the wine is coming.

A rare French wine club featuring affordable selections from a variety of wine regions within France. They tend to work with smaller producers offering either exceptional value or something unusual.

Everything you want in a wine club, especially if you love French wine. Their wine program is created by a multi-generational wine family from Bordeaux with great connections and taste in wine. Unlike some other specialty wine clubs, this one is priced perfectly.

The Plonk wine club has always been among our favorites because of the proprietor's preference for quirky but delectable wines. Etty Lewensztain sources interesting wines made from grapes and regions you've never heard of (and some you have). Whether you choose four or twelve bottles you'll be glad you picked Plonk.

Lately we've come to think of Plonk as the "Somm club" that isn't run by a sommelier. With a focus on wines under $30 that will delight any curious wine drinker, we think the value is top notch. Also, unlike most wine clubs, if you're thinking of going red-only or white-only, you'll actually get four different selections (three of each if you upgrade to 12 bottles).

This wine subscription focuses on high-end, limited-production wines from small family wineries outside the US. It is perfect to give as a gift or to join yourself.

They only work with small family wineries, so nearly every wine they ship typically wouldn’t be distributed inside the US.

The International Series is the perfect wine gift splurge for a wine lover who likes to explore new wines. For an extra $18 you order a pre-wine gift package announcing the gift. Send it to yourself to present in person on the big day or send it directly to your wine lover so they know the wine is coming.

This wine subscription focuses on high-end, limited-production wines from small family wineries in the broad wine region called Pacific Northwest. It includes Oregon and Washington and is perfect to give as a gift or to join yourself.

The Pacific Northwest wine club is one of few such wine subscriptions available. They only work with small family wineries, so nearly every wine they ship typically wouldn’t be distributed outside the state it was produced in.

This quarterly wine club features true luxury wines rated 93+ and finds California wines so exclusive that the club is limited to 500 members. You get collector-level access without the hassle of doing your own research. A lot of wines (and wine clubs) call themselves "super premium" but most of them fail to live up to the hype, this one does.

This wine club ships mostly red wine and occasionally a stunning white at prices well below retail. We love seeing superstars like Blackbird Red Blend from Calistoga, Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvingon from Stag's Leap District, and the 97-point Matetic Syrah from Chile. You can shop these luxury wines online at their store.

With elegant gift packaging as an upgrade option, you can make any wine subscription gift really stand out. Send a personalized greeting card ahead or ship it to yourself to present on the big day. When the wine arrives, the first shipment's bottles are wrapped in organza and presented in a beautiful artist-designed gift box.