Are wine clubs or subscriptions worth it?
They take the hassle out of choosing wine, but are wine clubs value for money?
Booze you don't have to choose
Has the time come to join a wine club? If you're sick of blankly staring at row upon row of wine at your local Dan Murphy's, a wine club – where a wine buff chooses the wine for you and it's delivered to your doorstep – could be a good option.
In this article:
- Do wine clubs save you money?
- Wine clubs compared
- Wine club pros and cons
- Naked Wines subscription confusion
Supermarkets are steadily buying up wine retailers, wine producers and vineyards, and using private labels to squeeze out smaller producers.
Labels such as Lovers Not Toreadors, Chook Shed and The Fabulist sound like limited-release drops handcrafted by quirky winemakers, but they're actually Coles and Woolworths brands.
Are independent online wine clubs a way out of this corporate quagmire, and will the quality and cost of the wine make it worth your while?
"It's incredibly confusing, the field of wine. There's so many brands out there," says wine writer Huon Hooke. "It's confusing enough for us professionals in the business; I can't imagine what it's like for the average punter."
Having an expert choose for you can be a huge relief for people who are too busy or not confident enough to select wine themselves, but not every wine club is right for every wine drinker.
We've looked into some independent wine clubs to help you find the right one and avoid the potential pitfalls of buying wine you've never tasted before.
Do wine clubs save you money?
The downside of wine clubs that support smaller producers or only stock wines exclusive to them is that it can be tricky to calculate whether you're getting value for money.
"It can be hard to know what you're getting – unless you're sent a bottle to taste in advance, it can be a bit of a gamble," says Matt Dunne, group sommelier for hospitality group Solotel, which owns venues such as Aria Sydney.
Crafty pricing tactics can catch out even the most savvy consumer. "The way a lot of these deals are promoted is actually a bit scandalous," Hooke says.
Some retailers may inflate the recommended retail price of a wine to make it seem like you're getting a cracking deal at the price they're asking.
You know the type: "RRP $35; our price $25" on a bottle that's really only worth $15. And consumers can't check the accuracy of the pricing because (surprise, surprise) the wine is only available through that particular retailer. They could tell you it's worth anything and you'd have no way of checking.
Use wine apps to check if you're paying too much
There are apps can help you find out more about the wine: Is it overpriced? What do the reviews say? Has it won any wine awards?
Dunne recommends the Delectable, Vivino and Wine Searcher apps as good options for checking whether you're paying too much for a particular wine.
If in doubt, Dunne suggests sticking with classic styles – varietals that a region is known for, such as cabernet sauvignon from Margaret River, pinot noir from Yarra Valley or Tasmania, and riesling from Clare Valley.
Taste is largely subjective, and while palate questionnaires and recommendations from friends can help you find a wine you'll love, it can be hit and miss. "You can't guarantee that anybody will like anything – you really can't," says Hooke.
The pros and cons of wine clubs
We like to think of ourselves as glass-half-full types here at CHOICE, but as with many consumer purchases, wine clubs have their pros and cons.
Wine clubs compared
We've looked at some of the better-known independent wine clubs in Australia to give you an idea of what's out there.
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Naked wines subscription confusion
Naked Wines' unusual business model has caused some consumer confusion – some punters think they've made a one-off purchase, only to discover that Naked Wines is charging $40 a month from their credit cards.
We spoke to two people who were caught out by this. One had even been warned about the recurring payment, and was confident that he'd only made a one-off purchase – only to then discover he was being charged $40 a month. The other went to cancel her Angel membership but was won over by Naked Wines' persuasive customer service staff. "I remember admiring their hustle," she says.
In the end, both stuck with Naked Wines as they were happy with the quality, value and convenience.
The ACCC has been cracking down on so-called 'subscription traps' – where a retailer treats a consumer's decision to make a one-off purchase as consent to sign them up to a recurring payment. While it's hard to say whether Naked Wines' system contravenes the Australian Consumer Law, the ACCC tells us that "a business that fails to disclose key information in connection with an ongoing subscription may be engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct".
We spoke to Naked Wines CEO Greg Banbury about this issue.
He says you'll only be signed up to the Angels waitlist (they've capped the number of Angels they can sign up) if you buy an 'Angel Favourites' case. However, we found that when you first visit Naked Wines' website and take a survey to score a $20 voucher, you're automatically directed to these 'Angel Favourites' cases. So new customers may be more likely to buy these and thus be added to the waitlist.
Throughout the checkout process, there's no mention that you'll be added to a waitlist, or that there's a recurring payment associated with this – it appears to be a one-off purchase.
We asked Banbury why a company that's so committed to transparency would be less than transparent about the fact that they're signing people up to a waitlist (and associated recurring payment), and he defended the company's messaging.
"There's absolutely no benefit to us in signing someone up without them knowing," he says. "It literally costs us money to recruit a customer who cancels."
Banbury claims that Naked Wines' email communications make it "explicit" that you're being added to the Angels waitlist, but the automated emails we received made no mention of how to exit the waitlist, nor that becoming an Angel involves a $40/month recurring payment.
Banbury says he's taking our feedback on board, but Naked Wines has received this same feedback since at least 2014 and is still continuing this practice. That said, except for a few disgruntled ex-customers, online reviews of Naked Wines are overwhelmingly positive, with happy customers vigorously defending the model and the quality of the wine.
We're not saying don't shop with Naked Wines – just be aware of the $40 a month recurring payment before you buy.