San Antonio Wine Club Review 2022

We’ve checked the plans, the prices, and of course, the wine and given San Antonio Wine Club a big thumbs up if you’re a firm admirer of California wines.

San Antonio Wine Club Review 2022
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Starts at $140

San Antonio Wine Club is the best wine club if you know your California AVAs and like a small, select choice of wines made with the family touch. As well as offering exclusive, limited-edition wines from its own winery, there’s a wide range of delicious sweet labels with its own membership plan.

San Antonio Overview

San Antonio Wine Club is an award-winning family-run operation that showcases the labels of its namesake Los Angeles winery. The club offers two membership plans with two different bottle counts each.

What is San Antonio?

San Antonio is a fourth-generation Italian family-owned, and run winery that offers a range of membership plans that feature its own wines. An urban winery located in downtown Los Angeles, its fruit comes from its estates across the Central Coast and Napa Valley wine regions and its labels cover red, white, and rosé style wines. Its most famous label is the Stella Rossa range which features sweet and off-dry , refreshing, fruity wines.

How Does San Antonio work?

Learning your way around the San Antonio website and finding the club that suits you is easy because there are only two clubs. The Artisan Premiere Club features the winery’s California labels and the Sweet Wine Club is all about Stella Rossa wines (with an occasional sweet wine from another label). You select the club you like and choose the bottle count which ranges from three to 12. Keep in mind the cost of Artisan club shipments can vary each time depending on the wines that are included in your case but there is a price bracket which acts as a guide. This club delivers three times a year and represents the higher end of the winery’s labels. The Sweet club ships every three months. Wine club members get to take advantage of discounts in the winery store plus they receive complimentary passes to tasting events and vino special parties that take place in the California premises. 

How Much Does San Antonio cost?

The Artisan Premiere Club prices range from between $140 and $320 per shipment depending on whether you go for six or 12 bottles or all reds or a mixed case. The Sweet Wine Club cost is $52.99 for three bottles to $86.99 for six.

About the Wine

San Antonio Wine Club labels are all produced in-house whether from the high-end collection of reds and whites or the cheerful Stella Rossa range. While the winery is California based, the company has holdings in Italy and Canada and its wines have an Italian winemaking touch true to its roots. The following wines are typical of the style and standard:

San Simeon Storm Watch

One of the winery’s flagship wines featured in the Artisan plan, this Bordeaux-style wine hails from small plots in the Paso robles appellation. Rich and full bodied, it contains all the left-bank grapes plus Malbec and is aged in French oak for 18months.

San Simeon Chardonnay 

This is also an Artisan wine from Monterey. From stony terroir, it boasts good balance and structure plus a tropical mouth.

Opaque 

Rich and deep, this is a 100% Malbec label from the Artisan plan. Fruit comes from prime vineyards in Paso Robles and fermented separately to maintain unique black fruit flavors. Gentle yet firm tannins are thanks to American and French oak.

Stella Rosa® Bianco

From the Sweet plan, an example of what you get during the summer, this white is crisp and refreshing.

Stella Rosa® Asti 

A fruity floral lightly bubbly summer wine typical of the Sweet membership, this has a semi-sweet character.

San Antonio Membership Benefits

Whether it’s the free shipping or the carefully curated cases of in-house wines, there are numerous advantages in signing up to the San Antonio Wine Club. 

Benefit 1

The majority of the wines come from the San Antonio company so it’s in control of the quality and there’s little chance of landing a bad wine. The Sweet club often includes one bottle that isn’t Stella Rosa for a taste of something different, but most are in-house labels.

Benefit 2 

As a member you get complimentary tickets to tastings at the winery premises in California plus a discount on wines from the San Antonio store. If you enjoy a party, the winery also holds events especially for members you can attend if you’re going to be in the Golden State.

Benefit 3 

It isn’t clear what the situation with the Artisan club is but if you’re a Sweet club subscriber you’re free to cancel whenever you want. You have control over your membership via your personal account. 

Benefit 4 

Sweet club members also benefit from a dedicated website where they’ll find blogs covering general wine knowledge and a great section that features delicious cocktails made with Stella Rossa wines. Also showcased are tasty mains and desserts recipes that are enhanced by a sweet wine so you can get creative with your shipment.  

Benefit 5 

Members of the Artisan club receive wines hand-crafted by the family winemaker and each shipment is curated according to the season for deeper enjoyment. Your case comes with recipe suggestions that match each of your wines so you can enjoy your delivery even more.

San Antonio Membership Programs

The Sweet Wine Club ships every three months, and you have the choice of three or six bottles. You sign up easily via the San Antonio website and can cancel when you like. The Artisan Premiere Club ships three times a year in February, May, and October and you have a choice of six or a dozen bottles of all reds or mixed wines. The cancelation policy for this club isn’t clear.

San Antonio Membership Length

If you join the Sweet club, you’ll receive your shipment every three months. If you ever want to cancel, you’re free to do so any time it suits you without any questions asked. The Artisan club delivers seasonal wines three times a year. It’s not clear what the cancelation policy is for this membership plan.

