10 Wine Subscription Boxes They’ll Crack Open Immediately

10 Wine Subscription Boxes They’ll Crack Open Immediately

I’m a casual drinker and will be the first to admit that I know zilch about what’s in my glass most of the time. I have enough trouble picking out a bottle of wine to bring to a dinner party, let alone finding something that feels special enough for a gift.

If you’ve also accepted that your knowledge about grapes and varietals is barely there, but are still set on gifting a bottle of vino to your fave oenophile or newbie, wine subscription boxes are the perfect solution. They’re thoughtful and show the giftee that you respect their palate enough to leave the actual wine selection to the experts. In fact, you can hear their sigh of relief right about now.

Even better, a subscription service will keep them flush with fresh bottles for months to come. With so many options, there’s a wine subscription for literally everyone (that is of age, of course). So sit back and scroll through this list to find our 10 favorite wine subscription services. But whatever you do, please do not wrap up a random bottle you got at the grocery store and put it under the tree. You can do better.

Note: Most alcohol companies cannot ship to the following states: AK, AL, AR, DE, HI, KY, MI, MS, NJ, RI, SD, and UT, so we recommend reading the fine print before you purchase if you’re looking to gift to someone who lives in one of those states.

Photo by Winc

1. Winc Monthly Wine Club, $39+

Best for: Newbies looking to learn more about what they like

Pricing: From $39 a month for three bottles

Winc has been helping people find unique wines since 2012. If they don’t know much about wine, Winc is the perfect service and makes finding delicious wine simple and enjoyable. With its online Palate Profile, Winc asks users questions to get an understanding of what they like and then it curates bottles accordingly that they can choose from. They can read up on the details of each bottle, like tasting notes, ratings from other Winc members, and sweetness levels, before deciding whether or not to add it to their cart for the month.

Each monthly box contains a minimum of three bottles, but there’s no commitment. Users can pause their subscription at any time or add more bottles if they want. As they try more wines from Winc, they can leave ratings to help inform their future picks. Winc works with vineyards and winemakers all over the world and has produced hundreds of wines, so you can be sure they’ll find a bottle (or a few) they love in each box.

Photo by Wonderful Wine Co.

2. The Wonderful Wine Co., $51+

Best for: Environmentally-conscious folk

Pricing: From $51 for three bottles to $182.75 for 12 bottles

If sustainability and clean ingredients are at the top of their priority list, they’ll love The Wonderful Wine Co. I used to think that wine was just fermented grapes, so I never cared much to look into how the blends were produced. Wow, was I mistaken. As I’ve learned more about the topic, it turns out there is a lot that goes into getting a glass to your dinner table.

This clean wine brand is focused on creating delicious blends as responsibly as possible. When it comes to the wine itself, expect great grapes and not much else. There are no added sugars, pesticides, and the wines are all low in sulfites. Beyond the blends themselves, The Wonderful Wine Co. is focused on providing a more eco-friendly packaging and shipping process, which includes using 100% biodegradable cork, 95% compostable shipment boxes, and lightweight glass that requires 20% less energy to produce than your typical glass bottle.

The Wonderful Wine Co.’s selection is well-curated with just a few varietals, including a buzzy orange wine. For the subscription, choose a varietal (or the starter pack which offers a mix), the number of bottles in each box (3, 6, or 9), and how often you’d like to have it shipped (every 30, 60, or 90 days). While boxes are automatically delivered based on this schedule, they can still be modified or canceled at any time.

Photo by Usual Wines

3. Usual Wines, $48+

Best for: People who just want one glass

Pricing: From $48 for six glasses to $192 for 24 glasses

One of the most annoying things about living alone is opening a nice bottle of wine just to drink one glass and let the rest go rancid. What a waste! Usual Wines has come up with a simple fix—selling wines by the glass, in a bottle. Each glass bottle of Usual Wine holds a hefty pour, so your sips are always fresh and bottles never get wasted.

The selection is relatively small—Brut, Rosé, Red, Semi-Sparkling Rosé, Reserve, and some wine spritzes are all you’ll find. But if there’s someone in your life who gets overwhelmed by the vast amount of wines out there, they’ll love Usual’s simplicity. You can choose from 6, 12, 18, or 24-packs that ship out monthly.

Photo by SommSelect

4. SommSelect Monthly Wine Club, $99+

Best for: Aspiring wine connoisseurs
Pricing: From $99 a month for four bottles and up to $220 a month for six bottles

If they’re looking for a great glass of vino and to grow their repertoire of wine knowledge, SommSelect is a great service. Founded by Master Sommelier Ian Cauble, this subscription provides delicious wines as well as a host of educational resources with each shipment.

With their bottles are tasting notes, wine pairings, and more. One of the most unique things about this subscription is that every delivery is centered around a theme whether that be a region or a type of grape and everything is curated by Cauble himself. If they really want to channel their inner sommelier, the blind tasting box comes complete with everything they need to expand their palate and test their wine skills each month.

