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About Wine Insiders
Wine Insiders is a direct to consumer online wine shop. Essentially, they offer a wide, curated range of great wines—you won’t have to wander around the aisles at the grocery store, looking for something good in the vast wall of bottles. You can buy single bottles, gift sets, or join the club to receive a case of 12, every 12 weeks.
Wine Insiders was featured in several media outlets, Forbes, Refinery29, Medium, and Buzzfeed, to name a few. They also have an ongoing partnership with a giant in the lifestyle space, Martha Stewart. This Wine Insiders wine club review will dive into the brand, its products, and what customers think, so you can decide for yourself if you want to dip your toes in!
Overview of Wine Insiders
Wine Insiders celebrated their 38th anniversary in 2020; the company has been a leader in the wine industry since 1982. They launched in Chicago, with a mission to provide access to affordable wine directly to consumers across the US. In 2014, the company was acquired by DRINKS, and an e-commerce site was launched, and the company partnered with Martha Stewart.
Wine Insiders remained committed to the company’s original mission of accessibility and quality by continuing to sell affordable wines directly to consumers, increasing visibility with an online platform, and introducing over 14,000 pick up locations. This Wine Insiders review will take you through the pros and cons, how the club works, and take a closer look at some of their most popular products.
Pros
- It’s a simple, easy way to get into wine
- Affordable
- Free shipping on 6+ bottle orders
- Wide, yet curated selection
- Exclusive wines & award-winning wines
- Excellent Customer Service
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee (a full refund for any wine you don’t love)
Cons
- No vintage or limited-edition wines
- There are duplicate bottles in both the red and white subscription boxes, with 7 unique wines per box of 12
- No shipping to Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Utah
- No international shipping
How Wine Insiders Club Works
I’m sure you’re curious about how the process works, so this Wine Insiders wine club review will take you through the details.
While you can absolutely buy bottles without a Wine Insiders subscription, It’s the easiest way to keep your wine rack stocked up! All you have to do is choose one of the three options: Red, White, or a Mixed case. In the Red and White cases, you’ll get 7 unique wines, so you’ll end up with a few duplicates. If you’re feeling adventurous, the Mixed case contains 12 different wines. Variety is the spice of life, indeed!
Once you’ve signed up, you’ll receive 12 bottles about once every 12 weeks. It’s essentially a bottle per week, which is a nice pace whether you’re new to the world of wine, or a seasoned sommelier. Best of all, there’s zero commitment, and you can cancel your subscription anytime. Feel like you’ve found your perfect wines? Wonderful! You can leave the Wine Insiders club, and still order your favorites on your own terms.
Wine Insiders has an amazing promotion right now: on your first order you’ll get 3 bonus bottles of 2019 Leo by Leo Bordeaux Supérieur. In your second shipment, you’ll get another bonus, a free 7-Piece Lever Pull Corkscrew Set valued at nearly $60. That deal applies to the first order only, and your next shipments will cost $139.95 each.
Popular Wine Insiders Wines
So… What should you get? There are hundreds of wines to choose from on Wine Insiders: reds, whites, dessert, rosé, sparkling. You can buy single bottles, gift sets, and specially curated collections. Each wine on the site is described beautifully, with food pairings in abundance, and the flavour notes are clearly stated, which is super helpful. No matter if you’re looking for a nice red to go along with your steak dinner, or a light white for your Sunday brunch, you’ll find it here.
Under the Discover tab on the site, you’ll find 2 very important sections called Great Deals and Curations. Sure, you can browse the Winemakers and the Wine 101 tabs too, but I can guarantee that you’ll find excellent wines much easier this way.
Great Deals are pretty self explanatory, and Curations are lists of Customer Favorites, New Arrivals, Staff Picks, etc. In this Wine Insiders wine club review, we’ll go over some of the most popular wines and sets.
Martha Stewart Entertaining Must-Haves Half Case
Of course, we can’t talk about Wine Insiders without mentioning the Martha Stewart collections! The Martha Stewart Entertaining Must-Haves Half Case is described on the site as six food-friendly wines to have on-hand for hosting. It includes 3 whites and 3 reds, and true to the description, all the wines listed include a detailed writeup about which foods pair best with each.
You know exactly what you’re getting when you order this half case, and can even plan your next few meals or dinner parties accordingly. This Martha Stewart collection from Wine Insiders comes with:
- 2018 Pretium Malbec
- 2018 Flat Rock Chardonnay
- 2017 Cedarbrook Pinot Grigio
- 2019 Fuerza de la Tierra Tempranillo
- 2018 Stone & Glass Red Blend
- 2019 Cantina Di Solopaca Falanghina I.G.P.
The Martha Stewart Entertaining Must-Haves Half Case costs $92, which comes to $15.33 per bottle. Not bad at all, especially when the traditional retail price would have ended up being $121.44. There’s also the option to buy a full case for $177, dropping the per bottle price to $14.75.
I like this Wine Insiders pack, because it really sets you up for an experience with the pairing suggestions. Can you picture it now? It’s your turn to entertain your friends or family, and no matter what the meal is, you’ll have a wine on hand that goes with it. Brilliant!
