Wine Clubs?

[DR]

It's time.

I think I need to buy wine online - or get a deal.

I've no time to go to france - and going to the supermarket well is a pain - I am always in a rush.

I love red wine - so where do I start - input? Who is a member of a wine club/who has bought wine online?

cheers,

David

[Salazaar]

I think my dad uses Virgin Wine now and again but he generally prefers just nipping to the supermarket.

[kalniel]

I've used three clubs/online shops - Virgin, Laithwaites and Tesco.

Virgin is probably the best place to start - lots of options, lots of ways of building cases with what you might like or even just a variety. They have a lot of help available and the 'if you don't like it you don't pay for it' thing is very good - they will even set you up with a wine advisor to help if you like as well. I quite enjoy the wine - they are really good for slightly odd reds that you wouldn't have thought of trying before but turn out fantastic and interesting. They're not so good if you know exactly what you like and are looking for a bargain.

Tesco on the other hand comes up with some fantastic bargains but it's better suited to the 12 bottles of the same thing type order, rather than building up really varied cases.

Laithwaites is really good for Spanish reds, but again doesn't have the variety of Virgin.

Tesco prices are pretty good straight away. If you're spending a bit with Virgin then don't do so without picking up a £20 off voucher as there are tons flying around - they also affiliate with a lot of places (like egg credit card) for special offers. Laithwaites have voucher discounts to an even greater extend than Virgin - love film were doing up to £50 off cases a while back.

[GheeTsar]

+1 for Laithwaites (aka Sunday Times Wine Club and Direct Wines). It's rare to get a duff bottle from them in my experience.

[Syd]

Virgin Wine is a great way to buy a case every 2 - 3 months. They have a really good offer called 'wine bank' whereby you make a direct debit (of your choosing) each months and every third month they match that amount so you pay say £30 a month in and on the third month they put in £30 so you have £120 every threemonths to spend. Check out their Wine auctions as well - usually you can pick up a very nice case of red for £60 ish. Depends what you like but these are 2 of my favourites from them:

http://www.virginwines.com/product/p...=1247733243076

http://www.virginwines.com/product/p...=1247733324570

The other options I use are Telegraph wine, first order you get £25 off with no subcription or commitment:

http://www.telegraphwine.co.uk/xsite...B654887E4C43D7

and also keep an eye out in your local Tesco - they sometimes have simply awesome offers in store, especially when they do their 25% off all wine (when you buy 6+ bottles) I have recentley bought 48 bottles of this:

http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/de...h&id=259550942

Normally £14 in store - was on offer instore at £6.99 - LESS 25% £5.24 a bottle - and it is an absolutley beautiful Rhone.

and if you like dessert wine they had this:

http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/de...n&id=263253276

Normally £8.99 instore - half price, less 25% £3.36 a bottle!!!!!!!!!! - I bought 18 bottles

Well worth keeping your eyes open. BTW recently back from a week in Italy - because of the Euro situation decent local wine was more expensive there than it is in England!!!!! - Same as France.

[peterb]

www.thewinesociety.com

Great service and outstanding range - PM me if you need more details.

[Barrichello]

We use Tesco wines, part of the wine club. they have both your usual + more expensive fine wines section. Good deals, free delivery if you order a minimum of 12 bottles. What's sold it to us being able to schedule a delivery time to a specific 2 hour timeslot on day of your choice.

[Barney]

another vote for tesco here, they do some good deals on stuff there about to stop stocking.

also the mixed cases are quite good if your not sure.

[macphee70]

Yip I use tesco too, save up the clubcard points then double up, send over £100 get free delivery and use a voucher for points. Last time I bought wine it worked out that tesco had paid me £2.56 for over £120 worth of wine. Cant complain about that.

Big fan of the mixed cases too

[Funkstar]

/me waits for Zak and tiggerai to wade in with wine advice...

[Brucelles]

I echo Kalniel's experience. These are the ones I have used, and those are my experiences too.

I like Laithwaites as they are very straightforward. Virgin I found a bit sneaky, sometimes you get a better deal by logging in from a different PC, or ordering in your wife's name etc. I think that they are trying to attract people with an attractive offer at first, and then ramping up the price later. Try to work around that and their prices and range are superb.

Tesco is Tesco. You can't go far wrong with them.

I should mention that I live in France, so I buy my own wine from the chateaux or the supermarket during the sales, and just keep the cellar topped up if I see something nice. I use the on-line people to buy birthday presents for people in Britain etc. I used to buy my daughter a case a term while she was at uni, as it was a cheap way of giving her money, and all of my relatives drink wine to some extent, so wine is a good way of sending a personalised gift from abroad.

When I visit my family in Blighty I usually send a case on ahead so that a) I have something decent to drink while I am there, and b) I seem like a guest rather than a parasite.

[nvening]

Save £50 on Laithwaites www.laithwaites.co.uk/qj34

Its for an every 3 months type thing but you can cancel after your first case if you read the small print

EDIT: I just ordered a mixed case

[georgebuffet]

Hi There !!

You can just browse in the internet for the wine online.

Hope it helps.

Regards,
George Buffet

[schmunk]

www.thewinesociety.com

Great service and outstanding range - PM me if you need more details.

Me too.

Not always cheap, but always good quality.

[steve threlfall]

[TheAnimus]

another one for laithwates!