Comments on: Wine Club Mistake

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:13:43 +0000

So add me to the list of people who joined the Vinesse club as a trial, planning on doing exactly 3 months for the promised miles, knowing the first month cost was introductory (and hard to find the monthly cost with shipping anywhere) and going in eyes wide open knowing I may or may not get value. I’ve received 2 6-bottle shipments so far, all of which I’ve enjoyed about as much as most random wines I buy. The first 6 was the promised $42 and the second is $112 with shipping. Assuming #3 is the same as #2, that will be a total of $266 for 18 bottles of wine.

Now, the benefit: 6500 FF miles (worth about $65, comparing fares) plus a wine opening set worth about $25. So at the end of the day my net cost is $176 for 18 bottles of wine, or about $10 per bottle.

Given the quality of most $10 bottles I usually buy, I think I’m getting a fair deal. This is mass-produced wine for these clubs and I am not at all surprised at its quality (or lack thereof). You get what you pay for.

Given the sheer volume of customers they must have, seeing a handful of complaints on a complaint-driven website is not surprising to me.

Now, what brings me here? I got offered to join (or switch memebership, it’s not totally clear) the Elevant society, and in doing my due diligence stumbled on this website. I clearly don’t want to pay $30-$35 per bottle for wines worth $10-$15 as Allyen did. Wondering if his was a one-time problem, I’m doing some research.

Just to check, I’ve located the current 2 wines being offered for the Elevant “super-premium” folks:

2008 D Cubed Howell Mountain Zinfandel
Sale Price: $33.00
2007 vintage of same wine available from the winery itself at $37: https://www.dcubedcellars.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=view&category_id=1
Prices in line with other internet offers:
http://www.vinopedia.com/index.jsp?keepdata=true&order=vintage

2008 R. Merlo Estate Hyampom Ranch Trinity County Pinot Noir
Sale Price: $35.00
2006 vintage from the winery is $25: http://www.rmerlo.com/store/
Various prices for 2005/2006 vintages from reputable sources about $20-$25.

In sum: $85 per month for wine you can obtain elsewhere for under $60.

Pros:
* These appear to come from real vineyards, as opposed to the mass-produced wines from the regular club.
* One of the two is fairly priced.

Cons:
* you don’t get to pick wines, so you end up with mediocre wines that you wouldn’t buy for that price anyway
* one of the two is overpriced

My conclusions:
* my 3-month trial of the regular club will probably end up being worth it, considering the 18 bottles I will consume at a net cost of $10 per.
* the elevant club is not worth it for the lack of flexibility, small markup, and “premium” wines advertised as “super-premium”.
* I will probably cancel my membership after my 3rd month shipment arrives (and I get all those FF miles promised) and go back to buying wines from my local small business wine store where I can taste before I buy!

By: Hostel Stockholm

Hostel Stockholm — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:26:43 +0000

Hostel Stockholm city…

[...]Wine Club Mistake « Allyen Speaks[...]…

By: frank

frank — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 05:50:46 +0000

This company is rediculous. I was supposed to be on a 12 bottle shipment twice a yr. Next one being in october. Kinda funny they just charged my card and called me sayin thier having a problem with my shipment. Ummmm its august. Are they kidding me? Im a member at some great great wine clubs. If you like big red wines look into wiens vineyard in temecuela california. Im a member of the wine maker select club, its great. Phenomonial actually. Tolosa on the central coast of cali has the best pinot noir ive ever had. Try the 1772 or beyond. Both are great pinot noirs.

By: Whitney

Whitney — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:15:23 +0000

Just called to cancel my Vinesse membership – i had never tried to cancel it before. They tell me that, they’re sorry, but a shipment left right before I cancelled. And i can refuse the shipment and still be charged 23 dollars for shipping. This company is a scam. The rep told me on the phone that the reason that you can’t find any of the vinyards online is because they are so small. I guess I sounded like a total idiot.

By: Ron

Ron — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:12:16 +0000

Take a look at any of Vinesse’s websites and you’ll see there’s no way to contact them by email … yet they are happy to take your money that way. Every bottle of wine I received had no address to the boutique vinyard (their terminology) but was bottled in Sanata Rosa, CA. (12 all in the same town … wow, what a coincidence) The only website in the entire wine world that sells their lables that they ship is them …. hmmmmm. Every bottle received is embossed with the same grape lable on the top .. again very funny for 12 different vinyards … I can’t find a similar match in a detailed search of all my other wines.

Check BBB and others online. Not a single positive statement. Thank goodness the card company can step in and shut this stuff off.
I sent a note to Delta to investigate their scams before they partner with firms like this.

By: Mal Shridhar

Mal Shridhar — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:08:52 +0000

I too was stupid enough to fall for this sales pitch fromLATimes.com. My first shipment was promotional and the wines were decent. I did not read the fine print to realize that I was to receive a shipment of six bottles each month at $110+. If you go to the website, there is no e-mail address to complain. You have to make a telephone call and I gave up after waiting for 10 minutes or more. I contacted my credit card company and they helped me to cancel my membership. I will admit that the lady at Vinesse was polite and helped close the account.

I will not call my experience a rip-off; it was a case of buyer beware. Try buying a hearing aid from an authorized seller and you will know what a rip-off is.

By: walter goldman

walter goldman — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 18:20:53 +0000

Good advice – go to total wines or trader joes.This is a rip off.The wine was not good and very over priced.Vineese guarantee is not worth the paper that it is written on.

By: Robert Jaworski

Robert Jaworski — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:23:51 +0000

I agree. I have been ripped off by this company also. They increased the price of the club- under shipping and handling by 15% and never notified me about it. The wines are very mediocre and at least double the price they should be.

By: Mo

Mo — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:49:45 +0000

I too was just ripped off by this company (Vinesse Wines) They charged me $69.90 on July 8th, I wasn’t expecting the charge but decided to wait for the shipment and cancel the membership right after, but on July 14th they charged me $30 for an unknown membership fee, I tried to dispute it but they told me they’d apply this “bogus” voucher I’d received to next month’s shipment, but on July 20th they charged me $110.95 for next month’s (same six cheap bottles of wine as before) shipment, even though I was told I’d get it every 45 days, and I haven’t even gotten my shipment for July yet! The phone rep was very rude and told me to refuse the UPS shipment if I want a full refund! I don’t know what to do if they even arrive: keep to avoid further rip off, or return and possibly lose the money and wine…..

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:23:43 +0000

I too have been a victim of the Vinesse scheme. Cheap and very ordinary grocery store wines, significantly higher prices than advertised, shorter unpublished intervals of automatic shipping and NO COMMUNICATION. They would not even respond to emails – even though their website said I could send a notice of cancellation that way. I finally got out after coughing up about $60 of shipping and handling after refusing the last two shipments – which were sent monthly and received at least two weeks after my credit card was charged. They were supposed to be no more frequent than 45 days. What a rip-off!!! BEWARE of this outfit!