Invino Wine Club Review
Have you heard of Invino? Perhaps not. It's a quiet, under the radar, members only club that allows wine lovers to join and create a club catered to them. It's tough to get information about it but that's why Wine Turtle is here - to dig as much as possible and share what we find with you.
Invino is an easy favorite for those who love wine and want to acquire a great selection of bottles at a deep discount. The club is mostly transparent once you're in but finding information can be tricky - we'll get into this more in our review.
This review will give you the rundown on everything related to Invino to help you decide whether or not this is the right club for you or to purchase as a gift for someone else.
Detailed Review of Club W
Club W Wine Club
Price
Quality
Support
Educational Value
We liked
- The quality of wines.
- The way choices are structured.
- Delivery to the 48 contiguous states.
- No fees!
- Inclusion of ice packs.
We didn't like
- The shipping policy.
- Lack of transparency in some areas.
Summary: Invino is a novel format in wine clubs.
About Invino Wine Club
Invino is pretty much invisible. Many people have not heard of the club and perhaps that is their goal - to keep it to word of mouth and a group of wine drinkers that will select based on the types of options they offer. We're not sure but are here to tell you everything we know about the club in order to help you find out if it's the right club for you.
It is impossible to get information about the club without signing up - but signing up does not mean making a purchase. After entering an email and setting up a password or linking to Facebook the enrollment process is easy. it's also very different from what we've seen before. Members select the frequency at which they would like to receive wine (monthly, every other month, quarterly), the amount they would like to spend ($49, $89, $149), the quality of wine (everyday = most bottles, upscale/premium, special occasion = fewer bottles). The general rule is that bottles in the everyday range are about $15/bottle, upscale/premium are about $15-30, and special occasion are $30+. The final step is to select whether the member prefers to get their club by selecting the grapes they want or the region. No matter which is chosen members can get very specific or just pick the first choice (varietal or region) and see what they get! Choosing by varietal also allows the specification of the region - like Pinot Noir from California. There is an option, if members select by varietal, to receive sparkling wines.
While the initial choices seem daunting for those who know more about wine, including what they like, this is an awesome chance to cater to taste OR to filter out and get access to new wines. The club offers a tremendous amount of choice.
Bottles are significantly discounted, some up to 70% per bottle.
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What Does Membership Get Me?
- Monthly, every other month, or quarterly shipments of wines curated to the member's specifications.
- Considerable choice.
- Insider access to private sales and big discounts.
Take Note: This is definitely a good club for those who know a bit about wine. Take the time to review all the choices and build your perfect shipments!
Show Me The Money!
For the most part, it's very easy to figure out cost when it comes to Invino Wine Club.
- Choice of paying $49, $89, or $149 per shipment. There is also a shipping cost.
- Here's what they have to say about shipping, "Shipping wine can be a complicated and pricey endeavor, so the invino shipping department subsidizes shipping costs to deliver the best shipping price for our Members. That means that for all orders $50+, shipping is $5 in California and $10 in the rest of the states year-round; an added handling fee of $2 applies to Massachusetts. *Note: during the warm weather months, special packaging shipping options are highly recommended (but not required), which call for an added fee." -- Yeah, we're not quite sure what that means, either. We believe it means: $5/CA, $10 everywhere else except MA where it's $12. Shipping is not available to Hawaii and Alaska.
- No membership, initial, or cancellation fees.
What We Love: This club really understands that some people have really specific tastes OR want to try new things and have structured choices to allow these tastes to be met.
Things We Like
The Quality of The Wines - Invino Wine Club provides bottles of wine that are priced from below $15 to over $30 allowing for a range of quality.
The Choices - We here at Wine Turtle like things cut and dry -- 3 bottles for $50... a case for $200. But there's something we love about the structure here - being able to select both budget and quality and then having that determine the number of bottles allows members to pay for quality bottles but receive less of them. Why hasn't anyone else thought of that?
Delivery To 48 States - Pennsylvanians, Utes, and the rest of you who usually can't get wine delivered rejoice! Invino has developed a club with shipping that allows nearly every state in the union to enjoy wine by mail.
No Fees - No fee to join, no fee to maintain, no fee to cancel.
Ice, Ice, Baby - During warmer months members can opt to include cooling packs to keep wine at a more stable temperature. Just remember to pop them into a fridge upon delivery and you're all set! This comes at an additional, more than reasonable cost.
Things We Don't Like
Huh? - The shipping is a little tricky to understand. It specifies that for orders over $50 shipping is $5 in CA, $10 in other states they ship to, and $12 for Massachusetts. What happens if you order the $49 option? Is shipping a different amount and if it is, what amount?
Website - While the website is okay for the most part, we think it's silly to have to join in order to see the prices and get more information. Also, if we are going to have to sign up to see these things, then ALL of the information (like shipping) should be easily accessed once signed up.
The Verdict
This might be the best kept secret in wine clubs. While it's tough to dig up information, for a serious wine drinker the price, shipping, and ability to determine the specifications of shipments is incomparable to other clubs which don't offer half the amount of choice. Definitely a club to consider - just call and talk to someone about shipping and you should be all set!
Invino used to be the best club for the reasons you listed, but it appears it no longer works that way. Currently it's set up as essentially an online retailer. Really disappointing, as it was a great experience as a wine club and I can't seem to find a comparable replacement.