Which wine club?

[Ruttager]

Thinking of signing up to a wine club but not sure which one. 12 bottles every 3 months or so should keep me quite happy. Any recommendations? Generally just buy my wine from the supermarket at the moment so the thinking is that a wine club will mean I try a bigger variety and it gets delivered to my door. My only real criteria is that the cases should be a reasonable price around the £80mark and I should be able to opt out at any time.

[Cheese Mechanic]

They get a pretty poor response here

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Have you considered Waitrose mixed cases? They deliver free I believe and of course, you buy when you want to, and if you wish, make up a case of your own if you do not want to pick one of the mixed cases they offer. Never used them in this way, but it all sounds good.

[escargot]

I've had a couple of cases from Naked Wines recently, in the main they've been very good value for money. They do a 'wine angel' investment scheme whereby you stick £20 per month into your account and you get circa 30% off every purchase you make which should bring the average cost of a case down to the £80 mark.

They use the funds raised from the 'Angels' to invest in small but very good quality vintners to enable them to produce their wine on a commercially viable basis.

Don't get me wrong, you won't find any Ch. Margaux for sale there, but what they do, they do very well in my opinion.

[Ruttager]

Looking at Waitrose now and also looking at M&S -(though I don't know who runs their wine club). I used Laithwaites a few years ago and it was OK but I want to try a different company. Looks like the vast majority of clubs are all the same company underneath though.

[Ruttager]

escargot said:

I've had a couple of cases from Naked Wines recently, in the main they've been very good value for money. They do a 'wine angel' investment scheme whereby you stick £20 per month into your account and you get circa 30% off every purchase you make which should bring the average cost of a case down to the £80 mark.

They use the funds raised from the 'Angels' to invest in small but very good quality vintners to enable them to produce their wine on a commercially viable basis.

Don't get me wrong, you won't find any Ch. Margaux for sale there, but what they do, they do very well in my opinion.

Cheers I'll have a look.

[Output Flange]

I don't think much of Naked Wines I'm afraid - have ordered from them a few times, and the selection isn't vast for starters. It's also quite expensive for distinctly average product.

Tesco do better value and more choice.

BBR do better quality mixed cases if you want a (flexible) subscription option.

[escargot]

Different strokes

[Output Flange]

They annoyed me as well - had 2x £40 vouchers, plus a "spend £89.99 on a case, get £40 off" voucher, PLUS had over £100 in angel investment account thing. They refused to let you combine any of those, though, which meant spending loads of money to get the discount (which I know makes no sense).

[Davey S2]

Output Flange said:

They annoyed me as well - had 2x £40 vouchers, plus a "spend £89.99 on a case, get £40 off" voucher, PLUS had over £100 in angel investment account thing. They refused to let you combine any of those, though, which meant spending loads of money to get the discount (which I know makes no sense).

Just had a £40 voucher for these people via Amazon.

Had a look on their website but the range is very limited so I dont think I will bother.

If you want good mixed cases look at Laithwaites who seem very good.

I have a few friends who use Virgin Wines and rave about them.

I tent to just have a wander around Majestic occassionally although their prices can be a bit hit and miss.

[RichUK]

We use Virgin Wines. For the past 12 months we've stuck £30 a month into their 'Wine Bank'. They give you 20% 'wine interest' and we've just had great fun ordering a couple of cases of very good wine for Christmas.

Something different to look at maybe? Their wine advisors can be a great help too.

[Ruttager]

Virgin and Laithwaites are the same company underneath (wines direct or something)... I think.

[alfa pint]

I've tried naked wines, but most of their stuff is pretty poor. Good when you use the discount vouchers, but don't ever pay full whack for their stuff. You're better off raiding the ASDA 3 for £10 stuff than most of Naked Wines £10 each bottles. However, use the vouchers and stay away from the Australian stuff and you'll get something quite drinkable, if one dimensional, for under a fiver a bottle.

At the upper end of the market, I use the Wine Society. £40 for life membership / share in the company. Dividends are paid in the form of discounted wine. You get some seriously brilliant bottles of wine from them, prices starting at about a fiver a bottle for something superior to most supermarket wine, all the way up to the collectable and cellar stuff. Free delivery when you order a case or more. All my Christmas and birthday wine comes from them.

[BoRED S2upid]

RichUK said:

We use Virgin Wines. For the past 12 months we've stuck £30 a month into their 'Wine Bank'. They give you 20% 'wine interest' and we've just had great fun ordering a couple of cases of very good wine for Christmas.

Something different to look at maybe? Their wine advisors can be a great help too.

Same here I "save" £10 a month and every 3 months they add another tenner it soon adds up and you can have a nice case of wine or try the auctions. Never had a bad wine from them although some can be a bit strong and lead to a bad head if you have too much.

[sherman]

My parents have been using the Sunday Times wine club for years. They get a mixed case every 3 months and they were even able to make sure that they dont get oak aged wine in the cases as none of can stand it.

[Podie]

We've tried loads over the years - Nectar, Times, Virgin, to name a few.

Personally, I feel you get better quality and selection from Majestic.

[Davey S2]

Podie said:

Personally, I feel you get better quality and selection from Majestic.

I've always found their prices a bit hit and miss though. Some of the more recognised labels found in supermarkets (Wolf Blass, cheaper Penfolds etc) are usually more expensive.

I've also had a higher percentage of corked wine from Majestic than from anywhere else which I think someone else alluded to recently as well.

[Podie]

Davey S2 said:

Podie said:

Personally, I feel you get better quality and selection from Majestic.

I've always found their prices a bit hit and miss though. Some of the more recognised labels found in supermarkets (Wolf Blass, cheaper Penfolds etc) are usually more expensive.

I've also had a higher percentage of corked wine from Majestic than from anywhere else which I think someone else alluded to recently as well.

Interesting. I've got nothing but praise for our local Majestic. Over the years they've got to know our tastes and we often buy on recommendation alone.

Yet to have a corked bottle in three years of using them, but I have no doubt that they'd replace it.

I recently bought a St Emillion from Sainsbury's, and it was probably the worst £15 bottle of plonk I've bought in years - whereas the same priced vino from Majestic was very enjoyable.

I found with wine clubs you get 4 bottles that are OK, and another 8 that I wouldn't even throw down the toilet in case they took the enamel off...

[LooneyTunes]

Another vote for the Wine Society - here are their current mixed cases: http://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/Offerlanding.as...

In addition to their mixed cases, their wine lists contain some gems ranging from smaller producers all the way through to stuff in the £100s.

As already mentioned, costs a one off £40 but you get £20 off first order and there's no obligation/pressure/commitment. And their customer (sorry, member) service is second to none. Don't be put off by the whole "membership" angle. It's not some sort of secret society for anoraks, more a reflection of its mutual status.

When you get hooked, they also let you store wine with them for longer term ageing... amazing the difference a couple of years can make even to low priced wines (assuming they're of a type designed for laying down).