Wine clubbing: Memberships allow wine-lovers to try a variety of bottles, give great gifts and support local businesses

I love knowing that one day soon, my UPS or FedEx driver will exchange my signature for memories I can drink.

I belong to several different wine clubs. Wineries, of course, generally have wine clubs, but so do many retail stores, stand-alone wine retailers—and even television stations like Hallmark and TMC.

Many people who have a wine-club membership sign up while doing a winery tasting. There can be many advantages to joining—free tastings, discounts on wine purchases, free shipping and special events exclusively for wine-club members, for starters. Winery wine clubs can be a great way to keep enjoying wines you know and love at a discount price.

Other wine-lovers join online clubs. Wine-club memberships can cover everything from inexpensive wines, to exclusive wines, international wines, natural wines, regional wines and even wines one can drink while watching specific movies.

For those of you who like to support local businesses, there are plenty of wine clubs for you, too. I covered three Reno-based wineries a couple of months back—and all three of them offer wine clubs with different levels of benefits.

Engine 8 Winery offers a wine club with quarterly shipments or pickups, ranging from $85 to $229 per quarter. The basic starter club is The Caboose Club, which costs $90 per quarter; members receive four bottles of wine, as well as a 5% discount on food, retail and wines. In addition, members get two complimentary flights of three wines, invitations to wine-club events and exclusive special offers. The top level is The Conductors Club. Members get nine bottles of wine per quarter; a 15% discount on wine, food and retail; 20% discounts on bottles and cases; complimentary tours; private tastings on new releases; exclusive limited releases; and more. More information is available at www.engine8urbanwinery.com/wine-club.

Nevada Sunset Winery’s club gives members a 20% discount on all purchases at the winery; early access to new and limited releases; pickup parties with food; and the ability to taste the wines. Members must purchase the four selected bottles of wine twice a year, generally in July and November. Email alynn@nevadasunsetwinery.com for more information.

Great Basin Winery’s club similarly includes four bottles of wine twice a year, pickup events and a discount on all wines. You can learn more by stopping by the winery or emailing info@greatbasinwinery.com.

Reno is also home to an online wine club called Terra Vigna (www.terravigna.com). Owned and operated by Reno resident Vijna Mathew, Terra Vigna specializes in wines produced by small family producers, or wines produced in very limited quantities. The wines are sourced from Argentina, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain; Mathew and co. have personally visited every winery whose wines they sell, many of which are biodynamic. Terra Vigna offers two clubs: Club Terra includes three red wines shipped four times a year for about $100 a shipment. Club Vigna includes three bottles that may be red or white shipped four times a year for approximately $75 per shipment. Club members also receive a 20% discount on all wine purchases, as well as 1 cent ground shipping on any purchase of six bottles or more. Wine club members are the first to be notified when large format bottles or library wines become available.

Last but not least, Reno also has a boutique wine store, Vino 100, with a unique wine club. Members receive two bottles of hand-selected wines per month—members choose whether they’re all reds or whites, or one of each—as well as a complimentary glass of wine during pickup, 10% off any bottle of wine in the store, tech sheets about the wines, a recipe to pair with each wine, and club-only events, for $35 a month.

Vino 100’s owner is Karen Hyatt-Miner; she’s owned the store for more than 11 years. “My club provides wines from all over the world that include interesting and unique wine varieties that most consumers have never experienced,” she said. “When looking to expand your palate, my club allows you to do that at a great price point.”

A great price point indeed, as the value of the wines often exceeds $50.

Bob Dickerson told me why he’s been a member of the club for eight years: “Karen provides an excellent wine club that offers many specialty and limited available wines, that can help expand the wine experience of anyone who loves wine, regardless of their wine knowledge.”

Even if you are not looking to join a club yourself, memberships can make great gifts. I’ve given them as Christmas gifts, corporate gifts and thank you gifts. Not only do these memberships allow me to provide a unique and special present; I get to support a local business at the same time.