If the Club Fits

Wine clubs are about more than wine. Winery-based or general, there are no wrong answers.

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What is a wine club, if not a collection of people who love a certain winery’s product? Sometimes a wine club is about people who love wine, but want to try new things. Or, it may be that it’s about experiences that are paired with wine.

Or perhaps all of the above are true.

It may seem to some that a wine club is a way to “lock in” business, but in reality, immediate sales are far from the most important aspect. A wine club creates fans. Raving, crazy, rabid fans.

These are the people every winery (or wine club) wants, because they tell others about the things they love and they do so with such exuberance, people can’t help but join them on the bandwagon.

This has definitely been part of the success of Carl’s Wine Club.

The Generalist

Carl Boucher, the Chief Wine Officer with Carl’s Wine Club, was a wine consultant for international wines for more than two decades. Canadian wines hadn’t really been on his horizon until he took a contract with WestJet and the caveat was, he had to include Canadian wines.

“I absolutely fell in love with what we do in our own backyard,” he says. Now, he’s converting others. “We want to keep Canadians connected to their favourite brands. We feature exclusively Canadian wine, 100 per cent.”

The club was born three years ago on Canada Day, as the pandemic had taken hold. Carl’s wife, Mira, brought the idea up earlier, but he shut her down the first few times. Fortunately, wives are persistent and he eventually listened and saw the benefit of focusing on Canadian wines, creating virtual tastings and giving wine-lovers choice.

“We have built our 10,000 members almost one-by-one because they came to trust us,” he says. “I score every single wine, to give a perspective to people. I tasted over 1,200 different wines last year.”

Boucher’s scoring is based on factors including price so that members know how their favourite $20 merlot stacks up against other $20 merlots – not how it ranks against $60 merlots.

“I don’t rate the wine on my personal taste,” he says. “I rate the wines on quality versus price-point, versus popularity.”

The other key benefit of Carl’s Wine Club as a generalist club is that it is opt-in. That means that the club features a wide range of wines, but club members have no requirement to buy, nor do they have any forced shipments or expectations to engage. The club sends out weekly emails offering wines from a featured winery at a special price to members who are interested, who either buy or don’t.

“Our brand alignment is all about community,” he says. “I’m a storyteller and people love to connect emotionally to the stories. They are discovering the difference between Naramata Bench and Niagara.”

There are no expectations, no pre-built cases, and no demands.

“We do not work for any winery,” Boucher says. “You don’t have to buy every time. There’s no pressure. No commitment.”

Each year, Carl’s Wine Club sends an email to about 300 wineries asking if they want to participate in the club. Rob Hammersley, owner and winemaker with Black Market Wine Company in Kaleden said ‘yes.’

Small But Mighty

Hammersley bought an existing five-acre vineyard in 2018 that had been growing grapes for other wineries for more than 35 years. Instead of following that routine, he opened Black Market Wine Company in 2020 and makes about 3,000 cases a year, with the help of contract acreage. It’s a small winery with a big vision.

“For a small winery, I produce quite a few different wines,” he says. “We have upwards of 12 to 14 different SKUs at any time. Many of the wines we do are wine club exclusive or tasting room exclusive.”

Not only has Hammersley made his wine available through Carl’s Wine Club, but he also offers his own winery wine club. It’s the best of both worlds for a smaller operation.

“It’s called the Secret Society wine club,” he says of his own club. “We have a six bottle and a 12-bottle level. We do only two shipments a year, spring and fall. It’s completely customizable by the member. People are always able to get exactly what they want.”

That level of customization is why he delayed launching the club. He was waiting for the system that allowed for control. There are also club-exclusive wines, free shipping, discounts and the wine club fare offered by small wineries. He enjoys how the Secret Society meshes with Carl’s Wine Club because it provides an opening to a whole new market of wine lovers. In fact, Boucher’s club members voted Black Market Wine Company the BC winery of the year.

The best of BC and best of Ontario held parties at both a BC location and at an Ontario location featuring both wineries’ products. It’s part of the appeal of Carl’s Wine Club in action.

“Using offers through Carl’s allows us to get our wines a little further into the market than we could do ourselves,” Hammersley says.

Insider Benefits Are Experiential

Mission Hill Family Estate Winery was established in 1981 and officially began its wine club in 2015.

“It’s definitely evolved a lot,” says Graham Nordin, general manager, about the wine club. “We really recognize that the wine club is an extension of our winery family. These are the most important guests we have on the property; they are our story tellers outside of the winery.”

There are three different levels of wine club membership: Reserve, Terroir and Legacy. Club members benefit from club exclusive wines, fully customizable shipments, discounts and benefits other clever wineries know to provide. But there are a number of special offerings that are specific to this beautiful vineyard. One is the estate room, exclusively for wine club members; another is nothing short of what life memories are made of.

In 2008, the first concert was held, taking advantage of rolling hills, the deepening sky at dusk and the intimate vibe only possible in a vineyard overlooking a lake. Now, concerts have become an annual expectation with the winery’s Summer Concert Series.

“Tickets go to wine club members first,” Nordin says. “They’re not just an incredible opportunity to see an amazing artist in one of the more beautiful places in the OK valley, but we’ve also evolved a unique culinary experience as well.”

Concert-goers can choose a three-course meal with wine tastings on the Terrace or in the Chagall room; or those looking for a less formal option can choose the patio picnic complete with a bottle of wine and three lighter courses. Or, there’s the simplicity of just  pairing concert tickets with a couple of glasses of wine.

“It’s become such a fabric of what we do here at Mission Hill,” he says. “We’re trying to create these really unique memories and experiences you can’t get anywhere else.”

Unique they are. With capacity for just 900 concert goers, this year’s line up is nothing short of stellar with Diana Krall, Dean Brody, Lyle Lovett, Colin James and (unsurprisingly sold out) Sarah McLachlan. Guests enjoy the show from the outdoor amphitheater on custom-built chairs that feel like they are on the grass, without the stains.

“You’re overlooking the lake, the vineyard,” he says. “It’s just as the sun is starting to set over the mountains. Then the first notes come up from the amphitheater.”

Mission Hill members can also enjoy pick up parties if they choose to pick up their wine order, first access to cooking classes, wine tastings and other events, like those held outside of the Okanagan in recognition that not all wine club members can be on-site for experiences.

“We wouldn’t have a wine business if it weren’t for our wine club members,” Nordin says. “It transcends the ‘oh, I get wine from a winery’.”

Wine clubs are more than selling wine.

They are community formation and friendship. Large, small; winery-specific, general. Wine clubs bring together individuals who share a love of wine and want to experience it in a variety of ways. The most successful wine clubs get to know their members and find ways to gradually create memories together.