Vinebox vs WSJ Wine Club Comparison 2022

About Vinebox  

Vinebox is all about giving subscribers full control over the bottles that end up on their shelves. It achieves this with a unique club model where subscribers taste a range of top-class European mini-vials and order full bottles of what they enjoy. The club sources and delivers selected bottles.

About WSJ Wine Club 

WSJ Wine Club (which stands for Wall Street Journal) was the first 12-bottle delivery club on the scene and has built up an impressive network of large and boutique wineries in all the leading Old and New World regions. Many of its labels are award winners.

Vinebox Main Benefits Overall

The feature that sets Vinebox apart from other clubs is its sourcing and delivery of bottles you know you love because you’ve already tasted and selected them.

There’s no second guessing or leaving things to chance with this club which can be an attractive point for both those experienced with wine or new to the space. This club deals with hand-picked small wineries around Europe that you’re not likely to encounter at your wine store so there’s an exclusive edge to its range.

It also offers gift options and adequate customer service if you have a query about your order or subscription as a whole.

WSJ Wine Club Main Benefits Overall

Kudos is always due to pioneers who start a whole new service. That’s WSJ Wine Club for you. It was one of the, if not the first of the 12-bottle wine clubs with many following in its wake.

This club focuses on wines that are highly rated by critics and award winners at international competitions. As a member, you can sit back, relax and feel confident that you’re getting an expert pick of labels in each shipment.

This club also has a good customer service team for any queries that may come up plus tries its best to accommodate you if you need flexibility around delivery times.

Overall Winner

WSJ Wine Club

Vinebox Wine Selection 

Vinebox has tasted 11,358 labels to date (and the list is growing) and only 1% have made it into its portfolio of taster vials. The 100-ml samples cover classic European regions, varietals, and styles covering reds, whites, and occasionally, rosés.

The superiority of its selection makes it an excellent white wine club but its range of reds is equally impressive, so you get a good taste of leading labels all around.

Vinebox also has a knack for getting the best of each season for a good variety. Each of the vials is kept fresh with advanced technology so you don’t have to worry about oxidation.

WSJ Wine Club Wine Selection 

Whichever of its two membership packages you choose, WSJ Wine Club takes the 12-bottle shipment model to an impressive level with its links to exclusive producers.

It knows that variety is the spice of life so ensures you receive all the styles from leading regions you’d expect plus lesser-known labels and varieties all of which have done well in ratings and competitions.

A great red wine club and equally fine in whites, if you go for the slightly more expensive option, you can expect Burgundies, Bordeauxs, and Napas in your shipments and somehow WSJ Wine Club manages to make it pocket-friendly.

Wine Selection Winner:

Vinebox

Vinebox Wine Subscription Plans 

With a standard Vinebox membership, you receive nine glass-sized servings of reds and whites (and occasional rosés) every three months.

There’s just enough in each vial for a good tasting sample so you can assess each properly and decide if you’d like to splurge on a full bottle.

You pay for bottles with credits you’ve built up over previous shipments and Vinebox will sort out delivering each label to you. You can choose the option to pay quarterly or annually with the latter ending up a little cheaper. You might have to join a waiting list.

WSJ Wine Club Wine Subscription Plans 

When you sign up to WSJ Wine Club, you’ll receive an introductory shipment of 12 bottles plus a bonus service gift.

This gives you a good idea of the high quality you can expect in following cases. After this, you decide if you want to join the Discovery Club which features 12 bottles or The Premier Club that features top, often limited-edition wines.

It’s up to you whether you get a red, white, or mixed selection plus you can rate each wine you receive via your club account which helps tailor future shipments to your tastes.

Subscription Plans Winner:

WSJ Wine Club

Vinebox Pricing and Shipping 

As mentioned above, there’s a choice of how you pay for your Vinebox membership. If you pay every three months, the cost is $79 and you can double up on shipments if you want which entitles you to a 10% discount.

