Jump To:
Our Editorial Review
Customer Reviews
Winc
Summary
Winc sells private label wine on a subscription basis. The company wins points for its selection, but customer reviews indicate that some people aren’t happy with the cancellation policy.
Pros
- Wide variety of wines, ciders, champagne and more
- Lots of information available for every bottle
Cons
- Some customer service complaints
- Expensive shipping unless you sign up for a membership or purchase at least four bottles
Winc Review: An In-Depth Look
By Lydia Noyes
Updated on: Jun 17, 2020
Branding itself as “the Netflix of wine,” Winc (formerly known as Club W) is a monthly subscription service for private label wine, champagne, rosé, cider, and other alcoholic beverages.
The company has curated a collection of hundreds of varieties and promises to make it easier and more pleasurable for you to find the wine you love.
Winc was founded in 2012 by co-founders Xander Oxman and Geoff McFarlane, who teamed up with noted winemaker and sommelier Brian Smith to create a personalized wine club that strips down the barriers for people intimidated by the process of learning what wines they enjoy.
Today, the company claims their monthly wine club has helped hundreds of thousands of customers learn about new types a wine and find a passion for the drink.
Our analysis will help you decide whether this subscription service is worth it.
How Does Winc Subscription Work?
Winc offers a variety of wine types, including red, white, cider, rose, sparkling, and vegan.
To get started with a Winc subscription, you’ll first share your taste preferences through a short survey that asks how you like your coffee, your salt habits, whether you enjoy citrus, salty or earthy flavors, and berries, and whether you prefer red or white wines.
Based on your results, the company will suggest four bottles of wine. If you’re already a customer, these recommendations will also take into account any ratings you left on previous bottles. You have the final say over all varieties and can swap them out or add extra.
The total cost will depend on your bottle selection. It will be between $52–$160 for the four bottles selected for you, though most orders are under $60. Membership shipping is $9 but free for all orders over $50.
Winc will send you a minimum of four bottles every month. It’s up to you to add more bottles if desired. Your order will also include pairing recommendations and recipes to ensure you get the maximum benefit from each bottle.
After you’ve tried each wine, you can leave feedback on the Winc website. Not only does this help other customers with their decisions, but Winc will use your rating to better predict which wines you will like going forward.
Each month you’ll receive credits for purchasing more wine. You can skip a month at any time to avoid paying for credits.
You can also purchase Winc wine without signing up for a subscription. The company sells every bottle on-site at both a standard price point and at a Winc member price approximately 10% less. You’ll need to pay $15 for shipping unless your order includes at least four bottles.
Each wine variety has a full description, complete with tasting notes, alcohol content, and origin information on the company website. You can also look at the rating distribution left by previous Winc customers and get advice on food pairings for each bottle.
While Winc ships across most of the United States, some states aren’t currently eligible for delivery: AK, AL, AR, DE, HI, KY, MI, MS, RI, SD, UT. The company won’t deliver to PO boxes, and an adult over 21 needs to be available to sign for every delivery.
Your subscription will continue indefinitely until you cancel it through your online account. Make sure you do so at least three days before your next shipment date to avoid having it processed and sent out.
If your order arrives damaged or with the wrong wines, you can contact the company to fix the problem. In cases where you refuse your delivery or want to return the wines for other reasons, you’ll need to pay up to a $20 restocking fee.
Pros and Cons of Private Label Wine
As with many subscription wine companies, Winc makes and bottles its own wine through connections with vineyards and winemakers around the world.
The company claims to be committed to small batches so that they can ensure they focus on quality over quantity for every offering.
Though most Winc Wines are available exclusively from the site, a few are sold elsewhere. In the vast majority of cases, Winc wine is private label and only available from the company. What does this mean?
Private label wine as a wine that is sourced from the manufacturer and then managed by the retailer. In other words, Winc purchases wine from a variety of wineries around the world and then puts its own labels on the bottles.
There’s a massive market for this type of wine, as sales have doubled in the past decade to now make up more than 10% of total wine sales. However, this has mixed benefits for the final consumer.
To start, private label wine is often bought in bulk at a low price and then fancied up with labels and even fake “awards” to make it seem distinguished.
Second, it’s often harder to trace the origins of private label wine to specific vineyards or grape batches, which means you’ll be less likely to know if you’re really getting what you’re paying for.
