International Wine of the Month Club

International Wine of the Month Club Review

What is the International Wine of the Month Club? Founded in 1994, MonthlyClubs.com offers a selection of gourmet subscription boxes including wine, beer, cheese, chocolate, flowers, and cigars. The International Wine of the Month Club (Int’l Wine Club) is their wine club.

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.

About the wine

The name offers a clue into what kind of wine they sell — wines from around the world — but it’s really only part of the story. International Wine of the Month Club chooses approachable wines. They focus on finding wines everyone can enjoy, so they tend to embrace food-friendly wines with no rough edges (bracing acidity, cloying sweetness, chewy tannins, high alcohol content, etc.)

They’re good at sourcing wines from medium-production wineries in lesser-known wine regions where you get more bang for your buck. They’re especially good at finding wines that aren’t on the shelves at many wine stores (much less big box stores or even fine grocers). I really appreciate this because I find it’s boring to see the same wine selection all the time.

What makes Int’l Wine Club unique?

On the surface the International Wine of the Month Club isn’t all that unique, but when you dig just below the surface, you see they’re offering things no other wine club does. Between a unique curation method, an online library of all past wines, and a dedication to good quality wine at a good price, they really are a unique wine club. They’re also great at gifting, which also sets them apart from most other wine clubs.

The unique way they curate their wine selection

When it comes to wine curation for clubs, there are a few common ways to go about it:

And then there’s the way Int’l Wine Club does it:

This curation methodology creates a unique list of interesting wines that most of us would never encounter. It’s especially fun when wines from new-to-you regions appear in shipments (or wines made from grapes you’ve never heard of, much less tried).

Library of past wines

One area in which Int’l Wine Club excels is keeping an online library of every wine they’ve ever shipped. This level of transparency is unique and a great tool for both their existing members and potential members. For existing members, they can lay wines down and know they’ll be able to find all of the information they want when the wine is ready to drink. For potential members, you can get an excellent sense of the breadth of what they’ve offered in the past.

I don’t know of any other wine club that does this, and certainly not 23 years worth of wines they’ve shipped. I’d love the ability to search and filter them by membership level, region, etc.

What wine subscriptions does International Wine of the Month Club offer?

The International Wine of the Month Club offers four different wine memberships: The Premier Series Wine Club, The Masters Series Wine Club, The Collectors Series Wine Club, and The Bold Reds Wine Club.

Premier Series by The International Wine of the Month Club

Premier Series — Their most budget-friendly subscription features wine from some of the world’s more affordable premium regions like Portugal, South Africa, and some lesser-known regions in France and Italy. Perfect for wine of the month club gifts. Subscription boxes of two bottles are $56.95 per shipment — $41.95 for the wine plus $15 for shipping and handling. Choose between a mix of red and white wine, all red wine, or all white wine.

Read my Premier review or shop it

Collectors Series by The International Wine of the Month Club

Collectors Series — Their premium two-bottle wine club ships excellent quality wines from around the world. Expect Napa, Bordeaux, Reserve wines, Premier Cru, etc. Excellent for wine club gifts. Subscription boxes of two bottles are $92.95 per shipment — $77.95 for the wine plus $15 for shipping and handling. Choose between a mix of red and white wine, all red wine, or all white wine.

Read my Collectors Series review or shop it

The Bold Reds Club by The International Wine of the Month Club

Bold Reds Series — This two-bottle wine club features a selection of heavier-bodied red wines. Great for wine gifts. Subscription boxes of two bottles are $69.95 per shipment — $54.95 for the wine plus $15 for shipping and handling. This club is perfect for red wine lovers who like bolder reds. These aren’t huge reds like Zinfandel, Syrah, or (typical) Napa Cabs, but are more full-bodied than lighter-bodied.

Read my Bold Reds Wine Club review or shop it

The Masters Series by The International Wine of the Month Club

Master Series — This two-bottle wine club upgrades one of the bottles from the Premier Series to a Collectors Series wine. Subscription boxes of two bottles are $69.95 per shipment — $54.95 for the wine plus $15 for shipping and handling. Choose between a mix of red and white wine, all red wine, or all white wine.

I don’t recommend this series for gifts. To me, the combination of two wines of different quality feels asymmetrical, especially if your gift recipient opens the expensive bottle first.

If you’re buying for yourself, this club is an “upgrade” for the Premier Series. The best customer for this club would be the white-wine only drinker who would enjoy an everyday wine and the nuances of a nicer bottle (nice white wine is harder to discover on your own).

I include a review of the wines I received from the Masters Series in my Premier Series review and Collectors Series review.

Shop it

Compare The International Wine of the Month Club

All of the subscription options at Int’l Wine Club are curated. This means they are not customized to your palate (a personalized subscription) but instead all of their members receive a customized selection from the same pool of wines each month. There are a couple of ways to compare Int’l Wine Club to other clubs.

Two- and three-bottle international wine clubs: Shipping is extra for all of these wine clubs.

International Series by The California Wine Club. Because their loyal customers appreciate discovering wines from small family wineries abroad (in addition to California), The California Wine Club offers a two-bottle subscription featuring boutique wines from around the world. In general, I recommend The California Wine Club because they have terrific customer service and a top-notch list of membership benefits.

If you’re buying for yourself, the price varies and averages $83 per shipment. If you’re buying a gift, the cost is fixed at $102 (mixed red and white wine) or $122 (red wine only) per shipment. Subscriptions and gifts add $21 for shipping and handling to most states.

Read my International Series review or shop it or give it

International Club from Gold Medal Wine Club. Like The California Wine Club, Gold Medal specializes in California wine but offers their members a similar experience with an international selection of wines. This is a three-bottle subscription with a Gourmet Adventure Package add-on if you want to enhance the wine experience with shelf-stable gourmet foods from the same region as the wines. Wine starts at $89.95 per shipment and the gourmet adventure package is $42 more. The shipping cost ranges from $14-21.

