When we decided to create our list of the most affordable wine clubs, we decided the clubs we choose needed to deliver quality wine. We didn't want to find the cheapest option that ships out pretty bottles of bulk wine. We followed the guidance of our popular guide to selecting the best wine clubs. We searched for great value wine clubs. To us, that means a fair price for really good wine. Each of the five affordable wine clubs below gets the mix of price and quality right. With the explosion of wine subscription boxes, you need to be careful when you are looking for great value.
As a consumer, you need to decide on what is most appealing to you. Some of these wine clubs can offer discounted wines that will be very familiar to you. Then other wine clubs are able to provide affordable wine by looking for out of favor or little-known wine styles. Another option is for wine clubs to keep their shipping costs and overhead low. They are able to pass those savings to their wine club members.
We think you will be able to find one of our affordable wine clubs that fits your needs. Please let us know if there is a great club out there that should be on our list! Want more? Here is our list of the 20 best wine clubs online. Looking to get the absolute best price on quality wine? Ready to buy in bulk? Check out this amazing wine club by the case offer.
[note] This post about affordable wine clubs contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and decide you love what they have to offer, we will be compensated.
WINC
Wine has a unique model for an online wine club. Winc partners with top winemakers around the world to produce unique wines that they sell under their own label. By partnering, they can keep their costs down and pass along the savings to consumers. Winc's wines are very accessible. They do offer a wide range of varietals, but you can tailor your shipment to match your tastes. We love this option for someone who is just getting into wine. Winc also makes it easy to purchase their affordable wine club as a gift.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: Three bottles per month
Lowest Wine Price: $16/Bottle
What's Nice: Winc has the cleanest online store and very good customer service. They make easy to drink wines that are perfect for the beach, barbeques and everyday drinking. They have wine club gift options.
Minor Issues: If you are looking for world-class wines, Winc probably isn't the option for you.
Wine Awesomeness
Leave it to the experts at Wine Awesomeness to find get affordable wine options for you. The basic membership costs $49 and includes 3 wines. The shipping is complimentary. You also receive the Wine Awesomeness magazine with each of your wine club shipments. At around $16 per bottle, this is one of the most affordable wine clubs you can find on the internet.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: 3 Bottles per month
Lowest Wine Price: $16/Bottle
What's Nice: The wine selections are unique. You aren't receiving a lot of bulk wine with fancy labels. They ship good quality wine.
They create an enjoyable theme for each shipment of wine. The Wine Awesomeness magazine tells the story of each wine along with pairing suggestions.
Minor Issues: They ship some unique varietals. In order to provide you with one of the most affordable wine clubs, Wine Awesomeness finds some out of favor grapes. The wines are delicious, but you don't just receive Cabs and Chards.
Plonk Wine Club
Plonk sits at the top of our overall Best Wine Club list because they do an excellent job picking wines. The brain trust behind each month's wine selection truly has gifted palates. The fact that they are also one of the most affordable wine clubs is amazing. We aren't sure how they find all this great affordable wine, but we certainly appreciate it!
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: Select the 12 bottles shipped every 3 months.
Lowest Wine Price: $21/Bottle
What's Nice: The wine picking is the best we've seen for a larger club. Plonk really knows their wine so you get insightful tasting notes. You receive food and wine pairing suggestions for each bottle.
Also, this affordable wine club exposes you to regions and wine types you may not select on your own. They deliver high-quality wine at great prices because they don't stick to what is currently popular. That means more work for them and better wine for you. You will expand your palate and get to know about less well-known regions. That will make you a better wine consumer.
Minor Issues: You are getting 12 bottles at once. This may be good for some people, but can be challenging if you don't have space. We also don't love the packaging that Plonk uses for shipping. We wish they would find a more earth-friendly alternative.
90 Plus Cellars
There are many ways you can create an affordable wine club. 90 Plus Cellars went the route of private labeling great wine from well know wineries. Many wineries produce more "juice" than they can reasonably bottle and sell. That creates opportunities for wine lovers who want to save.
