Gold Medal Wine Club

What's in the box: A shipment of award-winning or highly rated wines picked by the club, with the bottles getting pricier as you move up from Gold to Platinum to Diamond.

Gold Medal Wine Club says it has been curating wines since 1993, so it has been around longer than most US wine clubs. Membership comes in three tiers. Gold starts from $49, Platinum from $114 and Diamond from $220, and the price steps suggest the higher tiers offer more expensive, cellar-worthy bottles. The online store currently features Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon priced between $150 and $190 a bottle, so the club clearly caters to buyers willing to spend a lot. The entry tier keeps the door open for more casual drinkers. Besides the subscriptions, you can build a custom case from the store or buy one-time gift sets. Gilded Gold is $49, and The Favorite Four was on sale for $98 when we checked. Gifting is a big part of the business, and the club pitches itself to beginners and experienced drinkers alike. A phone line staffed by real people is shown at the top of the site, which helps if you have questions before buying a gift. The homepage does not say how many bottles each tier includes, how often shipments arrive or what shipping costs, so check each club page before you sign up. As with any US wine club, whether it can deliver to you depends on your state's alcohol shipping laws, and an adult usually has to sign for the package.