Why are wine clubs begun? There are any number of reasons. Perhaps it is because they get special pricing available only to members of a wine club, perhaps they want to take advantage of the variety available every month, and some form because of the social interaction and sharing their favorites with their friends.

A wine club will explore wines from other countries and will receive information about varieties, vintages, and wineries from around the world. Many of the makers of wine go back for generations. There are wine clubs all over the world, France, Australia, Italy, Spain, and the United States.

There are wine clubs that just started and there are those that have been going for more than one hundred years. Most of the time those that join the clubs are balanced in knowledge and experience without considering the age of the club that they join. Within these clubs comes advise about the proper way to prepare the glasses, tasting methods, winemaking tips, and what wines go best with what foods etc.

Many times the owners of a particular winery will start a wine club devoted to their wine. They can give out early information about their own product. Have early taste tests and give out early information about their harvests so that their enthusiasts can look forward to knowing early on what they have to look forward to. Often this will also lead to the members being offered certain wines that the rest of the public will not have access to, and very likely at reduced prices.

There is a club that has sampled over one hundred different wines! Their discussions become quite lively. Each of the members have tasted over one hundred different wines so the total ranges in the several hundred range with some overlap but possibly not too much.

At the end of the day these clubs provide the many different members with the know how and background of some of the most passionate and well informed makers and drinkers of wine. The amount of information out there is tremendous.

Because of the Internet and the ease of email the sharing of opinions has become simplified. There have been debates about the best vintage, vineyards, the best soil, climates, etc. Political disagreements may actually pale in comparison.

As far as we have been able to tell no wars have broken out over the debate although there has been rumored that the grape has been responsible in part for more than one. The next time you are invited to a wine tasting party or invited to join a wine club just remember the purpose is to have fun and enjoy the wine!