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.

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.

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 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.

One-of-a-kind wine tasting club which delivers wine by the glass instead of in full size bottles so you can taste your way through sommelier-selected grown up juice. Reorder full bottles or more glasses of what you love. Now delivered quarterly.

We especially love that sommelier Tyler Kennedy picks the wine — and it shows. We’ve been super impressed with the quality of each wine we’ve received. The unusual selection genuinely seems like a somm picked the wines. We also love the pricing which rewards bigger customers.

This is, by far, our favorite wine club gift for adventurous drinkers, light drinkers, and even wine professionals. In addition to a top-notch sommelier-curated wine selection, the packaging is novel and fun, and really well-constructed. Save big with longer subscriptions and when you double the order for two people to enjoy.

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.

We already go weak in the knees for a great champagne, but the shipment we received has us wishing the next shipment would get here sooner. A mouth-watering way to explore the region of Champagne, particularly from boutique grower houses that rarely export to the United States.

A delightful and decadent way to treat yourself (or pamper a lucky gift recipient), Henri's Reserve is a playful yet sophisticated true Champagne Club, featuring top-notch small producers.