“Are you interested in joining our wine club?” This question is as inevitable at a winery tasting as “Why don’t you slow down? This isn’t a race.” It’s a time worn sales tactic: Get your customer drunk, then try to sell him something.
TESS: That’s how I once spent $150 on jeans.
CHRIS: In this case, they’re trying to sell you a “Wine Club” membership. The benefits of joining a club vary from winery to winery, but generally you get scheduled wine shipments, discounts on purchases, free tastings and invitations to “special events.”
I love having wine shipped to my house. Every month or so, I come home to find a three-pack of kind juice on my doorstep. I usually welcome them with “Well, hello my friends. Which one of you is going to end up in my tummy tonight?”
TESS: Actually the wine comes to my office. Seems the FDA or someone doesn’t like to ship wine to places where someone 21 or older isn’t around to sign for it. As if there’s some 15 year old kid somewhere so desperate to get drunk he’s spending $60 to ship a Rhone-style blend from Los Olivos to his house. In fact, we should encourage 15 year olds kids to drink Rhone-style blends. If they know what good wines taste like, they won’t binge drink Two Buck Chuck in college and fall off a frat house to their death. Anyway, if you join a wine club, you’re going to need an address where 15 year old kids can’t get to it.
CHRIS: Anyway, the amount, type. and frequency of your shipments vary from club to club. The clubs we belong to ship 2-3 bottles 3-4 times per year. The bill shows up on your credit card after each shipment.
TESS: It’s like a hangover that happens 30 days later. But the good thing is, at least you have wine to drink while you pay the bill. And if you drink enough, you won’t even remember writing the check.
Still, the check doesn’t have to be a big one. Many wine clubs are very affordable. The ones we belong to have shipments in the $40 – $60 range which is very reasonable for 2 or 3 bottles. Plus, you can usually cancel at anytime if you decide it’s just not worth it.
CHRIS: As a member, you usually get some kind of discount on your shipments (10%-20%) which can make that expensive bottle turn into a deal.
Then there’s “special events.” We belong to the wine club at Malibu Family Wines. (A great local vineyard with an awesome outdoor tasting room located here. (More info in another post.) Recently. we were invited to a “release party.” (Not the kind you have at a massage parlor near LAX, but a party where you taste new wines and get to meet other drunks with standards.) This one was the Malibu Family Wines’ release party for their Semler label 05 Merlot and Syrah.
TESS: This was a great event. They were pouring generous tastes of their Saddlerock Chardonnay and their Semler Merlot and Syrah. There were at least three bars set up so there was no long wait to get a drink. They also had a DJ who spent most of the night spinning Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. When he broke out Madonna’s “Holiday” we knew it was time to go, but we had enjoyed the last few hours spent discussing the new wines and which of our friends we could persuade to join the wine club so we could share the next party with them.
Malibu Family Wines is located at 31800 Mulholland Highway, Malibu, California, 90265. Their website is here.
Tags: malibu family wines, release party, saddlerock, semmler, wine clubs
