Winc is a wine subscription box that re-imagines the traditional wine club by offering a regularly-changing selection of unique, small production wines that are sourced directly from vineyards and winemakers. It's one of our favorite alcohol delivery options out there!
FYI, COVID-19 Shipping Delay Update:
Currently shipping is delayed by about ~5 days and we are working every minute to close that gap. The same for our customer experience agents.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About this Wine Subscription
The Subscription Box: Winc
The Cost: Bottles start at $12.99 each with a membership. (Shipping is free on orders of 4 or more bottles.)
The Products: Small-lot wines, ciders, and sparkling options sourced directly from vineyards and winemakers.
Ships to: Eligible US zip codes, which you can check through this link.
Winc March 2020 Review
When you sign up to join Winc, you take a six-question palate profile quiz to help determine your taste in wine. Based on your answers, Winc makes bottle recommendations for you every month. You can go along with their recommendations, choose your own bottles from their regularly changing selection, or skip the month completely. You can also take the palate profile test as often as you’d like.
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The bottles are shipped in an upright cardboard box that has molded pieces to hold them in place. This helps prevent the bottles from bashing into one another during transport. The box is rather sturdy and has a convenient handle that makes it easy to carry.
Winc also included a promo card for Folly of the Beast, and on the back is a fun guide to different types of wine spills and how best to handle them.
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2017 Pacificana Zinfandel — $14.99 (or $12.99 through the subscription)
California
Body: Full
Sweetness: Slightly Sweet
Alcohol: 15%
Winemaking: Low-sulfur
This was my first victim - er - BOTTLE this month. I am not generally someone who reaches for a Zin, but I was on a mission for some slightly-sweet wines this month and this was a suggestion from Winc. This was a really interesting bottle of wine. It had a wild mix of flavors that all somehow worked together. There was something about it that reminded me of the sea, so it is appropriately named. It tasted like a wine I would enjoy on the coast near a lighthouse. The main notes I took away from this bottle were on the woody and slightly herbal side, but still rich and filled with dark fruit. Will is not a wine person but he was curious about this as he saw me struggling to describe it, so he decided to give it a try too. His description was also confused but he agreed that there was something like the ocean in this one. It was sold out at the time I was writing this review, though at publication it appears to be back in stock, which is great because I'm very much considering choosing this one again.
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2018 Loves Me Not Rosé — $15.99 (or $13.99 through the subscription)
California
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Sweet
Alcohol: 13%
Winemaking: Low-sulfur
My favorite element of this wine has to be the amazing scent! Think bright yellow and orange fruits, gummy peach rings, and just a little bit of floral. This wine is insanely easy to drink, especially chilled. The flavors of peaches, lemons, and strawberries are at the front of this wine and I can't help but think it would have made an awesome batch of pink sangria if I didn't enjoy it so fast. It is one of those that pairs as well with a bowl of kettle corn as it does with a full-blown meal, so this tasty bottle was gone pretty quickly. This was another one that's been recently restocked just in time for warmer weather.
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2018 Porter & Plot Cabernet Sauvignon — $32.99 (or $28.99 through the subscription)
Mendocino, California
Body: Medium
Sweetness: Dry
Alcohol: 14%
Winemaking: Eco-friendly, vegan, organic, sustainable
This is the most expensive and arguably most "fancy" bottle in my box this month. Look at that wax! While I usually like a hint of sweetness in most wines, I am a die-hard Cabernet Sauvignon fan. Like most Cabs, the big notes here are the dark stone fruits. They are moody and delicious! There is also a really lovely cedar note in here too, along with something tart. I didn't get much of the cocoa note suggested in the info, but this was still a really dark, fruity, and fragrant wine that I enjoyed paired with homemade pasta in a lemon cream sauce one evening with Will.
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2017 Wonderful Wine Co. Red Blend — $14.99 (or $12.99 through the subscription)
California
Body: Light
Sweetness: Sweet
Alcohol: 12.6%
Winemaking: Vegan
True, this wine has a 2.7 star rating on the Winc site. But I love a sweet red blend, so I decided to take a chance on this one. I am glad I did! I love it! I actually have no idea why the ratings are so low for this one. It is utterly drinkable and easy to enjoy. Sure, it is certainly sweet and I would never use the word "sophisticated" to describe it, but the flavor is bright and filled with berries and flowers, so I was captivated. Sometimes you just need a casual and easy sipper while you binge Tiger King on Netflix at 3 pm.
Verdict: Winc was legit exactly what I needed to kick off my first shelter-in-place weeks. I killed two bottled that first week, which is actually a lot of wine for me. Though my drinking habits have gone back to normal in terms of volume (but my timing is all over the place!) it felt like a total blessing to have some new bottles and varieties to try out. I also think that a glass of wine can be incredibly calming for myself personally, and this is a time when I could use a few more mentally tranquil evenings. I loved the whole selection process as the Winc website is full of helpful information regarding each bottle. I am certainly not a wine expert (or even a snob, I can admit it) so all of the info is really helpful when it comes to me picking which bottles end up in my box. I am hoping that I can use this quarantine time to buff up on my overall wine knowledge and Winc is an excellent resource for that.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Winc allows you to choose your wine, you can get any combination you’d like any month. Sign up today and curate your own selection, or let them choose a few bottles for you.
FYI, COVID-19 Shipping Delay Update:
Currently shipping is delayed by about ~5 days and we are working every minute to close that gap. The same for our customer experience agents.
Value Breakdown: This box cost $68.96 for four full bottles of wine, but had a retail value of $78.96, so that's a savings of $10.00 by having the subscription.
Check out all of our Winc reviews and more of our best wine subscription boxes!
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