Wine clubs?
0So curious-I’ve poked at a few wine clubs over the years, and haven’t been impressed with the quality or customization options of wines. Firstleaf came across my radar tonight-Anyone have opinions? Or are there any great wine clubs where for <$15/bottle, you can hone based on things like lower acidity/lower tannins, etc.
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Firstleaf make wine then lie about it, don’t go there. As for sub $15 wine clubs I am clueless.
https://fermentationwineblog.com/2019/04/firstleaf-and-the-first-rule-of-wine-marketing-tell-the-truth/
@ScottW58 Well, that was an interesting rabbit-hole.
@ScottW58 Absolutely should be a must read for us all. Thanks
@ScottW58 Agree, thanks for posting! A must read (with Clark in the comments…)
Yeah - firstleaf has been making a very very strong push I’ve seen in my social media and other advertising avenues. I really don’t trust most of the wine clubs that advertise to the general public. Better to make friends with people who have great cellars and are willing to get rid of some bottles every so often.
Most are rotgut.
Do the math, they spend all the money on a combination of customer acquisition to show growth to investors, And they outsource their 3PL (costly). What remains is the necessity to source on an uncertain bulk market.
Results are usually all sizzle and no steak.
Save your money and buy what appeals to you from a real winery ( we can help!)
@Winedavid49 @Jamileigh17
Agree 100%! Don’t take a chance on some 3rd party marketing company, err, “wine club” to send you consistently good wines for discount prices when you have 4 deals per week to choose from on Casemates alone, usually with lab rats and winery participation.
There are other good discount sites as well that provide enough information (although rarely as much as Casemates) to make an informed decision at a decent to very good price point.
The only wine clubs to consider at all are those of specific wineries whose products you know and like AND may otherwise be unable to obtain. Even as a poor student in the ‘70s, the Stony Hill mailing list was a very coveted opportunity, just as the Acquiesce wine club is now (over a year waiting list, I’m told). Best way to get Cathy Corison’s best wines. You don’t use wine clubs for bargains. You let trustworthy guys like WD here at casemates find interesting things to try for bargain prices. You only learn by trying lots of wines, but drinking lots of plonk (swill, rotgut, etc.) will not teach you much other than that they are wines for laying down and avoiding (apologies to Monty Python).
@rpm well put as always RPM