Do you feel adventurous and want to expand your wine palate profile? You can do so by joining the best wine sampler clubs and tasting glass-sized bottles of exotic wines without breaking the bank.
Keep reading to find out what exactly wine sampler clubs are, how they work, and learn about the top three such clubs you can join today.
What Are Wine Sampler Clubs?
Wine sampler clubs are where wine enthusiasts gather to taste a wide range of wine samples to try something new or crystalize their wine taste. Most wine sampler clubs operate under the “wine by the glass” philosophy where you don’t have to buy a whole bottle of wine, but rather a portion of it to have a taste.
Wine sampler clubs let you receive welcoming and affordable wine packages without being forced to drink the entire bottle. Small, wine glass-sized bottles let you enjoy wine from around the world in decent amounts, which is what makes these clubs especially appealing.
Vinebox
If you’re looking for mass-produced wines, look elsewhere. Vinebox only works with smaller winemakers and goes for the wines and regions with great stories. This company’s mission is to deliver unique wine experiences to American homes by the glass. This is precisely what they do with wines from Italy, France, the US, and other countries worldwide. That's why Vinebox has been on our list of the best wine clubs for years.
What Do You Get?
Vinebox will deliver a special box of curated wine samples at your doorstep every season. The package includes nine exquisite 10 cl wine glasses and detailed information regarding the wines. As you go over the tasting notes, you’ll learn about wines as you drink them.
You also get credits for full-size bottle purchases ($15 for quarterly and $30 for annual members) that expire at the end of each quarter.
If you’re looking for the best wine sampler gift, you may find one with these folks. They can send out physical gift boxes of nine best wine samples, including a customized gift note. The recipient also gets full-sized bottle credits.
A bulk ordering program offers a unique wine tasting experience to a group, team, or family and friends. You can send a curated box of three, six, or nine wines by the glass. The program applies to more than $1500 in purchases (shipping and tax excluded), and the minimum order size is ten boxes.
Membership Options
Vinebox offers quarterly ($79 per box) or annual ($72 per box) memberships. You can also have two boxes per quarter with a discount (10% off.) Their boxes have a mix of red and white wines, with the occasional addition of rosé.
For the annual membership, you pay the whole sum upfront ($288), while the quarterly membership renews every three months and charges your account $79 per box.
As their quarterly wine clubs tend to sell fast, you may have to put your name on the waiting list before becoming an official member.
You can get more information on current membership openings by clicking on this link.
Palate Club
Are you into trying the world’s most delicious wines matched to your taste? You can now do so with the Palate Club. This is a popular wine club that works on a subscription model or one-time purchases.
The whole process of becoming a member consists of three steps:
- You rate the wines from their special Tasting Kit. The Palate Club then uses your ratings to make your personalized wine profile and suggest wines to match your taste.
- Shop for wines. You can either shop for wine yourself or have the folks over at the club help you make the best choice. The Palate Club only sources sustainable, highest-quality wines from around the world.
- You set up shipping and other delivery options right off their app.
What makes this wine subscription unique is the Tasting Kit option, where they send out sample bottles without you knowing what you’re getting. As you rate the “unknown” wine, you’ll be less likely to make a biased rating, and it’s a great way to discover new tastes. This approach is the company’s most popular way of getting you started as their Wine Club member.
The Tasting Kit also offers an excellent opportunity to host virtual tasting parties. Gather your friends or host a live video session, and have everyone taste their palates and share impressions.
Another way of creating your palate profile is by doing a Palate Quiz on their website. It’s a short 90-second quiz where you get asked questions about your wine or food preferences. The longer you’re a member of the Palate Club, the more sophisticated your palate profile gets. You get to rate wines after each shipment in their wine app.
Their collection includes wines from the U.S, France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, South Africa, Chile, Austria, New Zealand, Greece, Argentina, and more. Quite a wine world tour you get with these folks!
Membership Options
The Palate Club is quite flexible regarding wine shopping. You can choose to have wine delivered through a subscription or simply buy wine online with a one-time purchase as you would from any other wine store.
For one-time purchases, they are among the average solutions regarding cost. Their price range is from $17 up to $60 per bottle, with you being in complete control over how much you spend.
Their subscriptions work on monthly shipments, but you can rearrange the packages to arrive every other month or even every three months. Their palate profile-making techniques, such as the Tasting Kit and the Palate Quiz, are only for subscription-based plans.
Click here to save $10 when you sign up.
In Good Taste
The founders of In Good Taste have created this wine tasting program to make wine more accessible and welcoming to people by offering smaller wine bottles. As mentioned on their website, the CEOs started the company in 2017 as they were intrigued that wine, which is a by-the-glass beverage, almost always gets distributed in one-size-fits-all bottles.
Thanks to In Good Taste, you can now have a taste of plenty of the world’s regions and varietals without feeling intimidated by the 750 ml bottle. That’s why they have come up with the eight-bottle tasting flights with the primary goal of familiarizing the customers with the wine and encouraging them to jump out of their wine comfort zone.
How Does It Work?
In Good Taste offers virtual tastings for everyone interested in starting a wine exploration journey with them. Here’s how it works:
- You book the tasting at least two weeks in advance
- Have you and your friends order the same tasting flight
- Mix traditional treats and pairings such as crackers or cheese
- Have the tasting event either virtual or in-person?
There are two tasting flights for those interested: a California Wine Mixer ($65) and a Wild Child Flight ($65.) They are both a mixture of some of the best reds, whites, and the occasional rosé.
You can also shop for the In Good Taste’s tasting flights without organizing a virtual tasting. All their bottles are 187ml in size, and you can choose between the two flights we mentioned in the previous paragraph, or take the wine tasting to the next level and order a six-pack of your favorite varietal.
Note: There is free shipping for orders over $100. The company doesn’t currently ship to Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Utah.
Click here to learn more about one of the best wine sampler clubs.
Life Is Too Short to Drink Bad Wine
Thanks to these wine sampler clubs, wine is becoming more accessible to broad audiences, and everyone can explore and learn more about the world’s best wineries. We handpicked these three best wine sampler clubs to help you decide on the best solution for you and your taste buds.
Whether you want to taste wine alone, with family members, or go as far as organizing virtual wine tasting with your friends, these best wine by the glass subscriptions has everything you need for a unique wine tasting experience.
