Virgin Wines

rich_g85

rich_g85

rich_g85

Associate
Joined
12 Jun 2003
Posts
2,033
Location
Either Tonbridge or Biggin Hill
Just wondered whether anyone is a member of their Discovery Club or WineBank?

Was thinking about signing up for the Discovery Club but wanted to gain your opinion on prices, service and so on?

Thanks
Richard
 
Me and my parents have both taken them up on their introductory offer. Delivery was prompt and the product fine (I'm not a massive wine buff so your mileage may vary). One thing I'd keep an eye on is that they seem to automatically sign you up to a 'wine bank' thing, where they debit your account for £20 a month (maybe a quarter) to be put towards future purchases. When I asked them to refund my cash and stop doing it (they did it to my parents as well), they responded quickly enough. I tend to studiously tick/untick boxes that sign me up for things like this, so I was left with a very minor sour taste over this.
 
we joined virginwines a while ago. didn't really work out, don't drink nearly enough wine apparently. on leaving, got harassed no end, with phone calls and a couple of dozen emails demanding payment details (even though we unsubscribed), and offering whatever to renew.

They're not bad value, I suppose, particularly with xmas coming.
 
We did the £40 off introductory offer, delivery was prompt. Range was good, but not the best. Product is good.

I can only see their prices being good value if you take up something like WineBank (£xx a month, and each month they 'pay you' 33% interest (which can only be spent in the store)).
 
Ok, thanks. Will probably take their introductory case and see how quickly we get through it to see whether it's worth signing up for the WineBank.

I'm not averse to paying £20/month for a steady supply of wine, but it's only worth it if we're going to actually use it.
 
The trouble with all wine clubs is that they will send you wines unless you keep ticking all the right boxes on their monthly form.

You are much better off by going to a wine merchant like Majestic where you can taste the stuff, be given advice and get good discounts.
 
I got a case from the Virgin Wines discovery club as part of some sort of special offer. I liked the selection of wines in it - far better than any supermarket - and definitely some nice new tastes, but not sure if I'd pay the full price for it.
 
Never had a problem with them either, been a member since before 2001 (can't recall when i actually joined) when they did the introductory offer of doubling everything you bought for the same price. Never been pestered by any of the comms/phone calls though.
 
I've had mixed cases from virgin and several other clubs and have come to conclusion that if you go to the super market and buy good stuff on offer you can do much better for your money. Just avoid the stuff you've never heard of or seen before that says it's down from £10 to £5 as it tends to be rubish.

The only other place I buy wine from is LeBonVin it's a wine merchant in Sheffield that also does interweb sales and I find the advice given in the shop fantastic and the price to quality ratio more than aceptable.
 
a1ex2001 said:
I've had mixed cases from virgin and several other clubs and have come to conclusion that if you go to the super market and buy good stuff on offer you can do much better for your money.
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My parents buy a lot more wine than I do and they've come to the same conclusion. Maybe it's just because their local supermarket (Morrisons) has had lots of nice wine on offer lately. I'd disagree about that £10 to £5 thing as well! I had a bottle of white at the weekend that had been reduced in exactly that way and it was ace :D
 
mulpsmebeauty said:
I'd disagree about that £10 to £5 thing as well! I had a bottle of white at the weekend that had been reduced in exactly that way and it was ace :D
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There is always an exception to the rule! In general I try and look for the wines that have 2-4 quid off the price rather than the big 50% off promotions I also tend to go more with stuff I recognise and know is nice than the unheard of stuff shipped in specially for the offer. One other tip that has never failed me is to check the dimple in the bottom of the bottle, generally speaking the better the wine the bigger the dimple. This rule works because it is more expensive to produce dimpled bottles and it is unusual for cheap nasty plonk to be put in good bottles, obviously it is no guarentee or anything but it's always handy to know!
 
a1ex2001 said:
I've had mixed cases from virgin and several other clubs and have come to conclusion that if you go to the super market and buy good stuff on offer you can do much better for your money. Just avoid the stuff you've never heard of or seen before that says it's down from £10 to £5 as it tends to be rubish.
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To be honest, if I just went down to Tescos with the intention of buying 12 bottles I'd probably just come home with 6 bottles of Blossom Hill red and 6 bottles of white. I'd only go with what I know and like.

My intention here is to have some different wines chosen for me, so I try some new things and expand my range of tastes beyond just Blossom Hill and Jacobs Creek. :)
 
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