Discover new wines with ease by joining a top Premier Wine Clubs, especially if you lack a nearby store or wine knowledge. We carefully selected 12 great options after evaluating over 100 clubs with the assistance of a wine expert.
Our top choices—Helen’s Wine Club, SommSelect, Wine Access, and Picked by Wine.com—provide quality wines at reasonable prices. Additionally, they offer cool features such as personalized selections, wine education, and a wide range of wines from around the world.
Should You Join a Premier Wine Club?
Joining a wine club offers many benefits. You can enjoy the convenience of having wine delivered to your home. If you’re tired of buying the same wines, a wine club can provide more variety. They simplify the process by sending curated selections, and some even allow you to customize based on your preferences.
Perhaps you enjoy your wine but want to learn more about different types, regions, or how it’s made. Some clubs offer educational resources to help you learn as you enjoy your wine.
Wine subscriptions make excellent gifts for wine enthusiasts or frequent entertainers. However, nearby wine shops with helpful staff may offer better deals and personalized recommendations for in-person purchases. Many local wine shops also provide delivery services for added convenience.
Explore Helen’s Wine Club: Your Ultimate Destination for Natural Wines!
Among the natural premier wine clubs we tested, Helen’s Wine Club stood out as our top choice. They offer mainly organically farmed wines from small vineyards. Their $150 Seasonal Six Pack includes enjoyable, well-balanced options. Whether you’re experienced or new to natural wines, Helen’s offers an excellent selection, even for skeptics willing to give them another try.
Helen’s Wine Club stands out for its superior customization options compared to other natural wine clubs. Tailor your selections to your preferences by choosing from three price options and selecting shipment frequency with the Helen’s Seasonal Six Pack subscription. Additionally, you can purchase single bottles separately and customize your order, a unique feature among the wine clubs we tested.
Helen’s Wine Club offers a captivating array of diverse wines. Helen Johannesen, the owner of the club, surprises members with rare, untasted wines and regularly samples wines to maintain quality standards.
Helen’s Wine Club provides the most affordable membership option among our selections. With a two-bottle club priced at $55 (plus $20 shipping), it offers a budget-friendly choice for those not yet ready to commit to a larger subscription.
Try a few wines before deciding. SommSelect’s Explore 4 club offers four bottles at $109 plus $25 shipping. Additionally, you can buy individual bottles from Helen’s wine store, although there are fewer options under $30 compared to Wine Access.
This club emanates a mom-and-pop-shop vibe, established in 2015 by Helen Johannesen, Jon Shook, and Vinny Dotolo, owners of Jon & Vinny’s restaurants. We appreciate the club's casual and friendly wine descriptions, though it may not offer the same level of sophistication as SommSelect.
Unlike some other clubs we suggest, Helen’s Wine Club doesn’t offer free shipping; it's a flat rate of $20. However, we believe it's worth it to support a small business and get quality natural wines.
While we enjoyed most wines in the club, two were average but still decent quality. Most wine clubs aim to offer variety to please different tastes, so not liking every bottle isn't surprising. While larger clubs like Wine Access offer refunds for disliked bottles, Helen’s doesn’t guarantee this (neither do our other recommendations). However, if you receive a bad bottle, you can reach out to Helen’s for assistance.
Discover SommSelect: Your Premier Educational Wine Club!
SommSelect offers many features we value in a subscription service. Along with delicious wines, it provides excellent customer service and offers a diverse selection available for individual purchase. Their Build A Case option allows you to customize your order, perfect for those who want control.
The club includes informative pamphlets with beautiful designs, making it a great gift choice. Wine experts curate small-batch wines from lesser-known regions worldwide, sourcing and tasting regularly.
We tested two of their clubs, explore 4 and Somm 6, and found flavorful, diverse wines with ample regional variation.
SommSelect refunds or replaces damaged wine but not for bottles you didn’t enjoy. Conversely, Wine Access refunds unsatisfactory bottles.
