Winc is a wine subscription box that re-imagines the traditional wine club by offering a regularly changing selection of unique, small production wines that are sourced directly from vineyards and winemakers. It's one of my favorite alcohol delivery options out there!
This box was sent at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About This Wine Subscription
The Subscription Box: Winc
The Cost: Bottles start at $12.99 each with a membership. (Shipping is free on orders of 4 or more bottles.)
The Products: Small-lot wines, ciders, and sparkling options sourced directly from vineyards and winemakers.
Ships to: Eligible U.S. zip codes, which you can check through this link.
Winc July 2021 Review
When you sign up to join Winc, you take a six-question palate profile quiz to help determine your taste in wine. Based on your answers, Winc makes bottle recommendations for you every month. You can go along with their recommendations, choose your own bottles from their regularly changing selection, or skip the month completely. You can also take the palate profile test as often as you’d like.
The bottles are shipped in an upright cardboard box that has molded pieces to hold them in place. This helps prevent the bottles from bashing into one another during transport. The box is rather sturdy and has a convenient handle that makes it easy to carry.
1 of 3
Golden Child Cider— $17.99 (or $15.99 through the subscription)
California | Light | Slightly Sweet | 8% alcohol
Winc specializes in wine, but they also sometimes release hard cider. Very often, Winc's ciders fly off the shelves before I get the chance to try them, but not this time! The cider gods were smiling down on me this month, and my timing was perfect. When I logged into my account to pick out my bottles, there were two ciders available. Naturally, I snatched them both up! The first one is called Golden Child, and it's a bright, off-dry cider with 8% ABV. I've heard a lot of great things about Winc's ciders via word of mouth, so I was surprised to see that the rating for this bottle is quite low, only 2.9/5. Having tasted it, I'm pretty sure I know why. If you're used to drinking hard ciders like Strongbow, Magners, or Woodchuck, Golden Child is a different animal. Even though it's labeled as "slightly sweet," this cider is very dry, and there's almost zero noticeable sweetness. Personally, I like this. To me, the dry and bright flavor is reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc, but I poured it for guests and the reviews were very mixed. The flavor is much less sweet and much less appley than some of them were expecting, and not everyone was a fan. I would order this bottle again, but I'll probably keep it for myself.
1 of 3
Eplevin Hopped Cider— $17.99 (or $15.99 through the subscription)
Sonoma | Light | Dry | 8% alcohol
Cider #2 is Eplevin Hopped Cider, a hard cider made with eight different kinds of apples and cascade hops. The first bottle was divisive, but on this one, my guests and I could agree: it was not for us. This cider was drier than the first, and it packed big flavors into the bottle. Unfortunately, those flavors were very tart and super funky. Now, I don't want to be unfair. This cider was by no means bad. I have a couple of friends who are very into sour beer and seek out beverages with that earthy kind of funk, and I'm fairly certain Eplevin would have them cooing and dancing in the street. Sadly, they were not in attendance for this tasting. We all took a sip, made a face, deemed the flavor "interesting," and moved on to the next bottle.
1 of 3
2020 Summer Water Rosé— $19.99 (or $17.99 through the subscription)
California | Light | Dry | 12.5% alcohol
After Eplevin, we needed a "crowd-pleaser," and Summer Water delivered. I first tried Summer Water several years ago, and it's become one of my favorite bottles in Winc's repertoire. Simply put, it's exactly what you want in a bottle of summery rosé. It's light and dry with notes of grapefruit, strawberry, and white peach. It's a blend of Grenache and Syrah grapes, and the pressing method ensures very little is extracted from the grape skins, which keeps this wine from feeling too bold or heavy. The flavor is refined and elegant, and it's the kind of wine that's great for sipping on its own or pairing with food. You could pour this to accompany a fresh summer salad, grilled fish, or ceviche. I opted to pair it with sunshine and a warm outdoor breeze.
1 of 3
2020 Prismus Pinot Grigio— $17.99 (or $15.99 through the subscription)
Italy | Light | Dry | 12.3% alcohol
I used to think that Pinot Grigio was a boring wine, but I've since changed my tune. True, Pinot Grigio tends to have lighter flavors than some of its vino bianco cousins, but I've grown to really appreciate the delicate flavors a good Pinot Grigio can deliver. This bottle of 2020 Prismus was a delight, and it might just be the best bottle of Pinot Grigio I've had in months. Winc recommended looking for tasting notes of jasmine, lemon, melon, and wet stone, and I think that speaks to the roundness of the flavor of this wine. It's a little bit fruity, a tiny bit floral, and solidly crisp with a fresh minerality. I actually logged into Winc after opening this bottle to see if I could stock up on more, and it had sold out. (This often happens with Winc. Their wines are small production, so you sometimes have to act quickly if you want a particular bottle.) My hope is that they'll release a new batch with the same magic again soon.
Verdict: I'm a big fan of Winc, and I really enjoy the monthly process of logging into my account and picking out my wines. Since this box contained 50% cider, it was a little different than my usual delivery, but it was still a lot of fun. Despite the cider not blowing me away, I'm still glad I got to try it. Will I be running back to order more? Perhaps not. I think from now on I'll probably stick to wine. And speaking of wine... if the cider was a fun, albeit unsuccessful, ordering experiment, the wines in my shipment this month were a great reminder of why I love Winc. The Summer Water was an excellent summer rosé, and the Prismus Pinot Grigio was superb.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Since Winc allows you to choose your wine, you can get any combination you’d like any month. Sign up today and curate your own selection, or let them choose a few bottles for you.
Value Breakdown: This box cost $65.96 for four full bottles of wine, but had a retail value of $73.96, so that's a savings of $8 by having the subscription. The per-bottle cost breaks down to $16.49.
Check out all of our Winc reviews and more of our best wine subscription boxes!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
Do you have a favorite Winc wine?
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.