Joining a wine club can be profoundly rewarding — and while club benefits vary, everyone is treated like family
Written by Kirsten Telander
WELCOME TO THE CLUB, no secret handshake necessary. Right now, people are longing for belonging, for a sense of community perhaps.
Washington Tasting Room Magazine recently sent out a survey to subscribers about their involvement with wine clubs. The magazine’s editor-in-chief, John Vitale, says he was both surprised and delighted by the overwhelming response to the reader survey. “One in every four readers report being active in at least one wine club. Within that group, 65% report they belong to three or more clubs and 60% claim they have been wine club members for at least five years or longer.”
Wine clubs have been growing in recent years, and for good reason. Clubs across the board offer discounts and complimentary tastings, but other perks and personalities can be as diverse as the wines. Washington Tasting Room Magazine readers Paul and Darci Rogojin were among those who completed the survey. They belong to seven wine clubs, all in Washington, and discussed factors important to them when joining one.
“Being from the west side of the state, we want a winery that has a tasting room in the Woodinville/Seattle/Kirkland area,” says Paul. “We love wineries that have multiple tasting rooms in both sides of the state.”
Loving the wines and the ability to save money on wines they drink consistently is important, but the couple also looks for wineries that have an active calendar of events for its members.
“Learning about the winemaker is a key point for us,” says Paul. “A winery may have a beautiful venue, but the winemaker is a key playmaker in the whole process.”
In addition to letting the statistics and voices from our readers speak, we thought we’d reach out to some wineries to tell us what they feel their club offers, as well as to a member of each club to gain their perspective to hear what they find most important when joining.
Chelan’s Old Guard
“Developing a loyal wine club membership has been the number one focus for our 100% DTC (direct-to-consumer) business model,” says Dr. Bob Jankelson, owner of one of the founding wineries in the Lake Chelan area, Tsillan Cellars. The all-estate winery produces in the ballpark of 7,000 to 7,500 cases a year for their tasting rooms in Chelan and Woodinville, their Sorrento’s Ristorante in Chelan (named Open Table 100 Best Scenic Restaurants in North America), and for their wine club. “The wine club has been a godsend during the difficult past months,” admits Jankelson. “We take exceptional care of our wine club members and they take exceptional care of Tsillan Cellars and my staff.”
Wine club managers Carrie McGuinn and Cassy Schluneger, along with a knowledgeable staff, ensure that their club of approximately 2,500 members feels like part of an extended family. Clearly the we are family approach is working because nearly 1,000 members have been in the club for five or more years with an annual attrition rate of about four percent.
Educational vineyard classes led by head winemaker Ray Sandidge (owner of C.R. Sandidge Wines), vineyard wagon tours, vertical tastings and elegant wine pairing dinners are some of the more popular wine club events, with the highlight being the annual wine club party.
“The extravaganza hosts 800 wine club members for a day of complimentary food, multiple music venues, dancing, games and wine tasting,” Jankelson says.
Tsillan wine club members Lisa and Mark Bohman love that the winery is event-centric, whether it be wine club parties, tours in the vineyard with the winemaker, wreath making during the holidays, and events that happen all year long. “They’re really good about bringing people together. It feels like a community and you don’t have to be from Chelan for that to happen,” Lisa says. The couple relocated to Chelan over a year ago from Des Moines. “They’re a big part of why we wanted to move here,” Lisa says.
“It’s a very inclusive environment,” Mark adds. The Bohman’s belong to a whopping eight wine clubs—Tsillan being their longest membership at over 10 years. Initially, it was the ambiance and the staff that attracted them. “It always felt like I was visiting someplace else, like another country,” says Lisa of the Mediterranean-inspired property overlooking the lake. “The venue is so relaxing. We’d always leave feeling like we truly had a vacation.”
The wines are equally as attractive. “Both the whites and reds are exceptional,” says Lisa. “They don’t have a wine we don’t like.”
Sorrento’s Ristorante on the property is an added bonus. “Having the restaurant really expands the experience for club members,” says Mark. “Instead of a food truck or caterer, they’re able to provide their own fantastic food for events.”
Getting Inside
Kathryn Padberg, hospitality and membership manager of The Walls Vineyards in Walla Walla, says the “Insiders” club offers the opportunity to get “inside the Walls.” Among other perks, this includes limited-release wines, member-only dinners and events, private vineyard tours and barrel tastings as well as dinner at the winery’s sister restaurant, Passatempo Taverna Italiana.
In spring 2021, members will have priority access to the new Rocks District-estate focused brand, Pášxa, a luxury line of wines from winemaker Todd Alexander.
“Sustainability is also a pillar of our mission, which is attractive to club members.” Padberg says. “We are fully powered by solar energy and use little to no plastics. With the complete renovation of our facility this fall, we will have a glass crusher (Walla Walla does not offer glass recycling) as well as an electric car charger for member use.”
With over 300 members, the wine club is still open for now. “When you join, you are now a member of our family and we treat you as such. You are part of our story,” says Padberg.
Ted Cox and his wife Joyce have belonged to as many as eight wine clubs since moving to Walla Walla in 2013 but have pared down to three, including The Walls Insider club. The couple met owner Mike Martin on a wine exploration trip to France in 2015 and soon after, learned that he was starting his winery.
“Our acquaintance with Mike was the impetus for joining because he is such a personable guy. We hadn’t even tried any of his wines and wanted to join,” said Cox. “It turns out that the wines are phenomenal.”
Cox says the people at the winery make the difference. When he was confined to a wheelchair while recovering from a health crisis Padberg brought his allocation to his home and stayed for a lengthy chat. It was during that visit that he demonstrated his bottle crusher, which Martin went on to pursue in commercial size. “The Walls is outstanding for their commitment to sustainability, which is very important to us,” says Cox.
