4 Wine Clubs, 4 Different Commitments: Which One Meets You at Your Comfort Level?

If you're comparing wine clubs, the real question isn't which one has the best intro offer. It's what happens after the intro offer. How does the club charge you? How much say do you have in what shows up? What happens if you open a bottle and it's just not your thing? And if you decide to leave, does the club make it easy or make it weird?

We compared the commitment terms for the following four popular wine club memberships on those criteria:

• Winc
• Wine Insiders
• Firstleaf

• Naked Wines

What Each Club Brings to the Table

Not every wine club is built the same way, and that's actually a good thing. The right one depends on how much you want to be involved in what shows up at your door.

Winc blends its own proprietary wines with partner labels, giving members a mix of house exclusives and familiar favorites. Shipments come monthly (six bottles) or every 12 weeks (12 bottles), with the option to swap selections before they go out. It's a solid fit for members who want variety without spending too much time browsing.

Wine Insiders keeps the process hands-off. The club ships pre-selected 12-bottle cases quarterly, plus two bonus shipments per year, all built around crowd-tested wines at accessible price points. For members who'd rather skip the decision-making and just have good wine show up, that simplicity is the selling point.

Firstleaf starts with a palate quiz and gets smarter from there. Every bottle a member rates fine-tunes the next shipment, so the six-bottle monthly selections tend to improve over time. It's the most data-driven club on this list, and members who engage with the rating system get the most out of it.

Naked Wines does something none of the others do. They work directly with independent winemakers, who are backed by Angels through their monthly deposits. In return, these members get access to over 2,500 wines from more than 300 winemakers across 23 countries. Even better, they can choose exactly what goes in every order. Since the wines go straight from winemaker to member, there are no distributor or retailer markups—layers that can account for up to half of a retail bottle's price.

How Each Club Charges You

This is the part most clubs gloss over in the marketing. The billing model shapes your entire experience, so it's worth understanding before you sign up.

Winc ships on either a monthly or every-12-week cycle, depending on the tier. Members receive six or 12 bottles per shipment, and the charge hits when the box goes out. There's room to swap selections before each shipment, but the billing itself is automatic.

Wine Insiders runs on a quarterly cycle at $155 per 12-bottle case, plus two bonus shipments per year for a total of six annually. The cases are pre-selected, so there's no customization step before billing. The charge processes on a set schedule tied to the shipping calendar.

Firstleaf ships six curated bottles monthly at $90 plus shipping and tax. Like the others, billing is automatic and tied to the shipment cycle. Members can adjust preferences between shipments, but the charge itself runs on a fixed monthly cadence.

Naked Wines works differently. Members, known as Angels, contribute a $40 monthly deposit into their own account. That balance accumulates until the member decides to spend it.* What to buy, when to order, and how much to spend per order are up to them. Think of it as a wine savings account.

Where Your Money Goes

All four clubs deliver wines worth drinking. The differences come down to how each one stretches your dollar and what kind of experience it buys you.

Winc offers one of the widest style ranges for a curated club, spanning reds, whites, rosés, and sparkling. Its in-house winemaking operation means some bottles are exclusive to the platform, which adds variety you won't find on a retail shelf.

Wine Insiders hits one of the lowest per-bottle prices of the four, particularly on introductory cases. The model is built around volume and value, with 12-bottle cases keeping the cost per bottle accessible for everyday drinking.

Firstleaf's palate algorithm gets sharper with every rating, which means members who stick around tend to get better-matched bottles over time. The longer you use the system, the more tailored the selections become.

Naked Wines members get access to the full catalog from day one: over 2,500 wines from more than 300 independent winemakers. Because the model cuts out distributor and retailer markups that can account for up to half a retail bottle's price, members pay significantly less for wines that would cost more through traditional channels. The club holds a 4.5/5 on Trustpilot and an A+ from the BBB.

How Each Wine Club Handles the Bottle You Don't Enjoy

Even the best clubs send a miss now and then. What matters is what happens next.

Winc credits the full bottle value toward a future wine selection. The credit applies automatically and can be used on the next order, though it's tied to continued membership.

Wine Insiders promotes its Perfect Pour Promise, though the specifics require contacting customer support rather than being outlined in a self-service policy. The guarantee exists, but the process to use it isn't fully transparent from the outside.

Firstleaf issues a bottle credit toward a replacement in the next shipment. Like Winc, the credit is tied to staying active, so canceling means forfeiting any unused guarantee credits.

Naked Wines has the most transparent guarantee of the four. If a member doesn't enjoy a bottle, the full price is credited to their account with no shipping deduction and no expiration on the credit, as long as the account remains active.

What It Takes to Cancel Your Wine Club Membership

Nobody signs up for a wine club planning to leave, but life happens. The cancellation process says a lot about how a club treats its members on the way out.

Winc has the most friction. There's no self-service cancellation option. Members must reach a concierge via live chat or phone at (855) 282-5829 during business hours. No cancellation fee applies, but returns on shipped orders may incur a restocking fee of up to $20 or the full order value.

Wine Insiders allows cancellation by phone (800-615-7304) or through the member's online account, with no cancellation penalty. But once an order starts processing, reversing it comes with a $25 restocking fee. Multiple reviews on Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau cite billing surprises tied to tight processing windows.

Firstleaf offers the widest range of cancellation channels: online, by phone (800-461-7203), or by email. The catch is timing. Changes must be made at least 48 hours before the next shipment is processed. Miss that window and the order ships, triggering a $25 restocking fee.

Naked Wines handles cancellations online, by phone, or via email. Reviewers on Trustpilot note the process involves several confirmation screens, but there are no restocking fees and no penalties for leaving.

What Happens to Your Money If You Leave

This is the question most people forget to ask until it matters. Each club handles unspent balances differently, and the gap is wider than you'd expect.

Winc credits are non-refundable and forfeited upon cancellation. Any unspent balance is gone.

Wine Insiders offers a satisfaction guarantee (dubbed the Perfect Pour Promise), but the details vary, and members are directed to contact support for specifics.

Firstleaf satisfaction credits, earned when a bottle disappoints, expire immediately upon cancellation. Months of accumulated credit can disappear overnight. Pausing instead of canceling keeps credits active, but that's a workaround, not a policy designed for easy exits.

Naked Wines refunds unspent deposits in cash or site credit, at the company's discretion. Members must have made a contribution or purchase within the prior two years to be eligible.

How All Four Clubs Compare on Flexibility

† Refunds are issued at Naked Wines' discretion and may be returned as cash or site credit. Members joining after March 2024 must have made a contribution or purchase within the prior two years to be eligible.

These four brands didn't land on comparison lists by accident. Each one has earned its following. But their wine club membership terms are where they diverge most sharply. They're worth understanding before you hand over a credit card.

Winc, Wine Insiders, and Firstleaf each build their model around scheduled shipments. Naked Wines builds its model around the member.

Your money stays in your account. Your choices stay in your hands. And if you leave, your balance leaves with you. There's a reason USA Today 10Best readers voted it the #1 Wine Club seven years running, and it's not just the wine.

*Pricing, terms, and availability for all clubs were verified at the time of publication and are subject to change. Introductory offers from Naked Wines enroll buyers in the Angel program, a $40/month deposit toward future wine purchases. Must be 21 or older to purchase. Wine delivery is not available in all states.

Writing Staff