The Wine Society is an online service that enables consumers of all different wine tastes and levels convenient access to wines from all around Australia that have been selected by a panel of experts and chosen based on their particular qualities. The site also provides support for consumers wishing to learn more about wine simply by reading current and useful information, or for those who wish to take their passion further they provide courses.
To purchase however, you need to become a member of The Wine Society. Membership requires that you spend a minimum of $250 per year with them online. This is not a lot of money considering that the average bottle of wine in the city sells from $20 to $30 a bottle. I joined last Friday and had to pay $50 at the time of signing up, however this money was then credited back to my account to spend on the next batch.
You can shop for one or two bottles at a time as you would in the bottleshop, or purchase in cases which means that someone else carries that heavy box to your door step. Not only can you select for yourself, but they also have a mixed case package at all different price levels where the expert panel selects a dozen wines for you to try and provides the tasting notes to help you learn as you go. For anyone keen on improving their wine knowledge, this is one of the best ways to learn. Simply try many different types of wine and pay attention as you try it and your skills will increase rapidly.
The only issue that I can see with buying cases of wine online is delivery. Like many city dwellers I live in a security apartment building without a full time concierge. Unless they gave a specific service where I could be home at the specific time of delivery my wines will be taken either to the post office or left at the entrance to the building. The post office is too far to carry a case of wine from and with respect to leaving it at the front of the building, I would like to give the benefit of the doubt and say that no one would take it, however living in Surry Hills has taught me that is probably not the case.
Other than the delivery issue the whole club thing seems like a pretty good idea where one can rely on the expertise of someone else to assist in the wine journey. You can check it out for yourself at
Hello Miss Mac - great Blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm Gillian Hyde - Head of Membership at The Wine Society. You raise a good point about wine deliveries in inner city areas. As you've indicated, we generally use Australia Post for our deliveries because they are extraordinarily fast and cost effective, but it's true that the service is a bit one-size-fits-all.
The good news is that we do have an alternative carrier for Members who may need additional assistance (either because wine can't be left at the premises; or pickup from the Post Office is not feasible).
To access this service, we ask that Members give us a call (on 1300 723 723) so we can discuss their specific delivery needs, and make the appropriate arrangements.
Hope this helps!
Cheers
Gillian
Thank you very much for answering what must be a fairly common question. I am looking forward to ordering my first case soon and reporting back to my fellow wino's.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Alex Mac