This affordable wine club cuts out the middlemen. When you skip wholesalers and retailers, you can sell great wine directly to consumers at a fraction of the price available in stores.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: Six bottle mixed wines. This is a great option if you drink about a bottle per week. For this quality, the six bottle option is a very affordable wine club.
Lowest Wine Price: $15.8/Bottle
What's Nice: These are wines and varietals you know. 90+ Cellars makes solid, drinkable wines that make sense on your dinner table, at a gathering or on the porch after a long day.
Minor Issues: There are no frills here. You receive a box with wine in it. Don't expect tasting notes, recipe cards or glamour shots of the wineries.
Click Here| Receive 15% Off Your First Order Of 90 Plus Cellars
Bright Cellars
The perfect pairing of wine and technology. Bright Cellars uses a proprietary algorithm to offer one of the most affordable wine clubs out there. This wine club was started by two MIT grads with a passion for wine and technology. They think their wine quiz can determine exactly what you will enjoy drinking. They are so confident they promise to send you a free bottle of wine if you don't enjoy what they shipped you.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: Four bottles per month
Lowest Wine Price: $17/Bottle
What's Nice: They work hard at matching you up with the wines you will love. Bright Cellars integrates your feedback into their model to produce the right wines for your shipment.
Minor Issues: It's not how deep a selection of wines they have to offer. If you say no to several selections, they stop serving up alternatives.
Click Here | Save $50 When You Sign Up For This Affordable Wine Club
Macy's Wine Cellar
There is a unique angle that makes this an incredibly affordable wine club at the start. The introductory package for the Macy's Wine Cellar is simply the best on the web. You receive a selection of 15 wines for less than $6 a bottle. And the wine they send is good. This is not the bulk wines you find dirt cheap at Trader Joe's. This is actual wine from quality wineries around the world. Quality wine from an affordable wine club! We will take it.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: 15 Bottle special introductory offer
Lowest Wine Price: $5.99/Bottle
What's Nice: You get one of the most affordable wine clubs on the planet.
Minor Issues: This is only a one time deal. This is for new orders only and the prices go up on your second shipment. You do have the option to cancel at any time, so make your decision after getting a great deal!
Wine Society
Have you ever thought that wine in a can could be great? Probably not, but Wine Society may prove you wrong. The Midwestern founders decided to combine their love of American wine and beer country packaging to deliver an affordable wine subscription service with a twist.
The basic membership of $36.47 (with quarterly subscription) includes three cans of wine: white, red, and rosé. Perhaps to add a whimsical touch, the cans are dubbed Fate (white wine), Tempt (red wine), and Chance (rosé).
Each of the 500ml cans should be enough to fill four glasses of wine. Do the math and you’ll see that it’s about $3 per glass. And if you are wondering about the wines, each of them features a proprietary blend of Californian grapes. For example, the red wine (Tempt) is a blend of Petite Verdot, Petite Syrah, and Syrah.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: 3 cans per month
Lowest Wine Price: $36.47 for three 500ml cans with a quarterly wine club subscription
You can also gift three cans of WineSociety for $49. This is a one time order. It's a perfect affordable wine gift!
What’s Nice: The unique approach and easy unpacking. Once you get over the initial doubt of canned wine, the wines actually taste great for the money. In addition, a 500ml can, as opposed to a 750ml bottle, seems to be just the right amount for most occasions.
All in all, we can’t find anything to fault about the design of the cans. They appear classy and won’t feel out of place at casual social gatherings.
Minor Issues: Wine Society doesn’t ship to 14 US states. But this may change in the future.
Click here to check out this unique canned wine offer.
California Wine Club Premier Series
You may be already aware of what the California Wine Club has to offer. And with the Premier series, you get a chance to enjoy a great selection of vintages from boutique wineries. What’s more, this club delivers wines from different award-winning makers every month, perfect for those who value diversity.
The most affordable wine subscription is priced at around $40 plus shipping. There are five subscription levels in all. By default, you’ll get one bottle of white and one bottle of red, but you can also specify two bottles of red or white from any of the wineries on offer.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: 2 bottles of wine per month
Lowest Wine Price: $40.45 + shipping
What’s Nice: With each shipment, you get a copy of Uncorked (a guide on the California wine scene published by the California Wine Club) and a discount for wine preorders. Every order comes with the California Wine Club’s Love It guarantee and access to a wine consultant.
