AI and marketingFor wineries
How to build a wine club people actually join
A practical guide for wineries: the offer, the sign-up page, what goes in the box, how to keep in touch all year, and what to measure so members stay.
Alper Billik · Advanced Sommelier
Updated October 2026 · 4 min read · Edited with AI
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The short answer: people join a wine club to feel closer to a place and its people, not to restock a cellar. A club that grows is easy to understand, flexible, and in touch all year, not only on shipping day. Most clubs that struggle don't have a wine problem. They have an offer, a sign-up or a contact problem.
1. Make the offer clear in one sentence
Confusion is the quietest reason people don't join. A visitor should understand in a few seconds what members get, how often, and what it costs. Write it as one plain sentence, for example: 'Four shipments a year of new releases and small-lot wines only members can buy, plus free tastings at the winery.' Then put the price and the terms right under it.
- What arrives: how many bottles, which wines, and whether members can choose.
- When: the shipping months, so nobody is surprised by a charge.
- What it costs: the price per shipment, shipping included or not.
- How to leave or pause: easy and visible. It builds trust to join.
2. Offer more than one way in
One fixed six-bottle shipment asks a lot of a first-time member. Two or three levels let people start small and grow with you.
| Level | Who it's for | What it could hold |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | New members and visitors after a first tasting | A few bottles of your most loved wines |
| Classic | Regular drinkers of your wines | New releases across your range |
| Reserve | Collectors | Limited bottlings, library wines, first access |
| Pairing box | Gift buyers and food lovers | Wines with local cheese or other small artisan products |
- Discovery
- Who it's forNew members and visitors after a first tasting
- What it could holdA few bottles of your most loved wines
- Classic
- Who it's forRegular drinkers of your wines
- What it could holdNew releases across your range
- Reserve
- Who it's forCollectors
- What it could holdLimited bottlings, library wines, first access
- Pairing box
- Who it's forGift buyers and food lovers
- What it could holdWines with local cheese or other small artisan products
Let members choose red only, white only or mixed if you can. Choice makes a club feel personal.
3. Make your website the club's front door
Before anyone joins, they look you up, usually on a phone, often from your Instagram. If the club is hard to find or the form is long, they leave.
- A 'Join the club' button that's easy to find on every page.
- A short sign-up form that works well on a phone.
- Your own photos of the vineyard, the cellar and the people, not stock images.
- Your Instagram bio link pointing straight to the club as well as tastings and the shop.
- The tasting room: a simple card or QR code on the counter, and staff who invite guests to join.
4. Give value beyond the wine
The box is the moment members feel the relationship. Small, honest touches go further than discounts:
- A note from the winemaker on the season and the vintage.
- A card for each wine: what it is, when to drink it, what to serve it with.
- A QR code to a short video from the vineyard or the cellar.
- Member moments: pick-up parties, pre-release tastings, a harvest day.
- First access to small lots and older vintages.
5. Run it like a good online shop
- Order confirmation and tracking for every shipment.
- A reminder before each charge, with the wines in the box.
- Clear shipping, refund and pause rules, easy to find.
- Know the shipping rules for alcohol in every place you ship to. They differ by country and region, so check them before you open a new market.
6. Stay in touch between shipments
A club that only writes when it charges a card feels like a bill. Plan a year of contact around your real calendar:
- Before a shipment: what's coming and why you chose it.
- After it arrives: how to serve it, and a recipe that fits.
- Harvest and bottling: photos and short stories from the vineyard.
- Thank-yous: when someone joins, renews or reaches a year.
- Instagram: posts for members, so followers see what they're missing.
7. Measure, then improve
Watch a few numbers in your own system each season: how many people join, where they joined (tasting room, website, event), how long they stay, and why they leave. Ask leavers one question. Then change one thing at a time: a new level, a different shipping month, a better first box.
Where SOMM DIGI helps
Growing a wine club is one of the goals a winery can pick when it asks SOMM DIGI for a free demo. SOMM DIGI makes wine club campaigns, newsletters, websites and link-in-bio pages, in your own brand and from your own photos and words, and nothing goes out without your OK. For the Instagram side, read why Instagram matters for your winery.
Questions people ask
How many shipments a year should a wine club have?
There is no single right number. Choose what fits your releases and what members can easily plan for, and say it clearly on the sign-up page.
Why do people leave wine clubs?
Common reasons are too much wine arriving, wines they didn't choose, surprise charges and too little contact between shipments. Ask the people who leave; their answer is the best guide.
Should a wine club let members choose their wines?
If you can manage it, yes. Even a simple choice (red, white or mixed) makes the club feel personal.
How do I get more people to join my wine club?
Make the offer clear in one sentence, offer an easy first level, put the sign-up on every page and in your Instagram bio, and invite every tasting-room guest in person.
For wine businesses · next steps