Cox also finds the Insider special events particularly memorable. “They are very intimate, and at the last one, Mike poured very limited releases, including the Curiositas, before the general public had the opportunity to taste them.
“Two more reasons we love the place,” says Cox. “Their labels are outstanding [referring to cartoonist Joe Dator, contributor to the New Yorker, who created the Stanley Groovy character for The Walls] and they are in the process of installing a pétanque terrain,” he says.
A Room for Every Mood
Patterson Cellars offers four locations with distinctly different experiences, a draw to members in itself. In Woodinville, you’ll get a glimpse of the winemaking process at the Warehouse District, or take in the views from the covered and heated patio at the Hollywood Hill tasting room. In Leavenworth, there is a stunning new two-story tasting room on Front Street, and in Seattle-SoDo the recently opened tasting room offers a modern, loft-like atmosphere.
The wine club has over 1,500 members, but wine club manager Kate Valentine emphasizes the personalized, authentic experience that members can expect. “Our members become like family rather quickly,” she says.
The folks at Patterson like a good party and offer members three complimentary shindigs during the year (along with other events). Heidi West, manager of operations, and Valentine like to mix things up for members. “We had a bus trip to Leavenworth last year offering it to club members first and they filled the bus…twice!”
“In the summer, we host the Wine Club Appreciation Barbecue and we always have something up our sleeves,” says Valentine. “In 2019, we focused on library wines and brought out some of owner and winemaker John Patterson’s favorites. This was a huge hit with members.”
Additionally, should members want to throw a party of their own, they receive a 30% discount on venue rentals, and members receive discounts on Patterson’s private food and wine seated tasting experiences.
Members appreciate that club-only wines are not priced any higher than others in the portfolio. They are selected based on what is seasonally appropriate food-pairing wise, which is a focus at the winery. “We really like food here at Patterson Cellars!” Valentine adds.
Patterson wine club member Jason Link notes the food pairings during release weekends, which take place over several weekends to include all their locations, is a highlight for him. There are food stations with small bites carefully matched with club-only wines, a generous food buffet and a dessert bar. “There was a poached pear and ginger gelato infused with Patterson late harvest Roussanne,” recalls Link. “It was the most spectacular thing I have ever tasted.”
Link feels the release parties are among the most inviting in the industry. “I’ve had my mom’s birthday at a release party. I’ve had over 20 friends at a release party,” he says. For the past two years, Link has taken advantage of a harvest tour at the Woodinville warehouse location, inviting friends to witness the production process. “We got to see them making the sparkling Rosé of Pinot Noir, which was so cool,” says Link. “John Patterson uses the traditional Champagne method and I got to try the wine out of barrels during several steps of the fermentation.” The winery hosts an event celebrating the bubbly’s annual release, which is hugely popular.
“There are so few companies left that put the customer first, and John, Heidi and Kate are really invested in their membership,” says Link, who admits to spending many an afternoon on the patio at Hollywood Hill. “Every time I go to Patterson it’s special and there’s never a snobby feeling,” he says. “It’s like visiting a friend’s house and you don’t have to ring the doorbell.”
Out of the Box
“One of the biggest perks of being a wine club member here is who we are, which is not an assembly line,” says Linda Herrick, who manages the wine club at Eye of the Needle Winery in Woodinville.
As a result, members get to spend time with winemaker and owner, Bob Bullock, regularly. “When I go tasting, I want to talk to the winemaker,” Bob says. “Not everybody can offer that, and I think it makes a difference.”
“When you walk in, you’re in the middle of it with us,” adds his wife, Lauren.
“You can see barrels, pumps, tanks and forklifts—we don’t have walls between anything,” Bob adds.
At the same time, Eye of the Needle likes to consider their tasting room an extension of their living room for members. “Our members really respect that Bob and Lauren are so active in here and low-key at the same time,” says Lauren. “We all sit down with people because we know them so well.”
As a négotiant model winery, Bob works with small lots of wine brought to him from respected winemakers, which he ages and most typically blends. “Wines here are like buses,” he says. “One comes along every fifteen minutes and I have to decide if I want to get on it. It’s not coming back and if I don’t commit to it then, somebody else will.” As such, members rely on his palate and trust his ability to make distinctive blends.
“We did a version of The Eye a few years ago and it was Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon,” says Bob. “People said you can’t do that. My response was just watch me.”
This next wine club allocation includes Enlightened, a proprietary blend of Petit Verdot and Sangiovese. “Who does that?” asks Bob rhetorically. “Only Eye of the Needle. We’re not afraid to try things out of the norm. Members love the mystery of not knowing what they’re going to get.”
Janice Salim has been a wine club member at Eye of the Needle for over three years. “For me, the winery has the same charismatic charm as the classic 1980’s TV show Cheers,” she says. And although she says that the wine is delicious and already reasonably priced before her discount, “It’s the people at Eye of the Needle that sealed my decision to become a wine club member—they work really hard to create an atmosphere of inclusion and you want to come back!”
The folks at the winery say Janice is known for coming on Friday evenings with friends and buying chow from the food trucks for other wine club members, and others in the tasting room.
Some of Salim’s memorable moments at the winery include events for one of the many charities the winery supports, and the release parties. “The 10th Anniversary red is one of the best wines I have tasted in a very long time,” she says. Salim also enjoys the custom gift bags that include wine paired with chocolate.
“This has been a really tough year for me,” says Salim. “So, when I came to pick up wine, they added an extra bottle and chocolate and a hug. They’re huggers. So am I.”
