I wouldn’t get on any lists unless I really loved the wine. If you have already tasted all of those wines and you MUST have them in your cellar/wine fridge, by all means…join. If you haven’t, taste around and find the wines you really enjoy…there’s no rush! The big mistake many newcomers make is going all in and then 3-5 years later realizing the wines are meh and would have preferred something else. (ME). But, now you are buried in wines you want to get rid of. You can find almost anything on the secondary market; taste as many wines from as many varieties as possible and enjoy the journey. Never join a list because someone else loves the wine unless its your wife… ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I’m on a lot of those lists as well. I signed up when I first got into wine. Have never bought and yet they wont quit sending me offers.
Honestly, the only one’s I think really have a wait are Realm, Rivers, Aubert, SQN, SE, Maybach, Saxum, Macdonald and Scarecrow. Every other list isn’t really full.
I’m down to five; fills all my needs at this point.
Carlisle
Bedrock
Ridge Monte Bello futures
Chateau Montelena Estate futures
MACDONALD
I like Dragonette for their single vineyard Sauvignon Blancs (at a discount) and free tastings which I take advantage of somewhat regularly. I also like Torrin as some of their wines can be harder to get at retail, their tastings are lovely, and I really enjoy their pickup party.
I am in a similar boat as you as in I am new to wine and signed up for a bunch of these lists and got on much sooner than I thought. Here is what I decided to spend my money on…
Williams Selyem
Bedrock
Carlisle
Myriad
Rivers Marie
Aubert
Matthiasson Club
Quivira
Pretty pleased with all of these so far.
I signed up for Colgin 2 years ago. I have never bought an allocation. They charge tax and like $70 to ship. I still receive emails. For the record, I really enjoy Colgin wines.
I just recently bought 2015 IX estate, 3 owc, through HDH auction for $900. ($1075 with buyers fee)
Benchmark has them through their auctions and retail on their website. I bought a 2014 IX in one of their many “sales” for $275
There are some great points being made here. One of the reasons I’m overwhelmed with these lists is that in the scope of things, I want to be able to try as many wines and wineries as I can. Buying from lists removes or reduces my ability to branch out and try more things, which I think is paramount at this point. Plus, my proximity to Napa and Sonoma makes it easy to just visit more new wineries. Something that we are starting to do more of.
Totally understand that. A lot of us went through that. Some of us never got over it! I probably tasted well over a hundred wines in the last few days and we rec’d ten cases last week that we absolutely don’t need in any way. It’s easy to decide that you like this or that and simply stick with the tried and true, but I take the Mae West approach.
That’s why I think you’re on the right path - don’t get on any lists where they make you buy or ship automatically. Take full advantage of the opportunities to visit and keep tasting lots of things from all over.
The whole point is the journey; there’s no real destination. 
I would dump 90% of those listed. If you can find it on Wine-Searcher at or below release prices, I would dump it.
No mention of Sin Qua Non. Interesting…
I’ve cut way back on lists. The ones I’ve kept -Carlisle, Rivers-Marie, Bedrock- have three primary traits.
- I love the wines.
- I can’t find them at retail prices close to list.
- They are customer centric businesses that provide a great experience, with fair shipping prices and flexible buying rules.
I only need to wait 8 or so more years…
Certainly, it would not be me listing them. Not a fan to say the least.
Nor Sine Qua Non either. Hmm…
Hey, since you are local on a trip to St Helena set up a tasting at ACME Fine Wines. They carry a number of the labels you listed and lots more of the “not at your average wine shop” wines and small labels. A good place to find sleepers.
+1 for ACME … they can usually source a lot of allocation only wines, and I prefer to buy from them vs W-S/auction just because I feel better about their ability to source from producers or trusted clients instead of who knows where. I also trust their ability to asses the authenticity of a bottle they’ve likely seen before vs me.
Plus 1.
Karen at Acme is great to work with. Great customer service!
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Anthony!
Regarding mailing lists, the ones that we continue to buy from do have some common themes. They are 1) excellent customer service and people that we enjoy supporting; 2) allowing pick-up of the wines as an option to shipping; 3) having events during the year that we can attend, since we live in the Bay Area. We have met a lot of great people at these events. 4) Wines that are difficult to find in the marketplace. It is not as much a function of price, with the Monte Bello futures being the exception to that rule.
Here are a few points to consider:
Storage space – being on so many lists, how long until you are at maximum storage? That is a problem that we have!
Have you had older vintages of the wines that you are buying? Do you like them?
Go to as many tastings as possible! ACME is a good suggestion. There are many in Northern California that will help you figure out what you like and do not like.
Your wine preferences may change. Ours did.
Enjoy the journey!
Ed
probably the only lists i kinda regret stopping are Carlisle and Kutch. i like the wines, but I like supporting them because they seem like pretty good people.
I still buy (small) here and there off a couple of lists. As to ‘worth it’, it no longer was for me because I am now more interested in exploring a variety of wine, and I found that on the lists, I quickly accumulated too much of too few wines. So I stopped and went out exploring, trying, and if I run into something that wows me, I’ll buy some quantity. Having more fun now.
Surprised at no mention of Greer. Though I’m not sure if there’s a waiting list for it or not…
Feel like there was literally just a thread on this, but it’s occasionally worth being on lists to get access to special stuff that doesn’t go to go retail. I can now get about 50-60% of Bedrock’s portfolio at retail (although above list price), but I’m not reliably going to get access to the smaller run stuff - I owe my allocations of the weill-a-way exposition series to being on the list.
Also surprised no one has mentioned Arnot-Roberts. List prices aren’t a screaming deal relative to retail, but access at retail is intermittent.
Would also add, I’m just lazy. I want to buy some Bedrock each year. I could scour the internet and local retail joints, or I could spend 10 minutes a couple times a year picking wines, and be done with it.
only lists that I’m on for Cali:
Bedrock
Dirty and Rowdy
Monte Bello
Pax (but haven’t ever bought from this one, can get them locally same price)
Only other US lists that I’m on:
Kelley Fox
Patricia Green