Wine52 Review – Is the subscription worth it?

Are you looking for a new wine subscription service, that’s a bit different? Wine52 is Beer52’s wine club. It provides members with 3 bottles of wine from a different country each month, along with a couple of snacks and a magazine about the region and the wines, so is the Wine52 subscription worth it?

Beer52 has been around since 2013, but they recently launched their new wine subscription program called Wine52. What makes it different from other wine subscription services out there? Let us take a look at some pros and cons of Wine52 and see if it’s really worth it.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

– You can sample wines from all over the world – expand your horizons

– You don’t have to worry about how much money you spend – it’s set at a monthly price of £32 every 28 days with shipping, included so it’s easy to budget

– You get to try out wines you wouldn’t normally buy –  you get the choice of red, white, or both but that’s the only decision you have to make, other than yes or no to subscribe…

– You don’t have to worry about storing wine in your house because pretty well everyone can find a place for 3 bottles, you can even leave it in the rather attractive box that it comes in.

– You can usually find a partner offer that lets you try out Wine52 by only paying £5.95 for the shipping – or contact me and I’ll send you my personal referral link (this means I’ll get some free wine, you can then pass your referral code onto friends later for the same perk – but I only have one available!)

– Each purchase generates you points, which you can exchange for money off up to 50% of your order (in their beer and wine shop – each wine you rate or review and for referring your friends)

– Refer a friend to also get discounts off wine when they buy a full-price case

– You can suspend your subscription by a month online 

–  Trust Pilot Reviews are good, with a satisfaction rate of 4.5 / 5 stars

Trust Pilot Snapshot

Cons:

– The selection isn’t as good as going to your local wine shop – in fact, if you’re after something specific, or find a favourite that you’d like to get more of you’re probably out of luck

– If you don’t like it, you’re stuck with it – but at least you can divert it into cooking, or check out the essential guide for tips to like the wine that you’re currently drinking.

– It’s expensive (relatively) at £10.67 per bottle (if you’re not considering the snacks and magazine), careful selection at Aldi or Lidl at around £6-£8 per bottle can result in 4 or 5 excellent bottles for the same cost. And personally – I’ve not really enjoyed the snacks… so I’m mainly considering the wine in the cost.

– If you don’t like talking to people, you won’t be happy that to cancel your subscription you need make a phone call or email them to discuss… No online option to cancel. However, if you do click the cancel button, you’ll be offered a £5 discount for a month to stay… and be aware that you lose any accrued benefits if you do cancel.

The Subscription Review

Wine52 Review

Lisa Tidswell

Cost of Box: £32 for 3 bottles
Introductory Offer: free box, just pay for shipping
Delivery: Next day courier
How do I cancel: Ring or Email only
Vegan: No info provided
Contents: 3 bottles + 2 snacks + 1 magazine
Packaging: Well-packed wine, and snacks have been taped into the tape on one occasion.
Frequency: Every 28 days – that’s 13 boxes per year
Extras: Rewards points with money off and free boxes (except shipping) available for referred friends
USP: Introduces you to new regions that you wouldn’t normally try
Beginner Friendly: Yes, the only choice you have to make is if you fancy red, white or both. If even this is daunting though, you can check out the beginner’s guide to red, to white, or to rose to help you choose your own wines to start your wine journey.

Summary

If you’d like to be introduced to new wines every month, and expand your horizons give it a shot!

Overall, obscure wine was amazing, more traditionally available regions were a bit disappointing and the snacks just didn’t do it for me.

Cancellation is only available through human interactions, and there is no dietary information available before the wine is despatched.

4

The Wine (or Beer) Store

If you find something in the Wine52 shop that you like the look of, keep looking further – you need to get your basket to £50 to be eligible for free shipping – and any reward you have can be used for a maximum of 50% of the basket. At the moment, there is nothing in the wine section of the store that is over £50 – and the same goes for the beer store – so be prepared to splash out more than you might have intended.

The Wines Then…

So, the first box is free (except for shipping of course), but what are they like?

Firstly – the Wine52 wine subscription is arranged by country, and they consider themselves to be a “discovery” wine club. This means you get no choice in what comes in your box (except for the decision of red, white, or mixed). Wine52 sources from winemakers around the world, and delivers exclusive wines – which means, of course, if you find something that you particularly like, you will probably really struggle to get some more.

Top tip – if your box comes with a new favourite – keep an eye on the Wine52 wine store, you might be lucky enough to snag another bottle of it.  Alternatively, check out the winemaker details on the back of the bottle and have a go at contacting them directly. Just remember that any wine imported into the UK attracts alcohol and tobacco duty as well as import VAT at the standard rate of 20%.

The Verdict

I now have 4 wine deliveries to rate – so I guess you could say I’ve given it a good try! But I’m afraid, overall it’s nothing I’d write home about. But if you want to see what’s in the box – you can watch the unboxing of my second delivery below.

Even the snacks left me a little bit disappointed – I think of the 8 snacks (4 boxes) there was only one that I really enjoyed. The magazine is a great idea – but only got opened to have photos taken in my house, it’s just not really our thing!