Photo by WSJwines

5. WSJwines Wine Clubs, $159.99+

Best for: Discovering new blends (and we mean a lot)

Pricing: Discovery Club (12 bottles for $159.99 each quarter) or Premier Club (12 bottles for $259.99 each quarter)

With so many choices out there, it can be hard to know what wines are really worth trying, let alone gifting. Luckily, WSJwines Wine Clubs do the heavy lifting for you. The program has two tiers: The Discovery Club and The Premier Club. While both will keep the recipient stocked with 12 (!!) delicious wines each quarter, the Premier Club offers a more premium selection, which explains the price.

Choose from reds, whites, or a mix of both—whatever they prefer. Because wine is so subjective, we love that WSJwines offers a 100% money-back guarantee.

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Photo by Bright Cellars

6. Bright Cellars, $80

Best for: People who don’t really know what they like

Pricing: $80 a month for four bottles

A wine club with a high-tech take, Bright Cellars was founded by two MIT graduates who thought there had to be a better way to find the perfect bottle of wine. The service starts with a short quiz with questions like favorite wine pairings and even tea preferences that inform an algorithm about their taste preferences. From there, four wines are picked out that match their palate. All of the wines are sourced from around the world and sampled by a team of in-house sommeliers, so you know they’re top notch.

Your recipient can choose a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly delivery, depending on their preferences. As time goes on and they rank the wines, the algorithm will get to know their preferences better, curating even more bottles adapted to what they do or don’t like. And if they don’t love a bottle that comes their way, they can reach out to Bright Cellars for a replacement.

Photo by Martha Stewart Wine Club

7. Martha Stewart Wine Club, $89.88

Best for: People who love entertaining

Pricing: $89.88 for 12 bottles

Like the queen of entertaining herself, this subscription is perfect for those who love throwing a good gathering. Not only is the service priced very reasonably, with 12 bottles for $90, but it comes with all of the accoutrements they need to make sure each glass is enjoyed to the fullest. Shipments go out every 12 weeks (with free delivery, too) and comes with serving, pairing, and entertaining suggestions for each bottle, as well as tasting guides.

Choose from a box that includes all reds, all whites, or a mix of the two. Even better, the service is so confident in Martha’s picks that if your giftee doesn’t like one, they’ll replace the bottle for free.

Photo by Vegan Wines Wine Club

8. Vegan Wines Wine Club, $164+

Best for: Vegans

Pricing: $164-$176 for six bottles each season

Consider how surprised I was to find that not all wine is vegan! I mean, it’s just grapes, right? Technically yes, but no. Some of the agents used in the clarifying process of wines aren’t vegan unfortunately, which means your favorite vegan friends may not be able to indulge in the same wines you love. The answer? A Vegan Wines subscription.

This subscriptions sends a box of six hand-selected, always-vegan (and often organic) wines to their doorstep four times a year. The shipments are customizable, so they can add extra bottles if they’d like. The shipments come with tasting notes, plant-based recipes, food pairings, and there’s even an option to add vegan cheeses to each shipment for an added cost.

Photo by Acid League Wine Proxies

9. Acid League Wine Proxies, $59.50

Best for: Non-drinkers and adventurous palates

Pricing: $59.50 for three bottles a month

Just because someone doesn’t want to drink alcohol doesn’t mean they can’t partake in the experience or social atmosphere. For some, the ritual of popping the cork on a cold bottle of wine and pouring it into their fanciest glass is soothing and relaxing. For others, they might just want to drink something that isn’t water, coffee, or booze. Whether they’re fully sober or approaching their relationship with alcohol with a bit more nuance these days, Acid League’s Wine Proxies are a great option.

They’re a blend of juices, teas, spices, bitters, and more that have the same complexity and layers as wine but don’t have any alcohol. And just like with wine, these bottles are best savored and sipped slowly from some luscious stemware. With a subscription, they’ll get a shipment of fresh proxies each month, created and curated by Acid League’s “proxymaker.” Online, they can find tasting notes, core components, and food pairings. They can pause, skip, or cancel at any time.

Photo by FirstLeaf

10. FirstLeaf, $39.95

Best for: People looking to figure out what wines they love

Pricing: From $39.95 for six bottles

With so many wines out there, and so many tasting notes to decipher, sometimes it can feel like you’d have to try a thousand wines just to find one you love. For those who are indecisive and still figuring out what they love, FirstLeaf makes things simple.

Like many other wine subscriptions, FirstLeaf starts with a quiz to understand their palate. The first month is a great deal at just $39.95 for six bottles. As they drink the wines specifically selected for them, they can rate their wines and further personalize their future orders. FirstLeaf’s shipments are flexible, so they can pause or even double their deliveries whenever they please. FirstLeaf claims its predictions have a 98 percent accuracy rate and believes in them so strongly that if someone receives a wine they don’t love, FirstLeaf will credit them back.

Which wine subscription speaks to your soul? Let us know below!
This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.

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