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Is the FirstLeaf Wine Club Worth the Cost?

FirstLeaf Wine Club

The average consumer purchases their wine products at a local retailer. In most areas of the country, both small and large stores maintain decent selections of local and imported wines and it's simple to stop and pick up a few bottles but there is another way to buy wine that has been catching on recently. The FirstLeaf Wine Club is a subscription service which offers a rather unique way to have wine delivered to your home. The most common question that people are asking about the Firstleaf Wine Club is, "is it really worth the cost?" This is a question that everyone has to answer for themselves. For some it definitely is and for others, it isn't. If you're considering signing up for the club, here is everything that you need to know to help you make your decision. We've included the pros and cons along with the details about what club membership affords you, and what others who joined the club have to say about their personal experiences.

What is the Firstleaf Wine Club?

The Firstleaf Wine Club, began in 2016 as a subscription service for receiving wines, similar to a book club or other company that sends out merchandise on a regular schedule. The website claims that their service is a way for their customers to enjoy a broader selections of wines which are selected from all over the world at an affordable price, and it offers the convenience of home delivery so there is no need to go out shopping for the items. One of the unique traits of the business is that they make it a point to do their research and look for wines which are produced from award winning wineries throughout the globe, in order to give their customers great new wine tasting experiences. The wines are delivered in full sized bottles and Firstleaf has a nice introductory deal which delivers three bottles of wine for just $15, which is definitely a great deal.

Customers are asked to review the wines after they've given them a try so others can go on the site to read the reviews and get the opinions of others before ordering them. It's a system that not only gives consumers helpful information, it also helps the wineries who make the products gain a sense of how well their products are received by the general public. The subscription service gathers information from each customer through a short quiz to get an idea of their personal tastes and preferences for the wines sent. After completing the review you have the opportunity to order six bottles of your favorite wine for $79 plus the cost of shipping which runs about $9.95 and then tax on top of that. The wines are set for delivery of six bottles every two months but you have the option of canceling at any time. The average cost of each bottle of wine after the introductory period is about $13.

The history of Firstleaf Wine Club

The founder of the Firstleaf Wine Club is Philip James. His objective was to develop a business that partnered with winemakers and wineries to procure fine wines for a customer base and keeping the costs low by avoiding a middleman and becoming the company which finds the wines then offers them to the consumers at a reasonable price. This is how the company was formed. While the subscription based service has cut out the middlemen, they in essence have taken that position, however, some wines change hands multiple times so even though they are a middle layer, their procurement of the products do cut out some of the handlers.

What sets Firstleaf apart from other wine clubs?

Firstleaf finds unique wines that you may not otherwise encounter because they go straight to the winemakers and find small production wines which may not be in circulation throughout the region where customers live. It gives everyone the opportunity to try new wines and give their opinions and if they like the wines, they can source them through Firstleaf and have them delivered directly to their doors. The company vouches that each of the wines that they distribute are from top quality wineries and they the shipments made by Firstleaf are personalized to suit the tastes and preferences of the customers. In addition to this, the customer can preview the shipment before it is sent to learn which wines are scheduled to be sent. This gives them time to check the reviews on the wines which have been left by other Firstleaf customers and if it isn't something that the customer wants to try, they can swap it out for another type of wine. The process is fast and is completed online from the comfort of your own home and it's designed to be hassle free.

Benefits of subscriptions

The obvious benefits of subscribing to the Firstleaf Wine club are getting to try new wines that you might have never come across and it's possible that you'll find a new favorite. In the same vein, you'll be able to source the wine directly from Firstleaf. The convenience of having an online format for previewing the shipment and making desired changes is another advantage to membership. The cost of $13 per bottle isn't bad at all. Another great thing about subscribing is that you can schedule the deliveries and you can have the wines sent once a month, once every two months or you can schedule them for once every three months. You can also choose the shipping dates and which wines you want. If you refer others and they sign up for a subscription you'll also receive a $20 credit for every new member who signs up.