90+ Rated Wines Under $20: 2018 Fog Harbor Cabernet Sauvignon
This wine is marked as a Customer Favorite, and has a 4.5 star rating on the Wine Insiders site. It’s included in the collection of 90+ Rated Wines Under $20. Currently, there are 24 wines on the 90+ rated list, so the exclusivity is simply oozing.
The Fog Harbor Cabernet Sauvignon won gold in the 2020 Toast of the Coast Wine Competition, which takes place annually in Del Mar, California. It’s succinctly described as a powerful red. Its flavor notes are black cherry, currant, vanilla, and herbs. Honestly, it sounds delicious. Especially that black cherry, just imagine a steak dinner finished with black forest cake, and this Cabernet Sauvignon. Excuse me while I salivate over here!
The Fog Harbor Cabernet Sauvignon is a solid bet if you’re looking for a delicious yet inexpensive wine. The Wine Insiders price is $15, so you can impress your guests for less.
Customer Favorite: Abbazia Moscato Vino Dolce I.G.T.
I mean, it’s in the name! According to Wine Insiders, this sweet and beautifully floral wine is ideal as an aperitif or with a delectable dessert. Moscato wines are known for their sweetness, and they’re made from muscat grapes. It’s not as strong as your usual wines, with an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 6% (most wines are commonly 10-15%).
Like the Fog Harbour Cabernet Sauvignon, the Abbazia Moscato Vino Dolce I.G.T. has the Customer Favorites stamp of approval, and sits at 4.5 stars with 105+ ratings on Wine Insiders. While flavour notes are not provided, it’s described as a fun and spritzy wine. This moscato wine rings in at $13, a steal in my opinion.
The Customer Favorites section is a good go-to, especially if you’re the type that enjoys reading reviews. Why else would you be looking at our Wine Insiders wine club review? Right now, there are 75 well-loved wines on the list, so there’s a little something for everyone!
Award Winners: 2019 Cocoparra Chiraz
The Award Winners section is for primo wines only. There are no vintages or pricey wines here, just tasty vino with great value. The initial description of Cocoparra Chiraz is simply: Rich cherries. Silky cocoa. 100% Australian. This wine won a silver medal in its category (Shiraz) at the 2020 Monterey International Wine Competition, which takes place annually in King City, California. This shiraz is big, bold, and is made sustainably.
The price is right, too, at a mere $12.99. Seems like very little for an award-winning wine, considering that other wines in the same competition (even silver winners!) can cost upwards of $40, as much as $110 from other sellers. There are currently 84 wines to choose from in the Award Winners category on Wine Insiders, the most expensive of which is only $25.
Magnum Mania: Opera Maestra Prosecco Magnum Duo
Are you a Magnum Maniac? A magnum is a bottle double the size of a standard 750-ml wine bottle. That’s a whopping 1500 millilitres of wine in a single bottle. The Opera Maestra Prosecco Magnum Duo is great for when you have the whole neighbourhood over, or just if you have exceptionally large wine glasses…Bring on the bubbly!
You can buy from the Magnum collection in sets of 3, 2, or as single bottles. The Opera Maestra Prosecco Magnum Duo is one of the featured sets right now, and costs $80. You’re essentially getting 4 bottles, so that’s about $20 per bottle. As you can tell from this Wine Insiders wine club review, we’re a fan of multi-packs.
6-Bottle Wine Sets: Best of France Half Case
The Best of France Half Case is categorized in both the 6-bottle sets, and Worldwide Wine sets. It’s a mixed pack, so in it you’ll receive three reds, 2 whites, and a rosé. The reds are all Bordeaux, which means the wineries are located in the Bordeaux region of France, and are made from a mix of different grapes. Bordeaux to the wine world is like the wardrobe to Narnia… It’s a pretty big deal.
The two white wines in the Best of France Half Case are a Chardonnay and a white blend (meaning more than 1 grape variety), so once again their uses and flavors are quite different. The half case comes with:
- 2018 Château Le Redon Bordeaux Rouge
- 2018 Château du Colombier Bordeaux Rouge
- 2016 Château Baron Bellevue Côtes de Bourg Bordeaux
- 2019 Le Bosq Vin Blanc
- 2019 Georges Vigouroux Hommage Malbec Rosé
- 2019 De La Rougerie Chardonnay
So… Who else wants to visit all these Châteaux? If you’re interested in trying a specific region’s wines and love your French vino, this set is a great choice. At $94, this Wine Insiders wine club review gives points for affordability.
How Much Does Wine Insiders Cost?
The prices vary across the board on Wine Insiders, but you will not pay more than $30 for a single bottle. That said, the range is from $10-$30, and very few fall into that higher price. The Wine Insider sets range from $238 (13 bottles) to $44 (2 bottles).
When you join the Wine Insiders Club, you’ll receive a selection of 15 wines for $89. Then, approximately every 12 weeks (3 months) until you cancel, you will receive 12 bottles of wine for $140 (plus shipping). In your first order, that works out to $5.93 per bottle, and subsequent orders will be about $11.65 per bottle.
