The Desert Wine Guy - Vinesse Wine Club, A Ripoff

 What is going on guys? Today I want to do a short review of a wine club named Vinesse which is a subsidiary of American Cellars Wine Club. Keep in mind that I am not a stranger to reviewing wine clubs as I have reviewed a few of them on this site. During these reviews the two that I found were good was the Wine of The Month Club (https://www.winemonthclub.com/) & Naked Wines (https://us.nakedwines.com//). Here is my review of both the Wine Of The Month Club  (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-desert-wine-guy-my-recent.html) as well as Naked Wines (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-desert-wine-guy-my-review-of-naked.html). By the way, I also happen to belong to Naked Wines and give them $40 each month. So, why am I writing this review? My answer to that question is that I am very upset, allow me to explain why and I think you might be as well. The other day....and the day before....and the day before that and two weeks prior to that I received the above offer(s) in my mailbox and I finally got tired of throwing the mail out and decided to open it up and see what it is all about, after all it did have to do with wine. As you can see from the photo above, the offer sounded really good and was for an introductory offer of 6 bottles of wine along with a "free gift worth $50" (2 additional bottles of wine) for a total of 8 bottles. The total for these 8 bottles is  $29.99 + $10 for Shipping & Handling.

Vinesse Shipping Charges

 Okay, so far, this sounds like a good deal and if you also think that it sounds like a good deal you would of course be correct. Now keep in mind that you are also agreeing to join the club and receive a shipment of wine each month which is normal for these wine clubs. Well folks, I went ahead and read a little further into what the company offers and here are the problems that I found.
   Let's begin by talking about a generic wine that Vinesse sells. Vinesse sells this generic wine for $20 and let's say for arguments sake that that is a good deal, here is where the first part of what I consider to be a ripoff, comes into play. The first part of this ripoff is the fact that Vinesse charges $21 to ship that $20 bottle of wine to you. Yes, you read that correctly, $21. If you think that Vinesse charging $21 for shipping a bottle of wine is bad, just wait because you ain't seen nothing yet. If you thought that Vinesse is done charging you for shipping for that the one bottle, you would be wrong again and this is where the second part of this ripoff comes in. Vinesse isn't done charging you shipping for that one bottle of wine because they also have a.......wait for it.....surcharge. Yes folks, a surcharge and if you need your wine shipped to one of  23 states (one of which is mine) Vinesse will hit you with a surcharge of 17% and if you need that wine sent to PA and IL, that surcharge jumps to 20%. Keep in mind that according to a big wine magazine, winery direct (which is what Vinesse claims to be) shipping is prohibited in four states so that is a lot of states that will be paying that crazy surcharge. For the remainder of the states they charge a 10% surcharge. I bet that now you think they are done charging you for delivery huh? If you thought that your wrong again because there's more, there is yet another surcharge.

Naked Wines - Shipping Charges

This surcharge is a 3% surcharge for those of us who live in a "residence", Yes folks, Vinesse charges you a surcharge because you live in a residence which is otherwise known as where you live. I guess they believe that wines from an on-line wine club are not normally sent to a residence.
   Let me tell you guys a little something. I recently ordered a bottle of Chardonnay from the Napa Valley winery, Black Stallion (https://www.blackstallionwinery.com/) and they charged me $14 to ship it. Guys, anytime a Napa Valley winery is cheaper than a retailer, in anything, something is indeed, way wrong. Now as I tell you this please remember that I actually give $40 a month (I'm a member) to the wine club I am about to mention which is Naked Wines. Naked Wines charges $9.99 to ship anything under $100. Now I didn't say that 9.99 is per bottle because that is not the case. If your order totals $99.99 or less, that order ships for a flat $9.99. If you order $100 or more, it ships for free as does Vinesse but since Vinesse doesn't believe that surcharges for delivery are actual delivery charges, you will still pay them so it's not free at all. Getting back to Naked Wines for a minute, I just today received six bottles of wine that I ordered from them and it shipped for free. Looking at their shipping charge, Vinesse would have charged me $30 + all the other surcharges..
   There you have it folks, do you see now why I am so upset? I hope that if you are in the market for a wine club that I have helped you in narrowing down your search. If you want to pay out the butt for shipping, perhaps you will like being a member of Vinesse but if you are like me and will not do business with what I consider to be a dishonest company, I would stay far away from them.

                                                                                                                                     The Desert Wine Guy

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