You’ll also become eligible to take part in VIP tasting tours of boutique wineries organized by the California Wine Club. And there is an option to send out two bottles as a gift together with all the extras. This all adds up to make the California Wine Club an affordable wine subscription with benefits.
California Wine Club has a wide range of club offerings. They run some of the best premium wine clubs we've found. These can make great gifts if you want to impress a true wine lover.
Minor Issues: You do need to pay for the shipping, which may increase the original price by around 20%. But you may find this to be a small price to pay for a curated selection of boutique wines.
Click here to start exploring California’s boutique wineries.
Firstleaf Wine Club
Firstleaf does its best to ensure that you receive wines that appeal to you. Toward this end, you’re supposed to complete a 13-question quiz. After that, Firstleaf will narrow down the choice to 6 bottles that will arrive in the first box when you join the club.
After trying the wines, you can rate them to further refine your preferences. You may find that the selection keeps getting better or more interesting with every order.
According to the website, the initial pricing is about 70% off retail prices. However, we have not independently verified this claim. The wine club goes on to say that club members get to enjoy 40% off retail prices for future purchases. In addition, Firstleaf employs a team of wine concierges who can help you to make a more informed choice.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: 6 bottles in the introductory wine box
Lowest Wine Price: $39.35 + tax for the 6-bottle introductory wine box
What’s Nice: We especially admire Firstleaf’s dedication to top-notch customer service. Best of all, the wine descriptions are about as good as it gets. They’ll leave no doubt about any particular wine’s origin, awards, and flavor profile.
You may also be interested to know that Firstleaf’s team of experts travel the world to source the best boutique wines. Add another feather to this wine subscription box's customer service cap.
Minor Issues: It’s not easy to find something to complain about Firstleaf. However, it would be nice if you could order a smaller box to start.
Click here to sign up for the Firstleaf Wine Club.
Revel Wine Club
Looking for a wine subscription box that features organic sulfite-free wines? The Revel Wine Club might just be perfect for you. Revel also allows you to customize every detail of your membership.
You can choose a category (all wines, organic, and organic & sulfite-free), the number of bottles (4, 6, or 12), and type of wine (all red or red & some white). In addition, you get a choice of three shipping frequencies: monthly, every other month, or quarterly.
You can change the delivery schedule within your profile on the website. Aside from that, the filtering options are a pleasure to use. You can refine your searches by six categories including price, region, brand, and varietal. That gives you more options than other wine clubs.
Most Affordable Wine Club Option: 4 bottles of wine per month at $36 + shipping
Lowest Wine Price: $8 per bottle for club members, $10 per bottle for non-members
What’s Nice: The varied selection is one of the best things about Revel wine club. This club stocks more than 25 brands, mostly from California but also Australia, New Zealand, and Washington.
Minor Issues: If you choose the 4 or 6-bottle club subscription, you’ll incur shipping charges (which are included with the 12-bottle subscription box at $108).
Click here to find out more about the organic wines at Revel.
Conclusion | Find The Right Affordable Wine Club
Affordable wine clubs need to find a way to deliver you great wine while staying in business. That's the reality of it. There are a few different ways they can do this. We find that the best affordable wine clubs do it by cutting out as many middlemen as possible. Clubs like Winc and 90 + Cellars build creative businesses that remove the markups associated with wholesalers and retailers. As a result, you get great wines at reasonable prices.
The other way to create an affordable wine club is to search for niche producers, regions and less well-known varietals. That's how clubs like Plonk and Wine Awesomeness can compete for your attention.
The final method is to buy at scale. That's what the WSJ Wine Club does. They are part of a large wine buying group that can negotiate rock-bottom prices with wine producers in order to move large quantities of wine.
We hope you enjoy our guide to affordable wine clubs. Interested in whiskey? Check out our guide to the best whiskey of the month clubs.