One-Time Wine of the Month Clubs

Overview: Winc set out to change the wine industry by finding new ways to get better value to wine drinkers in the under $15 range, and boy have they ever. By delivering unprecedented value at $13 a bottle and personalized selections geared for every palate, Winc is a standout wine of the month club. If you're ready for more sophisticated wines, you can upgrade to Winc Select. Either way, you can save even more money by participating in their myriad rewards programs.

What We Love: We love how they go above and beyond to reward loyal customers with substantial savings and invitations to a premium level program. No other wine club offers this level of loyalty rewards, or this much fun! Also, as time has passed under wine director Ryan Zotovich, the selection of premium wines has both grown in selection and quality.

Could Be Better: Winc works so hard to make their service great that it's hard for us to think of something they should do to make it even better.

Overview: 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.

What We Love: 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.

Could Be Better: As a general rule, we think Gold Medal Wine Club has little they can do to improve. Whether you're buying for yourself or as a gift, they've really done a lot to create a wine club worth joining.

Overview: 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.

What We Love: 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.

Could Be Better: Given the care taken to select interesting wine, we want more more information about the wine regions, the wineries, and the winemakers in the tasting notes.

Overview: Garagiste is a term which describes up-and-coming winemakers who toil away creating artisanal wines in their, well not usually, garages. If you're someone who wants to be up on the latest and greatest future stars of California winemaking, try the mostly red wine selection of Garagiste wines from the Gold Medal Wine Club.

What We Love: We look forward to discovering new wineries from all over California. We know we're getting very good wine at below-retail prices and helping small family businesses grow.

Could Be Better: Like other Gold Medal Wine Club series, we'd really like to see more information about the winemaking and viticulture in the educational materials.

Overview: This international wine of the month club is delivered quarterly and features wineries you can't buy from any other company in the U.S. Each shipment features a new winery and wine region.

What We Love: Whether you choose just the wine or you upgrade to include the regional gourmet treats with the Adventure Package, this quarterly wine club will take you on your own wine-drinking adventure around the world. Extensive regional and winery information goes out with each shipment, chock full of photos that help you feel like you've gone wine tasting in a far away land.

Could Be Better: As a general rule, we think Gold Medal Wine Club has little they can do to improve. Whether you're buying for yourself or as a gift, they've really done a lot to create a wine club worth joining.

Overview: 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.

What We Love: 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.

Could Be Better: As a general rule, we think Gold Medal Wine Club has little they can do to improve. Whether you're buying for yourself or as a gift, they've really done a lot to create a wine club worth joining.

Overview: If you're ready to upgrade to a higher quality wine from California and explore what all of the artisanal buzz is about, this should be your first stop. These mostly red wines from the best small wineries typically retail in the $35-90 range but you pay a much lower price to have them delivered. Joining for yourself means variable shipment prices, but if you buy as a pre-paid gift subscription you'll know your price in advance. Hint: Buy yourself a pre-paid gift subscription instead of joining as an ongoing member.

What We Love: We spend a lot of time wine tasting in California and are personally familiar with many of the wineries shipped in Gold Medal's Platinum Series. They ship our favorites and must-try wines like Dilécta GSM from Paso Robles, Volker Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, and Frank Family Petite Sirah from Napa to name a few.

Could Be Better: With such an amazing breadth of white wine being produced in California, we're sort of disappointed that all of the white wine in the Platinum series has been Chardonnay. We'd love to see some bold Rhone white selections from Paso Robles, some Sauvignon Blanc from Santa Barbara, and of course, surprise grapes.

Overview: We really enjoy this International wine club where each shipment contains six different wines from a single wine region somewhere in the world. Of the many clubs that offer an International selection, most aren't themed for additional wine discovery and education.

What We Love: We received shipments of this wine club for years because it always kept a good variety of food-friendly and affordable wines on hand, we never opened a bottle we were disappointed with, and we feel this club offers a good quality-to-price ratio.

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.