Not sure where the recipient of your generous gift is, but I’d recommend looking for a high quality local wine shop and see if they have any wine club type program. There are a couple of really great ones here in Chicago and it would be a good path for them to get to know the folks at their local independent wine shop that can help them find wines in the future after the club subscription ends.
The podcast I listen to just covered this topic pretty extensively. Link below with notes. The podcast shined a light on the problem with wine clubs that many of them are re-packaged bulk wines that you wont find in wineries. They recommended wineaccess, but that is also their sponser, so take it with caution.
https://www.winefornormalpeople.com/episode-185-the-remake-7-types-of-non-winery-wine-clubs/
The couple wine clubs i’ve tried such as Bright Cellars I haven’t really liked. I used to split shipments with family members from WTSO.com and really liked them. Sadly they stopped shipping to MI but if available they ship typically 4 bottles at a time at a discount and is a good way to try differrent wines. The sell one kind of bottle at a time until it sells out. Of everything I previously bought only 1 or 2 I felt were sub par. Otherwise I had really good luck with them. I believe there is a WTSO ongoing thread around here somewhere, I don’t stop in because I just get mad about them not shipping to me anymore lol.
Not a member, nor have I ever been a member of any “wine club,” but Plonk Wine Club has seemed more interesting than most.
To me, wine club is the same as wine pairing at a restaurant. Once in a while you get lucky.
A wine club from a single producer, in my opinion, will get boring after a while. It’s fun to drink different varietals.
There are many winemakers on this board where you can sign up and buy wine today. I know that’s not as easy as waiting to receive a shipment every xx months, but drinking a wine you’ll enjoy requires some work. My suggestion would be for your friend to develop a relationship with a local wine store.
I would agree with John that most of the wine clubs you see in publications like the Wall St. Journal or the airplane magazines are probably garbage. I would consider joining a wine club from a local wine shop though. Pike & Western a shop in Seattle has some interesting offerings in their wine club.
I would recommend Kermit Lynch’s clubs. I was a member of the Adventures and Rouge clubs for a while but canceled because I wanted to select my own stuff. I was happy with the selections, however, and they are of uniform good quality month after month (the six bottle Chevalier club is semi-monthly). Customer service was excellent, also. They featured a nice variety. Tablas Creek is excellent if you like Rhone varietals.
I think Somm select is quite interesting if they are novices who are interested in learning more about wine. They also do a ‘blind six’ club for people who are studying or want to work on their blind tasting. The wines aren’t a bargain, but good quality classic varieties and a fun way to learn.
Viticole