Buying wine online is fun. You can peruse through all the different tasting notes and types of wines in the comfort of your own home. Traditional wine shopping involves trying to make yourself look presentable enough to go out in public, driving through traffic to get to your local market, trying to decide on a bottle of wine based on an undescriptive label, only to come back with a bottle of wine that tastes horrible. If you’re lucky, you have a wine shop in your town with some people that are somewhat knowledgeable of wines or hold wine tastings so that you can decide for yourself which wine you like. Still, nothing beats staying warm and cozy in your jammies while wine is on its way to your home while you relax.
If you notice, though, there are two ways to get wine online. One is through the fun experience of being a member of a wine club, while the other is just like any other online shopping you do on a regular online wine shop.
Wine Clubs
A wine club involves more than just looking through pictures of wine bottles and tasting notes to decide which wine you want. It is a whole experience that involves not just getting wines that you like but trying out new wines that you didn’t know that you love.
Each month you are paired with a wine selection based on a short beginner questionnaire as well as any additional wine rating that you do from then on. You get a select number of bottles delivered to your door. The number of bottles and the frequency of shipping depends greatly on your own choice and on what your wine club offers.
Wine clubs almost always go above and beyond telling you all about the wines. From where it was made, from whom it came, the process it took, to the tasting notes no matter how subtle. Once you’ve read all the information you’ll receive about your bottle of wine, you’ll feel like you know it inside and out.
Also, wine clubs love to provide you with wine pairing recipes to make your entire wine experience fantastic.
Normally, wine clubs are a monthly payment fee. Some are more expensive than others and some vary depending on the wines that you get. Some are always the same price no matter what, you are locked in until you cancel your subscription. Of course, you always have the option of skipping your shipment if you know you won’t be home. It is important to make sure you or another adult 21 years or older will be there to sign for the wine because they can’t just drop it off at the door of an underage person.
With wine clubs you don’t have to think so hard about what wines to get. Most of that work it done for you. Most of the time you get a nice surprise with each bottle. Rarely, you might be disappointed in a bottle you receive but most companies will refund your money if you absolutely hated the wine or send you a replacement bottle.
Online Wine Shops
With online wine shops, you will have to do the choosing. There will be no one trying to pair you with a perfect wine based on a couple of questions about your taste preferences. Instead it is up to you to read about them and decide wisely.
Of course, you also don’t have to worry about paying a monthly payment. With wine shops you choose when, if and how much wine you will buy. You might be paying a bit more for your wine, since wine clubs usually are able to offer their bottles at a cheaper price because they are selling in bulk and they have direct contact with the wineries themselves.
As with wine clubs, you need to make sure you are home to receive the wines you bought online because they can’t legally leave wine at the doorstep, someone 21 years or older has to sign them.
Ultimately wine shops are like any other major online shopping experience of scrolling through pictures and descriptions of wines and making your best bet. You can still do all this from your couch, which is definitely a bonus.