That’s not to say all private label wine is lower quality. Some wineries actually sell off their best quality wine for private labeling because doing so ensures they have a buyer and an immediate profit. As with all wines, determining whether a bottle is good or bad will primarily come down to personal preferences.
Analysis of Customer Reviews
Over 50 Winc customers have left reviews on our website. Just a quarter of these reviewers (28%) would recommend the service to their friends, and the company averages 2.2-stars overall.
Common Compliments:
- Easy to skip months when desired
- Good discounts on bulk purchases
- Convenient auto-ship program
Common Complaints:
- Difficult to cancel subscriptions
- Low-quality wine for expensive prices
- Customer service not helpful for dealing with wrong orders
- Hard to control the timing of deliveries (buyers had to ensure they were home to accept deliveries)
- Some people had their cards charged even after they thought they had canceled their order
Popular Alternatives
| Winc | Firstleaf | VineBox | Bright Cellar | Tasting Room | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost Per Delivery | $52–$59 for four bottles | $79 for six bottles plus $9.95 shipping | $72 (annual), $79 (quarterly) $87 (one-time purchase) for quarterly delivery of nine wine samples | $80 for four bottles, plus $8 shipping | $9.95 for a tasting kit of mini bottles, then $149 for 12 full-size bottles |
| Cost Per Bottle | $12.99–$74.99 | $13.99–$31.99 | Wines are sold as single glass samples (around $8.75–$10 per glass) | $20 each | $13 each |
| Restocking Fee (Returns/ Undeliverable Purchases) | Up to $20 | $20 | $10 | $25 | $15 |
| Private Label Wine | Yes | Up to 80% is a private label | No, all samples come from premium wineries around the world | Some private label, some from larger wineries | Yes |
Each of these subscription clubs offers something slightly different, though Winc, Firstleaf, and Bright Cellar are all fairly similar. Each offers majority private label, full-sized wines on a subscription basis. Though each plan has a set amount of bottles that you receive per order, you can add extras easily.
VineBox and Tasting Room are both slightly different. VineBox sells wine only by the glass in specialized vials that are designed to keep it as fresh as if you had just popped the cork from the bottle. You also have fewer options for customization as the company curates the samples based on specific themes.
These samples come from pricey bottles and cost up to $10 per vial. However, that’s a cost-savings compared to buying the full bottle only to find out you didn’t love it and wasted your money.
Tasting Room can be viewed as a combination of these two subscription systems. The company offers primarily private label wine, but you can try each flavor as a sample before committing to a full-size bottle. Just keep in mind that if you sign up for the samples you are committing to at least one delivery of full-sized bottles before you can cancel your subscription.
The Bottom Line
Winc offers a convenient way to receive wine on a subscription basis and have it delivered directly to your door.
The company offers a broad selection of wines from around the world. These wines are all private label, which means, in most cases, it’s impossible to do much cost comparison or read many reviews of specific bottles outside of the Winc website.
Overall, Winc is offering a similar service as many monthly wine membership clubs. We like that the company offers more flexibility than most with how many bottles you receive a month and by letting you skip scheduled deliveries without canceling your membership. However, you might find the wine quality to be hit or miss compared to what’s available from traditional retailers.
Winc makes sense for those who want a fun way to try new wines, but there are other options available as well. You might want to sign up for several on a trial basis until you learn which has the wine that resonates most with you.
Customer Reviews
Posted on Jun 19, 2015
Best Wine Club EVER. Hands Down.
Super surprised by the low reviews on this site. Have you actually experienced the awesome-ness that is Club W?
- Personalized wine – I take a short, quick quiz on the different tastes I like - spicy food, mushrooms, and berries and then they match me with wine that has similar flavors. AMAZING. I was recommended some awesome bottles.
- Choice – I was able to go with my recommendations or choose bottles I wanted. I watched the videos that went with the wines I thought would be tasty, and got a sense for whether I would like them or not. You can order as many as you want & any order over six bottles has free shipping... WIN!
- Quick, convenient delivery – I got the wine in two days. three bottles for $39 delivered to my office in a sleek, light-weight box with a handle for easy carrying! The wines came with awesome recipe cards and tasting notes!
- Not a scam – Before my next order, they sent me an email reminding me to go select my wines before my next shipment. Super helpful. I chose a couple new bottles (my new recommendations!) and got them a few days later.
