There has been a lot of talk about wine for the last 2 months.
Honestly, I think we can all agree that wine jokes and wine culture have probably hit an all-time high. I wasn’t paying much attention to wine before I had Forrest and to be honest, I haven’t ever paid much attention to wine. I’m not a drinker; I find alcohol to be way too expensive and boring when I could be drinking a Diet Coke. But over time, I have found myself enjoying wine more and more.
When Oregon’s stay-at-home orders were announced, I decided to place my first Winc wine order. I knew I was going to need some way to relax and have fun—plus, I felt like I needed something to focus my energy on and wine seemed like a great outlet, to be honest.
I’ve been hearing about Winc via one of my favorite podcasts—Wine and Crime—for 3 years now, so it was probably time I took the plunge. Let’s talk about what Winc wine club is and how it works.
(Pst, you can sign up for Winc using this link for $22 off your order.)
What is Winc Wine Club?
Winc is an online wine club that is based on your personal palate. When you sign up, you take a quiz that matches you with a few ideal wines for you. You place your order and Winc delivers your wine to your door. Easy peasy.
Well, sort of. The way Winc works is that every month, you are charged $49.99 for “credits” that can be used towards wine. If you only want to order 1 or 2 bottles that month, that is taken out of the credits you’ve already bought. But if you decide to order more, then you’re charged the extra beyond the credits you’ve already bought. It’s a little confusing, especially because the amount per bottle varies greatly—some wines are $12.99 per bottle, some are $34.99.
Enrolling in the wine club aspect gets you a better price on the wine per bottle, however, so while it doesn’t make a ton of sense, there is a method to the madness. I do think the process needs clarified and I expressed that to Winc’s customer service when I was deeply confused as to wtf the credits were.
They primarily offer California wines and some unique varietals and vineyards that are really, really good. I personally love the selection, that is large without being overwhelming. Let’s talk more about my experience.
My Experience with Winc Wine Club
When I first signed up for Winc, I used a code from my favorite podcast—which meant that I got $20 off my first box. Amazing. I ordered 6 bottles, of course. As well, if you order over 4 bottles, your shipping is free—which makes it kind of worth it to order 4 or more bottles, rather than just 1 or 2.
When I took the quiz, Winc paired me with primarily white wines—slightly sweeter white blends, roses, and single varietal whites, like Riesling. This is pretty in line with my preferences anyway, but I’ve been excited to try out some of the other options on Winc.
Thus, welcome to my biggest issue with Winc: stuff sells out fast. I had 4 additional bottles picked out for my May 9 “credit payment”—but by the time the 9th rolled around and it was time for me to check out, the wines I’d picked were all sold out. I was bummed, as there was a red wine I wanted to try bad. (I did manage to grab a bottle of the Summer Water rose that everyone raves about from Winc!)
Aside from that, I’ve enjoyed most of the wines I’ve gotten from Winc. It’s a fairly good deal. For $60 this month month, I got 4 bottles of wine—that evens out to about $15 a bottle, which is about what I’d pay for my favorite wine from the grocery store anyway. It’s delivered to your door, which makes it easy. (As a note, you do have to show ID to sign for your order; they won’t just leave it at your doorstep. This was a little annoying for me, as my May order got somewhat lost by FedEx for a few days, then showed up randomly when I was in the middle of a full-scale preschooler breakdown and I also wasn’t wearing a bra.)
Is Winc Wine Club Worth It?
But is it worth it? This is the big question is it. Let’s break this down into pros and cons:
Pros:
Wine delivered to your door.
Exclusive wines that support smaller wineries that you won’t find anywhere else.
Wide selection that isn’t so vast you get overwhelmed and tired looking at it.
Fun quiz to help pick your first wines.
Free shipping when you order 4 bottles.
Referral system that lets you earn extra bottles of wine.
Cons:
The credit system is a little confusing.
The price of wines varies enough that the credits you pay for won’t ever equal out to a certain number of wines.
There you have it. The biggest drawback for me is the credit system; if that was clearer, it would make more sense. I wish instead of the credits being a money system, it was like you paid $49.99 a month and got to pick 3 bottles of wine with free shipping. That makes more sense to me, but that’s just me. (Hint, hint, Winc!)
Winc is still relatively a new company, so I expect them to work that credit system out eventually. It takes trial and error sometimes!
Would you like to try Winc wine? You can use my referral code here and get $22 off on your first order. (As a note, this is simply a referral link I have as a customer—not an affiliate link!)
Have you tried Winc? What do you think?
