Bright Cellars is a monthly wine subscription that matches you with wines you’ll love.
Bright Cellars was founded by two MIT grads with a passion for wine and technology, and they approach wine a little differently than most wine clubs.
When you sign up for a membership, you take a “taste palate quiz” to determine your own unique taste profile.
Your monthly wines are selected using a proprietary algorithm that “scores each wine by comparing 18 attributes to your preferences, matching you with your monthly experience.” You can choose the ratio of red to white you receive in each box by adjusting your preferences online.
When it comes to selecting wines to add to their collection, Bright Cellars doesn’t turn to wine professionals or sommeliers. Instead, they crowd source their wine selection by relying on the tastes of their team. And the team is picky- only 1 in 12 wines tasted by the Bright Cellars team makes the cut!
If you’re ever sent a bottle you don’t love, the Bright Cellars Wine Concierge will help you select a free replacement bottle that will ship with your next box.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Bright Cellars
The Cost: $60 + $8 shipping
ACTIVE DEAL: Get $50 off your first month! No coupon needed - just use this link.
The Products: 4 wines picked to match your unique taste profile.
Ships to: US states where it is legal to receive wine by mail. If you’re uncertain whether you can receive wine shipments, contact the Bright Cellars Wine Concierge at [email protected].
Check out all of our Bright Cellars Reviews and find more wine subscriptions in the Wine Subscription Box Directory!
Keep track of your subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription box list or wishlist!
This Bright Cellars shipment contained a “Grape & Grill” print that provides tips for pairing wine with different grilled foods.
Information about the individual bottles in your shipment can be accessed through the Bright Cellars website.
Mira Vos Malbec 2014- $15.99
Bright Cellars relies on your quiz answers to pick your monthly wines. They plug your answers into their algorithm, which assigns each bottle in their collection a “Bright Points Rating” that indicates how well it will suit your particular taste. This Malbec is my highest rated wine this month- a 94! I usually love Malbec, but I thought this wine was just okay. It wasn’t quite as full-bodied as I’d expect from a Malbec, and the flavor was a tad too sharp for my palate. I tend to prefer more mellow reds, I guess. My husband really liked this wine, though.
Adrift Chenin Blanc 2013- $16.95
This Chenin Blanc is an “aromatic, light bodied” wine with “flavors of pear, lemon, green apple and lemongrass.” I really liked this bottle! I’ve only sampled a small glass so far for the review, and I think I’m going to take Bright Cellars’ recommendation and pair the rest with “pasta and shellfish in a cream sauce.” That sounds like a fantastic pairing.
Alto Verde Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite go-to wines— especially in the summertime! This bottle is from Argentina, and Bright Cellars recommends pairing it with grilled fish or Mexican food.
Piazza Bianco Inzolia 2014
Inzolia is a grape that I’ve never heard of before. It’s grown primarily on Sicily and produces a wine that’s “slightly aromatic and displays citrus fruits, ripe melon and nutty characteristics.” I quite like this bottle. Bright Cellars points out that the high acidity makes it a great food wine, and I can definitely see how it would be a great accompaniment for many Italian dishes.
Verdict: This is my second box from Bright Cellars, and I’m really impressed with the subscription so far. I think it’s really interesting that they rely on technology and the tastes of their staff to pick wine (instead of sommeliers), and I definitely think they’re on to something. While I had some lukewarm feelings about the red wine I was sent this month, I liked all of the white wines I received. (I can be a little quirky about red wine sometimes, to be fair, and my husband liked the Malbec, so he was happy to drink it.) The subscription cost breaks down to $17 per bottle, which I think is fair. That’s maybe a bit more than I’d pay for an “everyday wine” in the store, but I feel okay about the price knowing that Bright Cellars guarantees that I’ll like what I receive. I feel a lot more secure letting a wine company pick bottles for me when they stand behind their selections!
What do you think about Bright Cellars? Will you give it a try?
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