This is the best wine club out there. These wines are actually a huge steal, Napa Cab for $13? Yes, please.
I totally recommend Club W to all my friends.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
6 People Have Voted
Posted on Jul 17, 2015
I think they're great.
I find the list of negative reviews below to be very odd - my experience with Club W has been nothing but positive. When signing up, it was very clear that there was a monthly commitment that can be canceled with an easy phone call (although I'm aware of a current "trend" that actually talking to someone on the phone is seen as a horrible thing). I've tried 30 bottles in the last three months. Most of them were excellent and interesting; the worst was no worse than pretty good. Living in an apartment building, we have a doorman who can accept delivery, which is very easy. So for me, the experience is fun, new, and fulfilling. I have no negative comments.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
5 People Have Voted
Posted on Oct 31, 2015
Love this company
I'm a very satisfied member but want to share a cancellation story. My father was a satisfied Club W member but recently needed to cancel his subscription due to an illness - extended stage lung cancer. When he called to cancel the Club W rep. did inquire why and he was forthright with her. She processed the cancelation flawlessly and wished him thoughts and prayers. He later received a personal card from the Club W. rep he had never met wishing him the best in his fight against cancer. It’s the little things that matter - unfortunately this thoughtfulness can be a rarity in our business culture today.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
2 People Have Voted
Posted on Nov 26, 2015
It's a monthly pick-me-up
I like this service. It's easy to put a shipment on hold (I'm a single woman and am rollin' in wine at the moment), the customer service people have been nice, and it's kind of neat to get 3 bottles of wine at my door each month for a reasonable price.
I'm impressed with the videos they make describing the wines, the recipe cards and descriptions that come with each shipment. It's very well thought-out.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
2 People Have Voted
Posted on Jan 21, 2016
Buy Smart
Club W was recommended by a friend. For a year I've been a satisfied customer. Yes, the wines vary in appeal, especially initially; that's cause to intelligently rate your bottles as you uncork them. In doing so you will draw more wines that appeal to your tastes into your prospect lists. For a bottle that severely disappoints, Club W honors its promise to fully refund the purchase price. I've had a few such bottles, and a quick, easy phone call is all it takes to get the disappointing bottle's price credited to my account for a future purchase. Not every wines is 5-Star, but take care to note the ones that aren't and you soon will be amiably sampling wines you can enjoy from around the world.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
1 Person Has Voted
Posted on Feb 19, 2016
Good product and customer service
I was quite pleased with my wine, and when I wanted to cancel, it was a 30 second phone call, with no hassle. The customer service representative was super friendly, and in a world of sub par customer service, it was enough to make me want to actually review something for once. I would recommend this service to anyone. I will probably re subscribe in a few months, and have wine shipped to family for birthdays.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
1 Person Has Voted
Posted on Jun 30, 2016
Great Choice
I started with a Groupon Coupon at a great price for 15 bottles of wine. Yes, it was a deal but I did not care for all the wines received. From there I looked for a wine club and settled on Club W. Yes, I am paying more for 4 bottles of wine and free shipping. However, I have enjoyed the wines recommended as a result of the survey I took when I joined. There are ways to save which is nice, but for me it is more about enjoying a wine at a reasonable price. I am sorry though that a wine that I did enjoy was no longer available. However, it forced me to try another new one that I liked even better.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Posted on Jul 4, 2016
Excellent wine adventure
I have been a Club W member for almost a year, and have so far enjoyed the experience immensely. It's like Christmas each month, when my delivery arrives.
Although I have been a wine drinker for many years, my palate and discernment of what works for me has grown exponentially since joining Club W. Therein lies the real value of Club W.
As a result, within a few short months I decided to become a premier member so as to benefit from even deeper discounts and added benefits. This has reduced my per-bottle price. I usually select one or two of their specific recommendations for me, and I include one or two from the other wines listed, increasing my level of experimentation and surprise. So far, it has been way more "hit" than "miss". I had a couple of bottles that I did not like, but overall, the quality of their wines has been above average, as compared with prior wines I have experienced in that same price range or even higher priced in some instances.
That said, there are a couple of things that I would strongly suggest the company do to improve the Club W experience. First, the wines that are offered are limited in quantity and time period, so if you fall in love with a particular wine, there's a good chance it might not be available any longer once you decide to reorder it. This has happened to me several times. Secondly, I would like to see more variety in their overall selection options.
