Breaking News: Whole Foods is now offering a wine club that can be shipped to your door. (Starting in October, 2014)
That's a pretty interesting development. Most stores want to lure customers in to their brick and mortar locations, in an effort to sell additional products. I, personally, like the wine selection that I've found at my local Whole Foods store, and I like their prices.
The new Whole Foods Wine Club ships a half case (6 bottles) of wine to your door every quarter for $125, including shipping. (Assuming your state can accept wine deliveries. Check your state's wine delivery status here.)
I like the concept of the Whole Foods Wine Club focusing on “hidden gems” and regional wines from all around the world. Read more about the announcement of their Wine Club here.
The debut Whole Foods Wine Club shipment will include:
- Santa Julia Magna 2011 (Argentina)
- H&G Los Carneros Pinot Noir 2012 (California)
- Sea Pines 2013 Chardonnay, Russian River Valley (California)
- Ca’Selva Prosecco (Italy)
- Chateau Boissezon-Guiraud St. Chinian 2012 (France)
- Chateau Fonfroide Bordeaux Rouge 2012 (France)
These are all “hidden gems” that you won't find in other wine clubs.
But, I gotta tell ya, I really think that I'd prefer to get my hidden gems from Etty Lewensztain and her boutique wine club, Plonk Wine Club. You can choose 2, 4 or 12 bottles of her off-the-beaten-path, hard-to-find wines from all around the world that she personally hand-selects. (Check our full review of Plonk Wine Club and my recent post about Plonk Wine Club.)
I've absolutely loved the wines I've received from Plonk Wine Club and think that anyone who likes the concept that Whole Foods Wine Club is promoting, would really prefer Plonk Wine Club, too.
When it comes to buying wine locally? If I'm not going to my favorite local wine shop (Simply Wine in Northville), then I love going to Whole Foods and shopping their expansive wine department! If you haven't checked out their selections, I assure you: You'll be impressed. For a national retailer in the “grocery store space”, Whole Foods really knocks it out of the park with their wine shop. In addition to finding a ton of different wines from all around the world, you'll be happy with the hit on your wallet; Whole Foods has good pricing on their wines. (Many of their wines are hard to find elsewhere, so it may be hard to compare prices. But I've found that Whole Foods' wine prices are consistently fair.)
I also love how Whole Foods has a wine bar — yes a sit down and drink wine bar — in their Austin Store! Very cool.
I've been impressed with Whole Foods' use of their twitter hashtag #WFMwine on social media and how you can find local stores to have wine tastings, like the ones they have at their stores in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Pembroke Pines, Florida.
So, when I say that I'd prefer to order my “hidden gem wines” from Plonk Wine Club, I do so with all of these positives about Whole Foods in mind.
- Yes, I'll still go buy wine from Whole Foods.
- Yes, I still like the whole “Whole Foods Vibe” thing.
- Yes, I'm a fan of Whole Foods, in general.
I think that you'll get a good value and some really nice wines will be delivered in your Whole Foods Wine Club quarterly deliveries. But, when it comes to getting wine delivered to my door, specifically wines that are “hidden gems”, I know I'm in good hands with Plonk Wine Club.