Wine Insiders Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
So, what does everyone think? This Wine Insiders wine club review has done the research! On WineInsiders.com, customers can leave reviews of the wines, and as you might predict, those reviews are great (many have at least 4 star ratings). However, taste is subjective, and even some of the top rated wines have 1 star reviews. Can’t win ‘em all! Our Wine Insiders wine club review focuses on the experience, and the facts. I can’t personally say that every wine tastes amazing, since everyone’s preferences are different.
There are many Wine Insiders reviews out there. Wine Insiders as a company has an A+ from the Better Business Bureau, and nearly a 5 star rating on Consumers Advocate. There are some negative customer reviews on Consumers Advocate, a few of which had issues with the taste or quality of the wines, as 2 customers commented: every bottle was terrible, and a few bottles were just undrinkable. A couple of people claimed that they did not receive their orders, but there are also positive comments, like this Wine Insiders wine club review: We’ve been very satisfied and happy customers for nearly 3 years now. Not once have we had a single bottle that wasn’t “quite acceptable” to “marvelous.”
It’s hard to get a general consensus, because as I said, taste is subjective. Some customers were not satisfied with the quality of their order, and some loved every bottle. While there are multiple reports of shipping issues and customer service issues, people also commented that shipping is solid and customer service is great… This Wine Insider wine club review has deduced: it’s a mixed bag, and it might be best to try it yourself.
Is Wine Insiders Worth It?
You’re probably wondering, is Wine Insiders a good deal? Clearly it depends on your experience with wine and your preferences. If you’re interested in trying a variety of wines at a reasonable price, it’ll likely be worth it. Buying through Wine Insiders is not as pricey as buying a case from the supermarket or liquor store, and you don’t have to put the work in to figure out what to buy. They’ve also provided a chart showing the pricing difference:
This Wine Insiders wine club review says: while you can definitely find great wines at excellent prices in person, Wine Insiders takes some of the guesswork out of searching. Customers who know exactly what they want, or those who are looking for vintage and rare bottles, may not find Wine Insiders worth it at all, and that’s OK.
Wine Insiders Promotions & Discounts
The Wine Insiders site is absolutely full of coupons and deals, wherever you click. Here are a few:
- Shop 3, 2, and 1-bottle Magnum sets at 50% OFF. At 1.5L, each Magnum is double the size of a standard-sized wine bottle. Enter the Wine Insiders promo code “Magnum” at checkout.
- Refer a Friend – Give $50, Get $50. Give your friends $50 off their first purchase of $100+. They’ll save, and you’ll get a $50 coupon when they buy.
- Use code SUMMERSIPS30 at checkout to uncork 30% off sitewide.
- Use code ROSEALLDAY35 to apply a discount.
I know what you’re thinking of typing into your search bar: Groupon Wine Insiders. Or maybe Wine Insiders Groupon? You’re in luck! There are Groupons for Wine Insiders, it’s actually a pretty popular option for deal-seekers.
Wine Insiders Club Sign Up
To join the Wine Insiders Club follow these steps:
- Go to WineInsiders.com and click on the ‘Club’ tab
- Choose which case you want: Red, White, or Mixed
- Enter your email and create an account
- Provide your billing and shipping information
- Click Review Order to make sure it all looks right
- Order!
You’ll receive Wine Insider shipments every 12 weeks, You can cancel, skip a shipment, or change your wine preferences anytime, no commitment. While the first order is $89 and shipping is free, subsequent shipments will be $140 plus $20 for shipping.
FAQ
Cancel Wine Insiders
You may cancel your Wine Insiders membership through the MyAccount Page. You can also call their customer service team to do so (see the Contact section of this Wine Insiders wine club review).
Wine Insiders Shipping Policy
Wine Insiders ships across the US except for Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Utah. They do not ship internationally.
Shipping charges are calculated by weight, so 3-5 bottles has a flat rate of $15, but if you order 6+ bottles shipping is free! There are specific Wine Insiders promotional offers that do not offer free shipping even on those larger orders, so be careful.
You should receive your package around a week after ordering, and you can track your orders on your Wine Insiders account. Because it’s alcohol, the signature of an adult 21 or older is required.
Wine Insiders Return Policy
If you’re not happy with your order, or if it’s damaged, you can email them for details on their return policies. If you get a refund, they’re processed within 48 hours.
Contact Wine Insiders
If you have questions that weren’t covered in this Wine Insiders wine club review, you can contact the team via:
- Live Chat is available on WineInsiders.com, Monday-Friday 9am-6:30pm (EST), excluding holidays
- Wine Insiders Email address: [email protected]
- Wine Insiders Phone number: (800) 615-7304, open Monday-Friday 9am-8pm (EST), excluding holidays
- Wine Insiders Mailing address:
Wine Insiders
2355 Westwood Blvd #791
Los Angeles, CA 90064-2109
Are you thinking Wine Insiders isn’t the right club for you? You’ve got other options! Check out:
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