Sonoma Wine Clubs: A Club by Club Assessment with Author Jim Arnold

Wine Clubs are increasingly ubiquitous and wine enthusiasts have a plethora of choices when stocking their personal wine cellar. In the new book, , author Jim Arnold and Photographer Ingrid Larnis transform the broad spectrum of Sonoma County wine club offerings into a handy dandy guide that details each clubs benefits, costs, perks, and other pertinent information. IntoWine.com recently chatted with Jim Arnold about the book and the grand experience that came with researching it.

Why did you pick Sonoma versus Napa?

We live in Sonoma County, so it was most convenient. We're working on a book covering the Napa clubs now, along with a second edition of the Sonoma book. Plans for Mendocino/Lake County, then Central California.

Wine clubs are obviously a great way for wineries to generate repeat business. However, what are some wine club "benefits" consumers should be careful to avoid?

It used to be fairly common for wineries to dump the wines they couldn't sell into the club shipments, but that's become increasingly rare as competition for members has increased. Also, the developing culture of pride in winemaking, and the sophistication of the market, have made dumping unthinkable for all but the unthinking (and the shrinking).

One important issue you (any prospective member) will want to anticipate is how many bottles you’ll want to receive from any one winery in a year, and how much you'll want to pay for it. Some clubs expect a relatively large commitment. And if you want to receive reds or whites exclusively, be sure a club gives you that option.

If you owned a winery and were starting a wine club tomorrow, how would you structure the ideal wine club?

Most wineries have already got that figured out from watching each other and copying success.