Hi,

I'm a businessman looking at starting a new type of wine club. A wine
club being where a membership fee gets our changing selection of wines
delivered to you on a regular basis.

If you're part of a club at the moment, I'd love to know what you like
most and least about that club?

What, if anything, would motivate you to change to another club (let's
assume the pricing is similar)?

If you used to be in a wine club, why did you leave?

If you have thought or joining a club, what were your reasons for
wanting to, and what made you consider one club over another?

What if anything has stopped you joining a wne club?

Bit of thinking excersise I know, but I'd love to hear what you guys
have to say.

Dylan.

This is a little off topic, but might be of info for some to start a "local"
wine club.

Here at our local parish church, we have started a wine club about a year
ago, to enjoy each others fellowship and knowledge of different wines. We
have received a good response from our community as well.

Our lead moderators are a restaurant owner and manager and they supply the
wine that is being discused that month. It could be reds, or whites, or by
country or regions.

Everyone is encouraged to moderate each month, which gives a person a chance
to research the wine they would like to talk about, then they contact the
restaurant owner who in turns purchases the wine for that month's topic.

We charge $5.00 at the door for tastings, then they sell off any half
bottles and usually they bring two or three of each wine to sell to us at
their cost afterwards.

Likes: Assorted cheeses and crackers accompany our meeting and a jolly good
time is had by all, as we learn about the world of wine each month.
Friendships are created and our club is now up to 14 attendees.

Dislikes: that we have it ONLY once a month.

Fr. RED+
"djay" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I'm a businessman looking at starting a new type of wine club. A wine
> club being where a membership fee gets our changing selection of wines
> delivered to you on a regular basis.
>
> If you're part of a club at the moment, I'd love to know what you like
> most and least about that club?
>
> What, if anything, would motivate you to change to another club (let's
> assume the pricing is similar)?
>
> If you used to be in a wine club, why did you leave?
>
> If you have thought or joining a club, what were your reasons for
> wanting to, and what made you consider one club over another?
>
> What if anything has stopped you joining a wne club?
>
> Bit of thinking excersise I know, but I'd love to hear what you guys
> have to say.
>
> Dylan.
>

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:33:55 -0700, djay > wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm a businessman looking at starting a new type of wine club. A wine
>club being where a membership fee gets our changing selection of wines
>delivered to you on a regular basis.
>
>If you're part of a club at the moment, I'd love to know what you like
>most and least about that club?
>
>What, if anything, would motivate you to change to another club (let's
>assume the pricing is similar)?
>
>If you used to be in a wine club, why did you leave?
>
>If you have thought or joining a club, what were your reasons for
>wanting to, and what made you consider one club over another?
>
>What if anything has stopped you joining a wne club?
>
>Bit of thinking excersise I know, but I'd love to hear what you guys
>have to say.
>
>Dylan.

It seems like you're jumping into a crowded pool. Unless you are
situated in the heart of the wine country (make that "A" wine country
somewhere,) you'll have a hard time coming up with quality offerings
at attractive prices that when coupled with packaging, shipping and
handling will still leave you with a profit margin.

Most wine lovers have been in a wine club or two at some time. They do
offer variety and insight into new experiences or varietals that you
might not try. But, more often they devolve into dumping grounds for
economy producers who have been unsuccessful in building market share
by other means. Occasionally there are pearls, but more often it is
simply swine swill.

More successful, at least in my experience, are the clubs from quality
vintners. These offer the wines of a specific producer that the member
is familiar with and which have a style that the member appreciates.
Over the years I've been a member of Ridge, Pine Ridge/Archery Summit,
Justin, Fife, Williams Selyem and other such clubs. They offer quality
wines, discounts for follow-up purchase and opportunity to familiarize
the fan with the wine-making style of that company.

Unless you've got some particular insight into wine marketing, some
unusual connection to the industry, some large amount of venture
capital, or some fantastic hook to set you apart from the masses, I'd
caution against jumping into this pool--it may look wide, but it
isn't deep and therein lie dragons.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com

On Jun 14, 12:06 am, Ed Rasimus > wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:33:55 -0700, djay > wrote:
> >Hi,

> Unless you've got some particular insight into wine marketing, some
> unusual connection to the industry, some large amount of venture
> capital, or some fantastic hook to set you apart from the masses, I'd
> caution against jumping into this pool--it may look wide, but it
> isn't deep and therein lie dragons.

yes I think I have something new, which is my reason for my questions.
It seems to me that there are clearly identifiable problems with the
current offerings of wine clubs. There is a lack of trust in the
offerings of independent wine clubs (it seems for good reason) and a
lack of variety in the vineyard wine clubs. If I can confirm these as
the biggest problem with wine clubs then I'll be better able to
evaluate how effective my idea is. And if indeed these are the biggest
problems then what are the 2nd biggest problems? For instance, if you
had your perfect wine club, what would it be like?