Read my International Series review or shop it or give it

Upgrade to six bottles of international wine: It’s more economical to get wine delivered in larger quantities. If you don’t drink that much wine, I recommend ordering larger quantities and having them delivered less often. All of these recommendations include the cost of shipping.

Discovery Club by Wine Access. At $25 per bottle, this sommelier-picked selection of discovery-oriented wines is always a great deal. Wine Access has a great satisfaction guarantee, but you’re unlikely to need it for these wines which often grace the wine lists at nice restaurants. Choose red, white, or a mix. Delivered quarterly.

Read my Discovery Club review, shop it, or give it

Decanter Magazine Everyday Excellence Club by Wine Access. Another six bottle curated membership from Wine Access which features wine from everywhere. Through a partnership with Decanter Magazine (UK-based wine review publisher), this club offers all of the same benefits as the Discovery Club but the selections are chosen by Decanter Magazine’s editors instead of only the Wine Access team. Prices vary from $180-220 per shipment (typically $20-$60 per bottle, not just $30 per bottle).

Read my Decanter Magazine Wine Club review or shop it

Picked by Wine.com. A bespoke wine club where every wine is handpicked for you by a sommelier. You can customize this club to be anything you want, and you can change your preferences as often as you like. Choose any mix of red and white wine (or all of one color), your average price per bottle, and your shipment frequency. They have great tools for managing your account online. From $120 for six bottles.

Read my Picked by Wine.com review or shop it

International Wine of the Month Club Gifts

In general, wine of the month clubs make great gifts. Int’l Wine Club specifically is a great wine club to give because of the features they’ve built out to make gifting easy.

Premier Series Gift

Premier Series Gift

Collectors Series Gift

Collectors Series Gift

Bold Reds Club Gift

Bold Reds Gift

A mix-and-match monthly gift

A standout opportunity from MonthlyClubs.com is their Design Your Own Club feature.

As mentioned at the beginning of the review, Int’l Wine Club is a part of a larger gift service called MonthlyClubs.com. In addition to being a wine club they're also a Beer of the Month Club, Chocolate of the Month Club, Cigar of the Month Club, Flower of the Month Club, and Cheese of the Month Club.

Rare Beer Club by MonthlyClubs.com

Beer of the Month Club — The MonthlyClubs.com beer club offers several variations. Prices (including shipping and handling) range from $51.95 to $59.95 for twelve bottles. There’s a Hop-Heads club for those who love hoppy beers like IPA, a US-focused microbrew club, an International microbrew club, and a variety club mixing both International and US beers.

They also offer a popular Rare Beer Club (pictured) which starts at $56.95 for two large-format bottles of craft beer.

Read my reviews at BeerClubGift.com or shop it

Chocolate of the Month Club by MonthlyClubs.com

Chocolate of the Month Club — A selection of artisanal chocolates delivered each month. I received a shipment (shown at right, paired with wine). There were six different kinds of chocolate included, great for sweet treats when wanted. Recent brands include Four Brothers, Torn Ranch, Millésime, and The Secret Chocolatier.

Gourmet Chocolate memberships are $64.95 per shipment — $49.95 for the chocolate and $15 for shipping and handling. Shop it

Cheese of the Month Club by MonthlyClubs.com

Cheese of the Month Club — A selection of gourmet cheese delivered each month. I received a shipment (shown at right, paired with wine). There were three half-pound blocks of cheese included, each with tasting and production notes so I could learn more about them.

The cheese club has two different memberships. The Original Gourmet Cheese Club is $58.95 per shipment — $43.95 for the cheese and $15 for shipping and handling. The Rare Cheese Club is $74.95 per shipment — $59.95 for the cheese and $15 for shipping and handling. Shop it

Hand-rolled Cigar Club by MonthlyClubs.com

Hand-rolled Cigar Club — A selection of hand-rolled cigars delivered each month. I have not requested a shipment from this club.

The cigar club has two different memberships. The Original Premium Cigar Club is five cigars for $37.95 per shipment — $32.95 for the cheese and $5 for shipping and handling. The Rare Cigar Club is four cigars for $52.95 per shipment — $47.95 for the cheese and $5 for shipping and handling. Shop it

Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club by MonthlyClubs.com

Fresh Cut Flower of the Month Club — A monthly delivery of fresh cut flowers, each month featuring a different flower. I have not requested a shipment from this club. Recent shipments were a Tropical Protea Starburst (featuring several different Proteas), Spring Garden Perfection (featuring Israeli Ruscus), Thai Orchid Spray (featuring Red Sonja orchids), and Winter Tropics Breeze (featuring Anthuriums and Bird of Paradise).

Deliveries are $59.95 per shipment — $44.95 for the flowers and $15 for shipping and handling. Shop it

Not only do they offer all of these other clubs, you can mix and match to create your own special gift. Choose a different type of product each month, alternate products, whatever you want to do.

Ideas to Design Your Own Monthly Gift

Here are examples of the wine & cheese and wine & chocolate clubs I designed for myself.

Wine & Cheese Club

A wine & cheese club shipment we received in December 2018. This is one shipment of the Premier Series Wine Club and a shipment of the Cheese of the Month Club delivered in the same month.

Wine & Chocolate Club

A wine & chocolate club shipment we received in December 2018. This is one shipment of the Premier Series Wine Club and a shipment of the Chocolate of the Month Club delivered in the same month.

Where can I send clubs and gifts from The International Wine of the Month Club?

International Wine of the Month Club ships wine to AL, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Don't see your state? International Wine of the Month Club does not ship there. Browse wine clubs by state.