wine clubs

[Findnfish]

I am pretty new at the wine game, and have begun to really enjoy trying different varietals. Over the past 5 months I have come to find that I like red wines better than whites, and Shiraz is my current wine of choice. Now I want to take the plunge and join a wine club. Tobin James is a very popular choice and produces very good wines. I need some advice as to a club that is not specific to one winery and will give me top quality choices. Any good suggestions?

[wdonovan]

Why a club? Don't you have access to stores where either you could get help from a knowledgable salesperson or research yourself and try what you want? Clubs seem to have much more limit to what you can get compared to other resources.

[winoweenie]

Hi F&F and welcome to the board. Very good advice. However the reason Tobin James is so popular on the board is the extensive vareital selection they offer and their unbeatable P/Q value. May be moot as they are close to closing their mailing list.WW

[Findnfish]

Thanks for the quick response. The reason I thought about a club was to get some limited release wines at reasonable prices. I have a small wine store nearby and now have a better reason to go and visit them. Thanks for the advice.

[WineCOW]

Findnfish – I think you are right on track. Wine clubs are a great way to get introduced to new wines, including different winemakers and varietals, which you otherwise may have never purchased. If you are just starting out and want to experiment with different wineries then a general region club is indeed your best bet. Given that you are from Washington I highly recommend experimenting with wines from your home state. Below are a few good Washington wine clubs to get you started, including our own “WOW” Wine Club:

The Washington State Wine Club
http://www.washingtonstatewineclub.com/

Pacific Northwest Wine Club
http://www.pnwc.com/

“Wines of Washington” Wine Club
http://www.winecow.com/merch/wow_info.asp

Note: Washington is really starting to make some outstanding Syrah, and at very reasonable prices.

[Innkeeper]

Wine Cow, please confine your advertising on the this board to the appropriate advertising thread.

[Findnfish]

Again the members of this incredible BB have come through with more great suggestions. I will look into these clubs and visit my local wine shop to get their advice. I am trying a few WA wines soon and one is a Syrah. I have come to REALLY enjoy syrah for its spicy and peppery qualities. Thanks again for the great advice. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

[wondersofwine]

I liked the Saviah Syrah from Washington when I sampled it at the winery last August. You might look for their Walla Walla or Red Mountain Syrahs.

[wdonovan]

Here's an idea for another kind of "wine club". In my area we call them restaurants. You can often taste wines while buying less than a full bottle, they offer food to toy with between sips and..... quite often you're not tied down to just wines from Washington. The whole rest of the world is also making some outstanding wines at reasonable prices. In fact, the Washington wine club post reinforces my point. Being new, why would you want to spend your whole wine budget (presumption) on the goods of one small, specialized club? Maybe you'll like Washington wines, maybe not. By time you know, you've ordered a years worth. Go out to eat. Try a wine (get suggestions from the wait staff). If you like it, ask next time what else has similar qualities. If you don't, make note and avoid similar wines. Then later on ...... If you do like a particular type of wine, join a club that provides that type. I personally don't like new world wines in general but I'm not suggesting that you join a Bordeaux club. That would be MY taste. You have to find yours and I think a club is not the way to do it.

[wdonovan]

Hmmmmm. Just noticed (on another board where he is also advertising) that the biggest proponent of wine clubs in this thread has a website in which he sells wine, runs wine clubs and sells teeshirts. Hmmmmm.