Should I join a wine club? This is one of the most commonly asked questions I’ve received. Also in the top ten are: “What’s the best wine club?” and “Are wine clubs really a good deal?”

Personally, I don’t currently subscribe to wine clubs, though I have in the past. Many of those seemed like great deals.

I often found that a great price is different from a great deal. Also, as I got more knowledgeable about wine, I found that I could navigate online and retail wine stores and do well without the help of a wine club.

But my experiences were from a few years ago, so I revisited the wine club market and investigated eight clubs. Many resembled my experience in the past, but two stood out. More on that in a second.

Why join a wine club?

I see three primary reasons:

• To replenish your supply of a particular winery’s bottlings that you love
• To have a regular supply of wine come to you with virtually no hassle
• To have a knowledgeable buyer (often with more pricing power than you have) send you interesting wines you would or couldn’t buy yourself