Oh dear.....

[Jenise]

....NPR (America's National Public Radio) has a wine club.

Yeah, just like Martha Stewart, the Wall Street Journal and just about everyone else except the Girl Scouts. Heard the radio advert today.

[David M. Bueker]

Yep. The ad comes on while I am driving to work...every single day.

And now, here's the host of "Have Another Glass," Ira Glass.

[Robin Garr]

Well, if you drill down into the NPR Wine Club pages until you find the specific wines, they look like real wines from real producers that nobody ever heard of. Probably stuff that sells for $10 or so? Here's an example page ...

https://www.nprwineclub.org/jsp/product ... rod3910100

The only conclusion I can draw is that these clubs are immensely profitable to the operators. Because otherwise why would they be ubiquitous? But that doesn't gibe with the fact that almost no one seems to be making big bucks in the retail wine trade. I guess people sign up for the intital shipment and then never turn it off? Or are the customers 90% more likely to buy a BMW or a cruise than average? It's a mystery to me. The other question I would like to have answered is how many operators of these clubs there are. Because they all seem identical and ambiguous. I would make an exception for Robin's sponsor, they seem to have a legitimate focus.

[Jenise]

The only conclusion I can draw is that these clubs are immensely profitable to the operators. . I guess people sign up for the intital shipment and then never turn it off?

Something like that. Or, they turn it off a year or even six months later but in the meantime some profits were made. I knew someone who got in the WSJ club and then I never heard another word about it, and the cardiologist up the street is enamored by Naked Wines of all things--but these aren't the wines he serves to guests so that says something, doesn't it? My experience is very limited but people don't seem to be too proud of their choices.

Or, they turn it off a year later in the meantime some profits were made.

That was my experience after joining one of those wine clubs. All of their selections were from CA wineries I'd never heard of, and they were all meh wines. I can find mediocre wines without the assistance of a club, thank you very much.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Meh is exactly right--every wine I had from one of those clubs. At best: passably boring, and usually worse.