However, SommSelect assists you in understanding your preferences and adjusts future selections based on your feedback.
Discover Wine Access: Exceptional Wines, Exceptional Service!
Wine Access, similar to SommSelect, offers high-quality wines and detailed information about each bottle. Unlike other options, Wine Access provides wine-tasting videos for every bottle and offers excellent customer service, including refunds for disliked bottles.
They also offer educational materials, including interactive content, and wine clubs that let you taste wines featured in their podcasts. With a rigorous selection process and direct sourcing from wineries, Wine Access ensures quality and offers small-production bottles.
They also include a free ice pack with shipments to prevent wine spoilage in high temperatures, and they allow you to delay shipment until conditions are safe for delivery.
We wished for a more diverse wine selection in our Discovery Club box. While the wines were all good quality, the four reds were all from California and had a similar taste. We hoped for a mix of wines from other regions.
In a recent shipment, three wines were still from California, but the other three were from Europe, providing more variety. Wine Access clubs ship less frequently, typically four to six times per year, so expect longer waits between deliveries.
Extensive Wine Selections Await!
While Picked by Wine.com initially seemed corporate, it impressed us with its selection, featuring some favorite bottles like a grand cru from Bordeaux and a xarel-lo from Spain. We appreciate the ability to rate each bottle and consult a wine expert to tailor future shipments to our tastes.
The Picked Wine quiz is helpful, allowing you to specify preferences like price and delivery frequency. You’re paired with a personal some who selects wines for you, but you can also choose your bottles if preferred.
While not focused on education like some clubs, Picked offers speedy customer service and the convenience of chatting with representatives online. They replace damaged wines and work with you on disliked bottles.
Discover More Great Wine Clubs!
If you’re into funkier natural wines, MYSA is worth checking out. It’s a middle ground between Helen’s and Primal in terms of funkiness, making it great for adventurous but approachable wine drinkers. MYSA offers mixed, red, or orange wine options, and they also collaborate with Eater for a unique club experience.
If you’re on the East Coast and looking for a brick-and-mortar shop that ships, consider The Grand Tour Wine Club by Verve Wine in NYC. Shipping costs extra, but supporting local businesses is a plus if you’re nearby.
Our Testing Process
We tested each subscription box with varying numbers of bottles, based on what the club offered. Michele Thomas, a sommelier from The Greene Grape in Brooklyn, New York, assisted us in tasting the wines as a paid consultant.
I, along with senior editor Marguerite Preston, supervising editor Marilyn Ong, and senior staff writer Lesley Stockton, tasted each wine. We assessed the wines based on factors like aroma, acidity, and finish, even if we didn’t like a particular wine.
We also evaluated the quality of informational materials provided. After tasting, I revealed the labels, and Thomas assisted us in determining if the subscription and individual bottles were priced appropriately.
What Exactly is Natural Wine?
What is Natural Wine? Well, there’s no official definition, but essentially, it’s wine made with naturally occurring yeasts instead of commercial ones, much like bread made from sourdough starter compared to store-bought yeast.
Natural wines are often from organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, with minimal additives and filtration. In our 2024 review, we tested five natural premier wine clubs and found Helen’s Wine Club to stand out for offering well-made, balanced, and nuanced natural wines without being overly funky.
In addition to the mentioned clubs, we excluded over 100 premier wine clubs for various reasons like negative reviews, limited shipping, high shipping costs, inflated prices, low quality, lack of customization, inadequate replacement policies, limited options, poor service, transparency issues, or inability to purchase individual wines.
Explore the world of fine wines with our carefully selected premier wine clubs. Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or a curious novice, these clubs provide access to exquisite flavors, diverse varietals, and enriching experiences. From the organic offerings of Helen’s Wine Club to the educational journey with SommSelect, each option is sure to enhance your wine appreciation.
Join the ranks of discerning enthusiasts and embark on a journey of taste and discovery with these exceptional wine clubs. Here’s to a voyage filled with the finest selections and unforgettable moments. Cheers