Joining a Wine Tasters Club

Wine Tasters Club Fun...
Good Wine in Good Company

Joining a wine tasters club can be a very fulfilling experience. If you are looking for opportunities to boost your knowledge about wine, while learning about the different varietals and tasting some of the finest local and foreign wines; then this type of wine club will be perfect for you.

The objectives for this type of club are mainly social and educational. They typically have a strong local nature, concentrating on the community they are based on.

Besides offering wine tasting events, they can also host fancy dinners and carry out wine tours of their surrounding wine regions. Some of them are slightly elitistic, while the majority of them simply bring together all kinds of people who share a passion about wine, and the experience of wine tasting in particular.

A Tip for Newbies

If you are a beginner, I recommend you look for a wine tasters club dedicated to local wines from your area. These tend to be more focused, and they are a good way to familiarize yourself with the vast world of wine.

It is easy to get lost in a sea of flavors and scents when you start trying wines from all over the world, while it is much more advisable to get to know a couple of local varietals really well before you pursue your wine education further.

Finding a Club

Wine tasters clubs are quite common both in North America and Europe, but they are more rare in poorer regions like South America and some parts of Asia. In Africa, wine culture is largely centered in South Africa, while the large Australian and New Zealand industries make for a great wine scene across Oceania.

If you are shopping online for one of these clubs and you happen to live in North America, the Tasters Guild is a good option. Its many local chapters offer exciting wine tasting events all year long.

Some of the major Universities in both the US and the UK also tend to run exclusive clubs for alumni and faculty.

In fact, as it is rather uncomplicated to start an informal wine tasting club, there are many small independent clubs all over the US. Some of them can be quite charming, offering numerous gatherings to celebrate the harvest, the summer (or anything worth celebrating) and always ready to initiate you in the pleasures of rare European varietals or the excitement of the ever-evolving North American hybrids.

Pricing and Benefits

If all the above has excited your curiosity enough that you want to start looking for a wine tasting club you can join, here is the really good news: the bulk of them won't charge membership fees. Generally, you will only be paying for tasting event tickets.

Sometimes though, you will have to make a commitment as to the number of events you will attend over a certain period of time. And should you wish to invite a guest to one of your club's events, they will usually give you a discount.

Wine is not only one of the world's most ancient beverages; it is also one of the most social drinks there are.

We drink it in the form of Champagne when we have something to celebrate, we share it at romantic dinners and we use it to make toasts at weddings and birthdays.

A wine tasters club is, in a way, a celebration of the social essence of wine. It is all about making new friends, learning, and, my favorite (I am weak, I know!) drinking fantastic wine.