WSJwine vs 90+ Wine Club
Not sure which curated wine subscription you want to join? This page compares WSJwine and 90+ Wine Club 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.
What are the key differences between WSJwine and 90+ Wine Club?
The biggest differences between WSJwine and 90+ Wine Club are: Cost per shipment, Satisfaction guarantee, Quality of wine, Price of wine
What are the key similarities between WSJwine and 90+ Wine Club?
WSJwine and 90+ Wine Club are quite similar in these areas: Number of bottles per shipment, Educational materials, Convenience features, Giftworthiness, Delivery frequency
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.
WSJwine |
90+ Wine Club |
| Do they ship to you? | |
|---|---|
| AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WV, WY | AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, MO, NC, NE, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY |
| Overall rating This rating reflects all of the wine club elements below and is weighted for curated wine clubs. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 3.3 stars | 4.6 stars |
| Wine styles | |
| Choose: Red, white, or mixed | Choose: Red, white, or mixed |
| Wine regions | |
| A mix of USA & International | A mix of USA & International |
| What to know | |
| WSJwine is one of the first modern wine subscriptions, particularly with deeply discounted introductory offers. They are among the largest wine clubs in the US and this gets them unprecedented buying power. The "try before you buy" model is the best part about WSJwine. While I don’t encourage getting the introductory offer with the intention of cancelling immediately, it is an option if you order and the wine doesn’t meet your expectations. There are many things WSJwine could do to improve their offering, but given their massive infrastructure, the best thing they could do is lower their price so it’s more in line with the quality you actually receive. |
The 90+ Wine Club from Wired For Wine is one of the most overlooked (by readers) wine clubs on this website. If you’re looking for a reliable source of affordable and good quality wine, this is it. If you need bells and whistles, you best look elsewhere. I love the emphasis on food-friendly wines delivered at bargain prices. Wired For Wine is a great place to buy wine in general and I would trust them to keep me stocked with my everyday wines. Given their track record, I’d like to see them offer a premium subscription, too... something in the $30-40 per bottle range? |
| Best wine clubs The editorial lists where I include this wine club and its ranking on that list. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| This wine club is not on any lists | |
| |
| Curation Rating This rating reflects the caliber of curation — both the people who select the wine and the selection philosophy. This rating is subjective and based on my opinion. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 3 stars | 4 stars |
| Each shipment contains 12 different wines. The curation point of view, as I assess it, is this: send okay wine made from familiar grapes at super-affordable prices. WSJwine is a private label wine club featuring wines procured by the sourcing team at Laithwaites — a very large British wine company with tremendous buying power. They offer a decent range of wine grapes and wine regions, though they mostly offer well-known grapes from lesser-known wine regions. |
Each shipment contains 12 different wines. The curation point of view, as I assess it, is this: send good quality, food-friendly wines at super-affordable prices. The wines in the 90+ Wine Club are a selection of wines available for sale at Wired For Wine. The site owners curate a range of quality & prices for wines produced by reputable wineries, with a preference for those that have been professionally rated. The subset which appears in the wine club are food-friendly and typically retail for less $18-25. |
| |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| Number of Bottles | |
| 12 | 12 |
| Delivery Frequency | |
| Quarterly | Quarterly |
| Introductory Offer | |
Deal 14 bottles for $89.99 |
No deals at this time |
| |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| WSJwine (12 bottles) | 90+ Wine Club (12 bottles) |
| Total Price per Shipment | |
| $179.98 | $169.97 |
| Price per Bottle Including Shipping | |
| $15.00 | $14.16 |
| Price per Shipment | |
| $159.99 | $169.97 |
| Shipping Cost | |
| $19.99 | $0.00 |
| Price per Bottle Before Shipping | |
| $13.33 | $14.16 |
| |
| WSJwine Wine Review | 90+ Wine Club 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. | |
| 2.5 stars | 4 stars |
| Given the scale of the Laithwaites operation, the wines featured here are all mass-produced wines from mediocre grapes. A number of wine growing, harvesting, and winemaking techniques enable production at this scale, but unfortunately these techniques tend to diminish the character of the resulting product. | Unlike many other case clubs in this price range, Wired For Wine only sells wines of good quality, usually with the stamp of approval from a major wine critic. Browsing their site always feels like a tour around the "who’s who" of wine. The wines I received were interesting, with a great variety in the box, making it easy to always find a wine for whatever I was cooking for dinner. |
| Price of Wine | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 2.5 stars | 5 stars |
| The wines at WSJwine are cheap. Brands hate when reviewers want to use that word because it connotes poor quality. I think it is an apt description for the wines sold through this wine club. When compared with other wine clubs offering case subscriptions for $15 a bottle or less, the wine isn’t good enough. If they charged $8-10 a bottle, inclusive of shipping of costs, I think that would be a more appropriate price. | Call me old school, but if I’m going to commit to buying wine from someone sight-unseen, there better be some perks. The one and only (but excellent) perk of the 90+ Wine Club is that the wines are always discounted below retail. Even at suggested retail, the selection of wines offered are a good value. |
| |
| Satisfaction Guarantee This rating reflects the quality of the club’s satisfaction guarantee, not my guarantee of your satisfaction. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 4 stars | 3 stars |
| If you don’t like a wine you receive, you can contact customer service to get a refund. "It’s simple. We want you to enjoy every bottle you buy from us. If you are not completely satisfied with any wine, for any reason, just let us know and you’ll receive a refund." |
Returns and refunds are available, but you may need to pay for return shipping. "If you are not 100% satisfied, we will be happy to accept a return for a full refund within 30 days of delivery." |
| 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. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 2 stars | 5 stars |
| WSJwine has an abysmal customer service record. Between people purchasing the introductory case and not understanding they’d joined a wine club and a poor track record around cancellations actually cancelling the shipments, they have a terrible reputation. | Wired For Wine is a small business run by a gentleman with exacting standards. I haven’t seen any complaints about them online or had any of my own issues. |
| Educational Materials This rating reflects how much information you get about the wine you receive. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 3 stars | 3.5 stars |
| WSJwine’s entire brand is focused on seeming impressive, even when they’re not. This includes their educational materials. Each wine you receive comes with a nicely-designed informational card highlighting basic information about the wine and the region it hails from, along with basic pairing/serving/storage information. | The educational materials for Wired For Wine are all online. The available info varies a bit by wine, but generally you’ll get tasting notes from the winemaker and at least one wine critic, some basic data about the wine production or winery. No suggested pairings online, but wine club members get "Thoughtful food pairing suggestions for each wine." |
| 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. | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| 3 stars | 3 stars |
| Choose a delivery date? | |
| No | No |
| Skip a shipment any time? | |
| Yes, skip shipments whenever you want | No |
| Fully manage account online | |
| Yes | No |
| Cancel online | |
| Yes | No |
| Choose alternate delivery location | |
| No | No |
| 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 |
Good for Gifts? | |
| WSJwine | 90+ Wine Club |
| Giftworthiness | |
| 1 stars | 1 stars |
| Gift options? | |
| No | No |
| Gift format | |
| n/a | n/a |
| Gift wrap | |
| n/a | n/a |
| Gift notification | |
| n/a | 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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