The Firstleaf design

The Firstleaf Wine Club subscription service is based upon algorithms that begin to formulate the best wine choices for each customer based upon a series of factors. These include the initial quiz that is completed at the time that the customer signs up. This serves as a baseline from which to choose the wines that the customer are most likely to prefer. Over time, as each bottle of wine is reviewed online by the customer, the computer gathers more information based on input on each wine type and it's all aggregated together to aid the system in determining personal tastes and preferences which may evolve and change over time. This is how the wines are chosen, but the customer always has the opportunity to preview the orders and make any changes based on preference. As a subscriber you are free to order the wines of your choice or you can try new ones based upon the system that makes an educated assumption based upon the information that you provide. It's a system that works better and better over tie if you are interactive on the site and give your honest opinion in review form for each of the wines that you try.

Firstleaf also offers an educational experience for subscribers. Wine lovers who enjoy trying new things can learn a lot about the wines they try by visiting the site and reading about the winemakers as well as the ingredients and the description of the wines in advance, then trying them at home. The reviews can also give you some pointers about what to look for in wines to judge their quality. Wine lovers of all levels of expertise gather to share their opinions and insights on each new wine that is tried and this creates an amazing learning environment for those who are new to wine tasting.

What others have to say about the Firstleaf Wine Club

The Firstleaf Wine Club was reviewed by WineClubReviews.net and their opinion of the subscription service overall is that when compared with other similar companies, Firstleaf is one of the most easy to use, with a variety of interesting wines, excellent descriptions and identification of the qualities of the pro ducts and it's among the most affordable service for what it has to offer. They are customer centered and the reviewers gave them high marks, moving them to the #1 best Affordable Wine Club and #5 on their list of the Best Wine Clubs. Having said this, the review also mentioned that they think the advertisements do hype the service up to be a little better than it is, but overall, it came in with high marks on affordability and the educational value of the service.

Consumer Advocate Reviews

The Consumer Advocate organization has also conducted a review of the Firstleaf Wine Club. What they liked a lot was the technology that is used to match individuals with the best possible wine choices based upon the feedback that the customer provides. They point out that Firstleaf's wines are award winning and they have hundreds of wins at competitions, showing that the products are in fact chosen for their high quality. This review places Firstleaf as the #1 in Wine Clubs overall, which is four positions higher than winereviews.com. They also like the variety of wines available as well as the 100% satisfaction guarantee and the way that the business is so customer-centric. Firstleaf has only been in business since 2015 and it's already receiving great reviews. overall, Firstleaf is customer focused, they cater to the desires of their customers and they stand out because of the high level of customization that they provide for subscribers.

Drinkhacker reviews

Drinkhacker gave Firstleaf a try and although the expert didn't find it to be too far from the norm, they do offer one service which makes them stand out above the others. It's their willingness to learn from your feedback how to best serve you with new wines. The service is good and the wines arrive quickly. They're customized which is a positive, and the wines are decent, exceeding the value of the price charged for these hard to find wines, although not perfect, not bad. Ultimately Drinkhacker is a tough reviewer and didn't really say one way or another whether the subscription service was worth the cost one way or another, but the review overall, was positive.

Final thoughts

The Firstleaf Wine Club offers a subscription service that does stand apart from the rest of the wine clubs offering similar services. They are the most customer-centric of all of the wine subscription services. Multiple reviewing organizations give them high marks for their excellent service and the wide variety of wines that they offer, and although one reviewer suggested that they're not unique, the wines they procure are products that most customers would not otherwise have access to. The only major drawback to the club is that their on site reviews which offer a thumbs up or thumbs down system could be improved upon as it's far too basic to be of much use, but they've only been in business for a little over four years. They're doing a great job so far and although they're not perfect, they still have time to improve in the growth areas.

Firstleaf excels in customizing and personalizing their services to suit each subscribers preferences. They do the leg work to secure award winning wines for their client base and they provide an extremely easy online system for customers to preview their orders before they ship and make changes to ensure that they are 100 percent satisfied. Although this service may not be for everyone, it has received excellent reviews from several reliable sources. The wines are quality and at $13 per bottle, they are a good value for the cost, according to experts who rendered their honest opinions.

Dana Hanson

Written by Dana Hanson

Dana has extensive professional writing experience including technical and report writing, informational articles, persuasive articles, contrast and comparison, grant applications, and advertisement. She also enjoys creative writing, content writing on nearly any topic (particularly business and lifestyle), because as a lifelong learner, she loves to do research and possess a high skill level in this area. Her academic degrees include AA social Sci/BA English/MEd Adult Ed & Community & Human Resource Development and ABD in PhD studies in Indust & Org Psychology.

Read more posts by Dana Hanson

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