Alternatively, you can pay in advance annually which works out at $288 representing a significant saving. With the latter option, should you choose to continue once the year comes to an end, you can go quarterly and, as a loyalty thank you, only pay $72.

Delivery is free for both options and, for the quarterly option, your case arrives around five days after each renewal date.

WSJ Wine Club Pricing and Shipping 

With each WSJ Wine Club subscription, your shipments arrive every quarter. The Discovery Club costs $159 and the Premier Club $259 every three months.

The cost of delivery is an additional $19.99 whichever club you choose. If you need to alter a delivery date by a few days if you’re not going to be at home, you can do so easily plus WSJ Wine Club allows you to skip a shipment for up to four weeks for whatever reason.

Pricing and Shipping Winner:

Vinebox

Vinebox Customer Service and Guarantee 

If you aren’t enthusiastic about your tasters, unfortunately there are strict regulations on alcohol delivery that make returns and refunds impossible.

Also, in a way, why would you want to return them as the whole idea of tasters is just that – to taste them and buy a bottle of what you like!

However, if the case was damaged or compromised while in transit, you can get in touch with the club via email with a photograph that clearly shows what the issue is. Vinebox will make you whole with re-shipping or a refund. The same goes for full bottles you order. 

WSJ Wine Club Customer Service and Guarantee

WSJ Wine Club offers a straight-up 100% money-back guarantee for any bottle that doesn’t float your boat. There is a good range of ways of getting in touch with live chat during office hours, email, and even snail mail if you prefer this way of communicating.

Whatever the problem is with a bottle, just get in touch and explain why you’d like a refund and the club will do its best to accommodate you.

One way of having control over the contents of your case to avoid disappointment is by rating wines and opting for all reds, whites, or a mix in your account. 

Customer Service and Guarantee Winner:

WSJ Wine Club

Vinebox Cancellation Terms  

You can bring your Vinebox membership to an end at any time that suits you via email. It’s worth noting that this doesn’t apply after the event so if you want to cancel right after you’ve paid a regular subscription fee, you won’t be entitled to a refund.

The cancellation only comes into effect for the next scheduled shipment.

If you need to skip a case, Vinebox is quite reasonable about this. In the same way you do with cancellation, simply let the club know in writing and in a timely fashion. 

WSJ Wine Club Cancellation Terms  

Terminating your WSJ Wine Club subscription is very easy. There are no hidden charges or small-print commitments getting in the way; you just have to inform the customer service team about your change in plans.

You can contact this team via the methods detailed above, explain what you want, and the club will arrange it for you. It’ll probably want to know why you want to leave solely to see if there’s a way of making membership better for you but, if you’re certain you want to cancel, WSJ Wine Club will make it straightforward for you.

Cancellation Terms Winner:

Vinebox and WSJ Wine Club are fair and square about cancellation so it’s a draw.

Vinebox Wine Gifts 

Vinebox offers some great gift-giving choices that relieve you of racking your brain over gifts every time a birthday or special occasion rolls around.

First of all, you can send credit of $158 for two boxes over six months or $288 for double the amount via email. As with a regular member, your loved one will accrue credits with every shipment and be able to order full bottles of enjoyable labels.

Your recipient can also select a gift themselves from a good selection on Vinebox’s website. The club can send a physical case if you prefer and also arranges bespoke corporate gifts. 

WSJ Wine Club Gifts 

If you know someone who’d enjoy the gift of WSJ Wine Club membership, you can buy it online by providing the address of your friend or family member and checking “Yes” under “Gift Options” at the club’s checkout.

There isn’t just the choice of gifts for giving to loved ones; from time to time you also enjoy free serving accessories with cases making your drinking experience more professional and enjoyable.

You can also dig out more deals for yourself under the ‘Coupons and Deals’ tab on the WSJ Wine Club website.

Buy as a Gift Winner:

It’s another tie because Both Vinebox and WSJ Wine Club offer a good service here.