Winc (formerly known as Club W) is a wine subscription box that re-imagines the traditional wine club. Winc offers a regularly changing selection of unique, small production wines that are sourced directly from vineyards and winemakers.
When you sign up to join Winc, you take a short, fun “palate profile” quiz that helps determine your taste in wine. Based on your answers, Winc makes bottle recommendations for you every month. You can go along with their recommendations or choose your own bottles from their regularly changing selection (or skip the month completely).
The bottles come shipped in an upright cardboard box supported by cardboard contraptions that keep the bottles from bumping into one another. The best part is that the box itself has a sturdy plastic handle, which makes carrying it into the kitchen (or to a party) easy as pie!
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Winc
The Cost: Bottles start at $13 each. (Shipping is free on orders of 4 or more bottles.)
The Products: Small-lot wines sourced directly from vineyards and wine makers.
Ships to: All US states EXCEPT AK, AL, AR, DE, HI, KY, MS, OK, PA, RI, DS, and UT
Check out all of our Winc (Club W) reviews or visit the Drink Subscription Box Directory for more boozy boxes!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
Last month, Winc skipped including its usual mini magazine, Winc Journal, and folks, the void was palpable. I literally cheered when I opened this month's box and saw this colorful booklet sitting on top of the bottles. I love Winc wines, but as a relative amateur in the world of wine, the booklet is what makes this subscription really worth it. Each edition of this mini magazine details the featured wines for the month (including the wine-world words I can use to ask for similar things in the future, like "wood" and "fruit" and "acidity"), pairing ideas, and short articles on wine culture, from the backstory of bottles to creative ways to enjoy your favorite wines. Plus, everything is presented in crisp, colorful, modern spreads that are instantly enticing to the eye. I love it!
2016 RUZA Rosé Wine in a Can, 3 Pack, 750ml Total - Value $14.00
Whoa... now, this is new. I've had wine from bottles, boxes, and yes, the occasional bag, but a can? I would liken the experience to drinking a grapefruit LaCroix with a subtle boozy kick (so, uh, it's awesome). This rosé is on the dry side, which I enjoy a lot. The sparkly quality takes a moment to get used to, just because the bubbles in a can seemed less dainty than what you'd find in a bottle. (Think sparkling-water-style carbonation rather than the delicate effervescence of a champagne.) Sure, I would've loved a slightly finer carbonation, but I couldn't help but feel, well, cool drinking rosé in the same way someone might sip on a can of Perrier. That said, drinking this bubbly beverage from a glass does taste better. So if you have a glass handy, I recommend using it! I can't help thinking how perfect these cans would be on a glamping trip or a tailgate party!
2016 Capuchon White Blend, 750 ml - Value $13.00
I was trying to think of how to describe this wine, and the best I can do is to call it "sneaky". Why? It's a super mild white blend that's so light, it's almost more like a very gently-pear-flavored juice than a wine. Where other white wines I've tried are more in-your-face about their featured flavor (fruitiness, acidity, etc.), this one has the barely-there quality of a sweet iced tea. But don't get it twisted—this curious little wine doesn't fall flat at all. It's intriguing, if anything, and the kind of thing I could see making a great complement to bigger, bolder flavors. It's a dream supporting actress for a snack dinner (Winc says it's great with cheese, cured meats, and fruit—hello, charcuterie for supper). I could also see it being a great answer when I'm putzing around my kitchen going, "What do I want, what do I want..." It's satisfying without being heavy, refreshing without being too bright... it's the Goldilocks of wines.
2016 Mopina, 750 ml - Value $13.00
This is a wine where Winc's info comes in handy. With the first sip of this red, I was in awe, but I had zero idea of how to describe what I was tasting. That's not so good when you owe the MSA community a review! This bottle actually didn't appear in the mini magazine, I believe because it's sold out on the Winc site. (My guess is that it's not a new, featured bottle, but one that's been around for a few months now.) The product page, however, has just as much information as the magazine would. And it totally hits the nail on the head. Pink peppercorn! Of course! The wine has this striking, dry, wakes-up-your-tastebuds zip to it while still being divinely light and refreshing. Winc also says that this wine pairs beautifully with pizza, which 1) fits perfectly into my pizza-loving lifestyle, and 2) helps me understand the flavors of the wine even more. Y'know when you have an oven-fired pizza, and the tomatoes on it have sweat just a bit so that there's a super delicate, barely pink juice drizzling over the cheese and other goodies? That juice is what this wine tastes like. It's light, it's a little smoky, a little peppery, and would go perfectly with an herby marinara sauce on a chilly fall evening. I'm so mad this is sold out, though I 100% understand why.
2015 Rosa Obscura, 750 ml - Value $13.00
After trying the three other light and lovely wines in this box, sipping this red blend made me go "whoa, whaaaaaat?" According to Winc, this bottle is all about cherry, cocoa, and strawberry flavors, but I'm going to add in there a punch of something earthy, green, and even slightly bitter, almost like drinking the flavor of massaged, beautifully roasted kale. It's a little surprising at first, but wow, is it interesting. Winc says to pair this fruity wine with poultry, chocolate cake (any excuse to eat chocolate cake is good by me), and barbecue. I can totally see where the flavors of this uniquely rich wine would complement barbecue, most of all. This bottle is a really intriguing balance of sweetness and bitter, charred flavors that would suit a slightly blackened dish doused in a pop of sweet sauce very well.
Verdict: I am so into this month's Winc box, even though these wines might not be the kind of thing I pick up at the wine store for myself. Instead, the opposite is true—each of these concoctions were a little out of the ordinary in one way or another. I feel like I could pour these at a dinner with my favorite foodie friends and get plenty of compliments. (Or I could save them for myself and patiently savor their unique flavor profiles while I enjoy a Friday evening on the couch, haha!) As usual, I loved the mini magazine, and while it's totally superficial, I was also totally in love with the fresh graphic design on the labels (and really, the entire presentation). At $13.00 per bottle (or $14.00 for a bottle's worth of cans), I feel like I'm getting a good deal on wines that challenge and excite my palette. Plus, I'm learning new terminology and wine culture fun facts as I go!
What do you think of Winc? What bottles did you pick this month?
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