Can I Give San Antonio Membership as A Gift?

San Antonio does not explicitly offer gift memberships on its site and there’s no option for gift cards that could be used for a subscription plan. However, with the Sweet club sign up, there’s an option for adding  a gift message so you can send a shipment to a loved one. There is a dedicated section for merchandise and gifts like scented candles, make-up, caps, and even coffee with a winery theme.

San Antonio Packaging

Packaging for the Sweet club is bright and cheerful and bears an uplifting message to get you in the mood to enjoy the contents. The Artisan club contains material that covers the origins of each wine, its tasting profile, and suggestions on food pairing to expand your enjoyment.

Price and Shipping

Shipping is complimentary for both clubs regardless of the bottle count. The club doesn’t deliver to all states. Sweet club shipping usually takes three to- five business days. The timing for the Artisan club is not detailed on the San Antonio website although subscribers can expect shipments to arrive early in February, May and October.

Skip A Month

Members of the Sweet club have the flexibility to skip an upcoming shipment if they’re going on vacation or any other reason. You can arrange this with ease in your personal account. There’s no information on if you can skip a month with the Artisan club.

Customer Service and contact availability

You can contact the San Antonio Los Angeles office via phone, email, online form, or mail. There’s also a dedicated phone number for online orders but it doesn’t say what the operating hours are. The Sweet club has its own phone and email contacts, and you can expect a response from the latter within two business days.

Cancellation terms

There are no details about how to cancel membership of the Artisan club and how long you’re tied into the contract. If you’re a Sweet club member, you can cancel any time you want although there is no information about how far in advance you have to end your contract.

Disadvantages

The club plans San Antonio Winery offers are bespoke with hand-picked wines most of which are sourced direct from the producer, so the quality control is good. The downside of this is that you’re only tasting a small range of wines, and this may get dull after a while unless you’re a dedicated fan of the available range. Another disadvantage is it’s not clear if you can cancel or skip a shipment as an Artisan club member. There also doesn’t appear to be a gift membership option for either club. Finally, while club membership entitles you to free tastings and parties, this is only useful if you’re in California.

Differences from the competitors

The stand-out difference between San Antonio winery and other major clubs is its range. While the likes of WSJ and Firstleaf feature a wide range of wine styles from all the iconic regions around the world, San Antonio homes in on its own wines for both its Artisan and Sweet club. One of the selling points of clubs like Bright Cellars is its tasting technology and rating system designed to match your preferences to its portfolio. Another big difference is, with San Antonio, you don’t have the choice of influencing what goes into each shipment. Plonk, which falls into a similar price band to the Artisan club, gives you the chance to rate each bottle.

Our Opinion

San Antonio is an ideal club if you’re either already a fan of San Antonio wines or admire the California regions where it grows its fruit. As a member of the Artisan Premiere Club, you know you’re getting hand-produced, carefully-picked reds and whites of superior quality. With the Sweet Wine Club, you have the assurance of a wide range of fun tried-and-tested wines from a reliable label. However, if you want a wider wine experience from your club, San Antonio probably isn’t a good fit. This may be your perfect club, but we recommend you check out the options first.

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Pros and cons

Pro's

Exclusive wines in each shipment.
Member discounts on wines in its shop.
Complimentary wine tastings at tasting rooms.
Tasting notes and food pairing ideas.
Special parties for club members.
Every membership is matched by a philanthropic activity by the club.
Complimentary shipping.

Con's

You need to be a big fan of San Antonio wines otherwise membership could seem limited (even though the club changes shipments contents regularly according to the season).
Doesn’t ship to every state.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

How long is the delivery time?

There’s no specific info about how long delivery time is for the Artisan Premiere Club but shipments arrive in February, May, and October. Members of the Sweet Wine Club can expect their cases to arrive within three to five days of ordering.

How do you sign up?

On the San Antonio website, go to the “Wine Clubs” tab and check out which of the two plans suits your tastes. With the Sweet club, you simply click through to choose the bottle count and mix of wines and pay. If you go for the Artisan club, you’ll receive confirmation and details of your first shipment. It’s not clear if you pay via the website right away or later when the wine’s ready.

How can I send my wine back?

There are no details on how to send your wine back or any information on a satisfaction guarantee.

How much does it cost?

The cost ranges from between $140 and $320 per shipment for the Artisan club plan. The final cost depends on whether you go for six or 12 bottles, all reds or a mixed case, and the wines selected by the sommelier team. The Sweet Wine Club costs $52.99 for three bottles to $86.99 for six with quarterly delivery.

How do I cancel?

There is no info about how to cancel your Artisan club membership. If you have a plan with the Sweet club, you can cancel any time you want via your personal account.

Can you give it as a gift?

San Antonio doesn’t have a section for wine club gift memberships per se but there is the opportunity to send a “gift message” when you purchase a Sweet plan so evidently it is possible. It’s not clear if there is a gift membership for the Artisan club.