Now, that said, there were a few bottles I really enjoyed – and those were the ones that you don’t often see in the UK. The wine from Hungary was amazing (this did not shock me – I spend a week or so working in Hungary a few years ago, and their wine blew me away while I was there). Big and bold flavours, with a great balance, made it a pleasure to drink. As the majority of Hungarian wine is not well known, great quality is very reasonably priced.

However, I didn’t find the offering from the more well-known regions to be nearly as nice. This is a real shame because there are those hidden gems in well-known wine regions – they’re just a bit harder to find.

Conclusion

All in all, if the discovery cases were to explore wine regions that I couldn’t easily find on my own, I’d be keeping this subscription active – however, as it is, I’ve now got it paused until I see what the next country on offer is – and if it doesn’t excite me, I think I’ll be leaving Wine52. 

Are you tempted to try Wine52? Let me know in the comments.

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11 thoughts on “Wine52 Review – Is the subscription worth it?”

  1. Hi,

    What a comprehensive review, thank you!!

    It was good to see that you rated the more obscure wines so highly, although the wines from traditional areas didn’t rate so well, which was disappointing along with the fact that you didn’t rate the snacks so well either.

    Thank you for being so honest!

    On the plus side, being able to try them out by just paying £5.92 with your referral code is an excellent option!!

    All the best,

    Julia

    1. Hi Julia,

      Thanks for agreeing! I know I was spoiled by having the first few orders being wine from the obscure regions – this definitely set me up for a bit of disappointment when I got the first case from the more well known regions.

      It is a great value offer to just pay to ship and try Wine 52 out though – and if you have any other UK subscription box, you’ll probably have an affiliate offer from someone already in your possession that will give you this discount to try it out. Just don’t forget if it’s not for you, you will have to ring to cancel.

      Cheers, Lisa

    2. I am going try these wines I think it is a great but would like to know what strength they are if possible before I order thanking you
      Miss Christine cross.

      1. Hi Miss Cross,

        As it’s a random assortment, it’s difficult to know the strength before they arrive. However, you can choose from their mixed cases (rather than the wine club) available on the website, that way you can see the wine, and it’s ABV before ordering., but the downside is you do know what you’re getting in advance.

        I hope this helps!

        Cheers, Lisa

        PS – If you want the detail of the wine you’re getting in advance with some curation provided, I’m a regular Naked Wine customer – and have been for a number of years. I rarely find one of their wines that I don’t like, and when I do they refund it straight away, no questions asked. That includes on mixed cases of their choosing!

    3. This is the best wine review I have come across for sure. I love wine with guilty😊The idea of subscription is really good wines from different countries is a good idea and great value. Do they ship internationally?

      1. Hi Angee – I sometimes have a bit of a guilty relationship with wine too. Like all things, it’s definitely best enjoyed in moderation (it’s amazing how your taste buds seem to change if you limit your consumption of certain flavours for a period).

        At the moment Wine 52 doesn’t ship outside the UK, but there are other wine subscriptions that do, depending on where you’re based.

        Cheers, Lisa

    4. Thank you for your praising words over the Hungarian wines. I’m especially happy because I’m the one who acted as local wine expert for Wine52 to select those wines.

      1. Hi Levente, that’s fantastic! I do love good Hungarian wine, but it’s not so easy to find it in the UK. Do you have a personal favourite to recommend? Cheers, Lisa

        1. Hi Lisa, I personally believe that Hungary is better in white than red wines. Some of my favorites are Gilvesy from Badacsony region, Geszler from the Mór region and Sauska from Tokaj. Badacsony and Tokaj have volcanic, Mór has chalky soil. I think we have a great potential in Hungary to produce terroir-driven very high quality wines as we have very good plots.
          Actually I run my wine shop on Gellért hill (Budapest), the website may give you an idea of my favorites that I recommend. Check here: http://www.budaizold.webnode.hu
          I’m very sure, though, that most of those wines won’t be available in the UK.
          As a general rule, I would not buy Hungarian wine under £5-6 (I mean shelf price). Though it may seem attractive, usually the prices go fairly well in parallel with quality.

      2. It doesn’t worth it, the wine they selling worth less than half the price they charge. Check by the country websites and you will find out it’s all cheap wine being sold as luxury wine in UK,just the fact some of them missing the cork says it all. AVOID.

        1. Hi James,

          I think I’d dispute your assertion that they market as selling as luxury wine – although I will definitely agree that you can get better quality for less money as long as you know where to shop. That said, the delivery is included, and there are very few companies that will curate 3 or 4 bottles at that price point.

          If the aim is to explore something new while dipping your toes into the water, they’re certainly a valid option.

          Cork or no cork is no longer an indication of quality of wine. For example, only 15% of Aussie wines use cork as of 2022 (https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-08-08/winemakers-embrace-corks-again-for-sustainability/101303874), although the issues with TCA and variability in the developement of the wine now appear to be resolved and its making a come back for sustainability reasons.

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