Curated wine clubs are a great way to start exploring new French wines. Not only are the selections usually completely unique (i.e. not wines you’ll see stocked at stores like Total Wine or BevMo) but they are very often higher quality and better priced (for the quality).
The following French wine clubs are run by direct-to-consumer businesses that import their own wines, meaning that they both import and sell the wines that they import directly to the end customer (you) versus the wines going first to a distributor and then to a retail store before a customer purchases them, like most of the wines you will find in stores.
SomMailier
SomMailier is a French wine club offering exclusive wines from boutique French vineyards as a gift or as a quarterly subscription. They import six different wines (three reds and three whites) every three months and deliver them directly to members’ homes.
They exclusively and directly sell their wines directly to their club members, not to wholesale businesses (like restaurants or liquor stores). They are the importer, distributor, and retailer.
Le Grand Courtage French Sparkling Wine Club
Le Grand Courtage is an independently owned, and female-run boutique French wine import business that sells sparkling wines and importer business and brand
Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant
Kermit Lynch is one of the longest-standing and most respected European wine import companies in the United States. Based in Berkeley the business was started by California native Kermit Lynch, back in the early 70s.
Over the years Kermit Lynch has become known for more than just importing fantastic (as well as affordable) French wines. The business works with great producers across many regions in both France and Italy and offers three different wine clubs that include well priced wines from both countries (a red club, a white club, and an ‘Adventurers’ club).
While Kermit Lynch doesn’t technically have a ‘French only’ club I think you’ll like the mix of French and Italian wine selections (all imported from wineries/producers that the business has worked with for many years) that they include in their wine club selections.
Prefer to just order some French wines versus joining a club? Take $20 off of your first order with this code (+ Free Shipping on orders over $125). I love ordering wine from these guys because they make it easy to select new wines thanks to their newsletter (which is packed full of recommendations of different French wines every month that range from $14-$100/bottle).
I have a lot of confidence in Kermit Lynch’s selections as I’ve been buying wines from them for 15+ years and have rarely purchased a bottle I didn’t like (as long as I stick to wines that fit my palate).
If you’re looking to find some new wines to love I recommend taking their recommendations and ordering some of their monthly ‘featured’ wines and then keep a list of which you like best and ask their advice on what you should order next, based on your preferences/palate.
Fatcork Wine Club
Fatcork is a Champagne-exclusive French wine club. The owners work directly with growers in France which allows them to hand-select and import special high quality offerings for their club members. Each of Fatcork’s shipments is curated around an educational theme, providing variety throughout the year and leading members on a tour de Champagne with every shipment.
They have three different wine club levels: Classic, Fancy, and Extra-Fancy which consist of three, four, and six bottle shipments. The four and six bottle clubs (Fancy and Extra-Fancy) include higher-end bottles of Tête de cuvée which translates to “head cuvée” and is considered to be the very best Champagne that a grower makes.
See what Fatcork’s customers have to say about their Champagne club.
Other wine related posts:
Italian Wine Clubs that ship directly from Italy to the U.S.
3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Buying French Wines
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