No, I have neither venture capital nor industry connections, but I
believe I'm on to something, so if anyone has either, perhaps they
should get in touch with me.

djay > wrote in news:1181705635.015077.254110
@q19g2000prn.googlegroups.com:

> Hi,
>
> I'm a businessman looking at starting a new type of wine club. A wine
> club being where a membership fee gets our changing selection of wines
> delivered to you on a regular basis.
>
> If you're part of a club at the moment, I'd love to know what you like
> most and least about that club?
>
> What, if anything, would motivate you to change to another club (let's
> assume the pricing is similar)?
>
> If you used to be in a wine club, why did you leave?
>
> If you have thought or joining a club, what were your reasons for
> wanting to, and what made you consider one club over another?
>
> What if anything has stopped you joining a wne club?
>
> Bit of thinking excersise I know, but I'd love to hear what you guys
> have to say.
>
> Dylan.
>
>

No, never did, probably won't, don't like someone else being responsible
for my picks, pushing their agenda. Like to buy, hold, touch and
occassionally drink before purchase.

--
Joseph Coulter
cruises and vacations
www.josephcoulter.com
877 832 2021
904 631 8863 cell

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:41:01 -0700, djay > wrote:

>On Jun 14, 12:06 am, Ed Rasimus > wrote:
>> On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:33:55 -0700, djay > wrote:
>> >Hi,
>
>> Unless you've got some particular insight into wine marketing, some
>> unusual connection to the industry, some large amount of venture
>> capital, or some fantastic hook to set you apart from the masses, I'd
>> caution against jumping into this pool--it may look wide, but it
>> isn't deep and therein lie dragons.
>
>yes I think I have something new, which is my reason for my questions.
>It seems to me that there are clearly identifiable problems with the
>current offerings of wine clubs. There is a lack of trust in the
>offerings of independent wine clubs (it seems for good reason) and a
>lack of variety in the vineyard wine clubs. If I can confirm these as
>the biggest problem with wine clubs then I'll be better able to
>evaluate how effective my idea is. And if indeed these are the biggest
>problems then what are the 2nd biggest problems? For instance, if you
>had your perfect wine club, what would it be like?
>
>No, I have neither venture capital nor industry connections, but I
>believe I'm on to something, so if anyone has either, perhaps they
>should get in touch with me.


To me, there's no such thing as the perfect wine club.

I have never belonged to a wine club, and I never will. I have no
interest in such clubs. I want to pick what I drink myself, and I'm
not interested in what a club chooses for me.

I don't belong to the Book-of-the-month club either, for exactly the
same reason.

--
Ken Blake
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

> I have never belonged to a wine club, and I never will. I have no
> interest in such clubs. I want to pick what I drink myself, and I'm
> not interested in what a club chooses for me.

In actual fact, people who are motivated to be part of this group and
discuss wine are likely to be exactly like you, motivated enough to
want control, ie NOT the market that wine clubs are of value too.

Having done some more research, it does turn out that my idea is not
unique and has been implemented by both www.bottlenotes.com and
www.wineq.com. Ie a customised wineclub where your ratings lead to
customised cases to suit your tastes.

Do you think these overcome the problems highlighted with bias and
reputation that wine clubs seem to suffer from?

Obviously if you know your wine and want to pick it your self then
these are still not for you, or would they still be interest to you
guys?

djay wrote:
>> I have never belonged to a wine club, and I never will. I have no
>> interest in such clubs. I want to pick what I drink myself, and I'm
>> not interested in what a club chooses for me.
>
> In actual fact, people who are motivated to be part of this group and
> discuss wine are likely to be exactly like you, motivated enough to
> want control, ie NOT the market that wine clubs are of value too.
>
> Having done some more research, it does turn out that my idea is not
> unique and has been implemented by both www.bottlenotes.com and
> www.wineq.com. Ie a customised wineclub where your ratings lead to
> customised cases to suit your tastes.
>
> Do you think these overcome the problems highlighted with bias and
> reputation that wine clubs seem to suffer from?
>
> Obviously if you know your wine and want to pick it your self then
> these are still not for you, or would they still be interest to you
> guys?
>

I'm jumping in a little late here, but I have in the past belonged to
several different wine clubs. They are an excellent way to learn about
wine provided that you have joined a club that features quality wines.
However, I no longer belong to any clubs. Here are the reasons:

1. Selection: often I can find more interesting wines on my own than the
club can.

2. Pricing: most clubs feature wines that are pricier than those I want
to "experiment" with

3. Individuality: My tastes are unique to me; the foods that I want to
accompany with wine are likewise unique to me. How can a club that sends
the same wines to everyone tailor their selection to my tastes?

The only club that would interest me today would be one that found wines
that I couldn't easily get on my own, sold them to me at discount and
selected wines suited to my tastes. Even then, I'd have to have some
control on frequency and amounts, since my wine budget isn't constant
and some times I might not want to buy any more wines.

When I read that last paragraph, I say to myself "that sounds like what
a good wine shop does" and that is the truth. If I were to do something
like this, I'd probably go for one of the "sampler cases" from Chambers
St. Wines in NYC (http://www.chambersstwines.com), a shop that I know
and trust.

I agree with you that having a dynamic selection that is tailored to an
individual's tastes sounds like a nice twist, but my experiences with
Amazon.com's attempts at finding items of interest to me has left me a
bit skeptical about the reliability of the algorithms.

Mark Lipton
--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com