Club W's value is in helping the wine enthusiast hone and deepen their personal taste preferences without the hit-or-miss aspect of local wine stores and wine store salespeople's recommendations. At least I know that the vast majority of wines I receive will be of very good quality, and that, should I object to a particular wine, they will take care of me with an account credit. I don't know of any wine store that does that. Yes, I can opt to try wines reviewed in wine magazines, but it has been fun receiving my regular shipments and varieties.
Skipping shipments has not been a problem whatsoever either. I have even been provided with a free Club W sommelier phone consultation to ask any wine questions I had, It was very educational, informative and pleasant.
I take a little bit of issue with Highya's review comments that suggests the wine labels and pricing are what influence one's opinions. While that may be initially true, the ongoing process of sampling a wide variety of wines over time, soon develops into a discernment of what a good wine should taste like, regardless of price and labeling. That has been the case with my own experience. My husband and I have both become more adept at identifying the nuances of what makes a wine taste good, at least for us! We will eventually expand to other wine sources to broaden our choices, but so far so good.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
3 People Have Voted
Posted on Jul 26, 2016
It's not rocket science folks – It's WINE.
This is CLEARLY a monthly wine subscription. I've been a member for years with only minor complaints. The wines I receive are great. My wife really enjoys the whites, and I like the reds, especially the Malbecs from Argentina and ANYTHING they send from Spain has been terrific. I've gotten some bad wines, but I expect some good and some bad from an adventurous wine club.
My mother LIVES in Napa so I know and drink great wine all day long. If you want snob wine, this is not for you. If you want a fun experience with above average (and some great) wines... give them a try.
I had one issue where the wine arrived very warm (in Phoenix) and had to send the wine back. That problem has been fixed.
I don't know if it's hard to cancel as I don't plan to! But all my interactions with customer service have been pleasant and they fixed anything I needed with a smile.
Overall Club W is something I plan on staying with for a long time and I recommend it to people all the time.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
3 People Have Voted
Posted on Jul 23, 2017
I love Club W
I've been getting Wine delivered from Club W, now Winc for over 3 years. I am very happy with the service and with the wine. I order a lot of wine and I've only ever had 1 wine that I didn't like.
They start off with a questionnaire and then recommend 3 or 4 wines a month, depending on your answers. You can choose to taste those wines or you can switch them out for wines you like.
The delivery is free as long as you get 4 bottles of wine. I usually get 12 bottles and get the case discount.
I like that I'm able to skip months when need to and it's not a hassle. You can do it right on the site.
I plan on being a member as long as they're around.
Good quality, reasonably priced wine delivered for free to my door step. You can't go wrong.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
1 Person Has Voted
Posted on Jul 18, 2015
Definitely not a scam.
I thought it was very clearly written that it was a monthly wine service. Not sure why so many people are saying it was a scam. I mean at worst, you got some more wine.
I just upped my order from 3 to 6 bottles for next month. All were good wine, and it’s great for a novice wine drinker. They give you descriptions of the taste which is something I love. I hated going into a grocery store and having no idea what I was getting into. Or worse yet, someone asking me what the wine was like and I bought it blind. For each wine they have videos, food pairings, and recipes.
It’s a pretty cool site and definitely not a scam.
Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Helpful Review?
10 People Have Voted
Our Promise to You
In order to safeguard you and ensure helpfulness and relevance, our compliance team manually assess every customer review before it goes live.
We have a zero-tolerance policy for fake reviews, and companies cannot control or alter any reviews at any time.
You May Also Be Interested In:
FirstLeaf Wine Subscription Review: A Detailed Look
Firstleaf is a wine subscription service that tailors its deliveries to your taste preferences, based on an algorithm that relies on your rankings for every bottle you receive.
Splash Wines Review: Details: Cost, and More
Splash Wines provides excellent prices for individual bottle purchases as well as six and 15-bottle subscriptions, all while never charging members more than a 15% markup on the wines they buy.
Flaviar Review: Will It Provide You with a Better Way to Experience Fine Spirits?
Flaviar offers a quarterly subscription program for rare and premium liquors from around the world and lets you sample a variety of flavors without committing to a full bottle. Overwhelmingly positive customer reviews indicate this subscription company really delivers.