Nat Geo Wine Club collaborates with Laithwaites, one of the longest-running clubs so delivers a good range of fine world wines to its members. It’s user-friendly with good customer service and a choice of three subscription plans. To sum up, Nat Geo is a good club for anyone beginning their exploration of the world of wine.
Nat Geo Wine Club Overview
Nat Geo Wine Club is an offshoot of the famous National Geographic Society brand that promotes scientific and educational knowledge. Collaborating with Tony Laithwaite (of the famous same name club Laithwaites) as its members guide to world vino, it likens a bottle of wine to a good photograph in its ability to transport the taster to a different corner of the globe.
What is Nat Geo Wine Club?
Nat Geo Wine Club is a subsidiary of the National Geographic Society which is most well-known for its publication and documentaries about geography, world cultures, archaeology, and natural science. The club is run in collaboration with the same company that operates other big-publication name wine clubs with British wine merchant and legend, Tony Laithwaite, and his team responsible for selecting the labels for each of the three subscription categories.
How Does Nat Geo Wine Club work?
The Nat Geo Wine Club aligns the philosophy of its brand with its club. It regards a good bottle of wine as being as representative of a region as a beautiful photograph – the latter of which it has built its reputation on. As a member, you start out with a case of a dozen bottles for less than $70 followed by a shipment of 12 wines delivered every three months. you can choose from a red, white, or mixed wine club. The club benefits from the expertise of UK wine club guru, Tony Laithwaite and the international network he and his team have built up over the decades. To make each case suit your tastes, you have the chance to give feedback on what your preferences are.
How Much Does Nat Geo Wine Club Cost?
The introductory offer of 12 wines costs $59.99. This welcome shipment also includes a couple of top-rated bonus bottles plus a pair of elegant high-quality wine glasses. Afterward, each quarterly shipment of a dozen bottles costs $149.99 (working out at a 20% saving) plus tax where applicable and shipping which is around $20 a case.
About the Wine
Nat Geo Wine Club works with Tony Laithwaite who has decades of experience sourcing world wines. This is evident in its range of fine-quality, interesting labels from regions in the Old and New Worlds. Examples of brands/ wineries include:
Stones and Bones is a Portuguese winery that’s famous for its range of red and white blends made from local grapes. Popular with wine lovers, it’s clocked up a few awards.
Domaine du Chay is a Bordeaux house that produces a range of traditional blends using standard grapes for local appellations including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.
Pillastro is a southern Italian producer working in the Puglia area. It produces popular wines made from local varieties including a rich red composed of Negroamaro and Primitivo (Zinfandel).
San Trimboli is an Australian producer that works across different wine regions such as New South Wales and South-eastern Australia. It produces red and white varietal and blend wines.
Les Champs des Etoiles makes entry-level yet good-quality reds and whites that feature famous French grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Benefit 1
Unusually in this day and age of digital transactions, you can make your order over the phone if this is your preference. While the club’s website is safe and secure, it welcomes telephone orders for customers who like the old-fashioned way of doing things.
Benefit 2
You have the freedom to delay your shipping date or even skip a case for any reason. You can even change the contents of your case if you decide you need a different mix for your wine rack. You can make changes online or by calling customer service.
Benefit 3
As a member of the Nat Geo Wine Club, you enjoy a 100% satisfaction guarantee on your case contents. If you don’t enjoy a red or white for whatever reason, the club will issue you with a full refund.
Benefit 4
You enjoy a great discount on your introductory offer case when you sign up with Nat Geo Wine Club, but the money-saving benefits don’t end there. Even with the following regular shipments, you are getting savings of at least 20% on what you would pay retail. You also get to earn credits that you can cash in for bonus bottles and upgrades to 1.5-liter magnums.
Benefit 5
Nat Geo Wine Club encourages members to discuss their tastes with customer service so that the wine picking team can create a selection that suits their preferences. The aim is to customize each of your shipments, whatever plan you have chosen.
Nat Geo Wine Club Membership Programs
You can sign up for the Nat Geo Wine Club online or by phone. When you join the club, you receive a welcome offer of 12 wines at a hugely discounted price. After this, shipments are priced regularly (although with a significant discount), and they arrive every three months. You can choose all reds, whites, or mixed.
Nat Geo Wine Club Membership Length
The subscription with Nat Geo Wine Club is open-ended meaning you can cancel it at any time without any penalty. Until that time, shipments arrive every three months. This applies to all subscriptions whether you have an all-red, all-white, or mixed wine plan.
Can I Give Nat Geo Wine Club Membership as A Gift?
It’s not clear from the Nat Geo Wine Club website if you can give a subscription as a gift. The best option is to contact customer service for details.
Nat Geo Wine Club Packaging
There isn’t a lot of information about packaging, but the Nat Geo Wine Club is dedicated to its members enjoying each shipment fully. To this end, each case includes tasting notes about each of the wines plus suggestions on how to pair them with tasty recipes.
Price and Shipping
The introductory offer costs $69.99 for a dozen high-quality wines from around the world. After this, members receive 12 bottles every three months at a cost of $149.99 plus around $20 for shipping and tax. It’s worth noting that the club doesn’t ship to every state, and some incur a higher shipping fee.
Skip A Month
The Nat Geo Wine Club ships quarterly so a ‘skip-a-month’ policy doesn’t’ apply. That being said, you can skip or delay a shipment whenever it suits you via your online account or by contacting customer service.
Customer Service and contact availability
To get in touch with Nat Geo Wine Club, you can phone a dedicated line or send an email. There’s also a mail option if you prefer. It isn’t clear from the club website when the phone availability hours are.
Cancellation terms
One of the great features of a subscription with the Nat Geo Wine Club is the flexibility around canceling. Your contract with the club doesn’t tie you into a minimum length so you are free to cancel whenever you want.
Disadvantages
The Nat Geo Wine Club is tailored to many wine lovers’ expectations in terms of the range of wines, plans, and pricing. The fact that it has the experience of the Laithwaites name behind it shows. With all this in mind, it’s hard to find fault with the product and service. The standout disadvantage is around shipping. As a member of this club, you’re limited to quarterly shipments which may not suit your wine supply needs. Additionally, it’s not clear if you can give a subscription to this club as a gift.
Differences from the competitors
Nat Geo Wine Club’s main difference from other popular clubs is its product. While its range is good quality, it differs from WSJ in that it doesn’t stock exclusive, award-winning wines. It also doesn’t focus on a niche like Plonk which showcases organic and biodynamic wines from around the world. Likewise, Winc’s mainstay is a range of wines from California while Nat Geo highlights wines from across the Old and New World. Firstleaf and Bright Cellars have similar wines but the difference with these clubs is the more tailored personalization process and choice shipping frequencies.
Our Opinion
Nat Geo Wine Club offers an affordable service with a range of good reds and whites delivered every quarter. It follows a fairly standard wine club model that’s suitable for those who are new to wine and want to receive quality labels on a regular basis to learn about different styles and regions. Customer service is good and the fact you can order over the phone is considerate to those who have cold feet about online shopping. All in all, Nat Geo is a reliable, entry-level club with features like easy cancelation and choice of case contents you’d expect from a worthwhile club. It gets a thumbs up.
