A question as old as time.. well maybe not time. A question that’s been asked for maybe two years now!
I’ve decided that this topic makes sense to write about because as the world opens back up, I feel like it will be easy to fall back into our old ways of drinking the same thing night after night in pubs and restaurants around the country.
Don’t get me wrong, I see no issue with it. Sometimes, I don’t want to think about it. All I want on a Friday evening is spend an evening in the pub with a pint of Guinness or glass of my favourite Syrah while I complain about the Conors with whom I work. This, however, is a somewhat unfulfilling way to experience what’s in the glass. As I try to tell the people in my life, if you drink something over and over again you will inevitably stop tasting it.
As a younger man in wine shops, it drove me up the wall trying to convince customers to take even the smallest step out of their comfort zone. I think this was the very first time I thought about running a wine subscription company like what we do now in Box of Wine.
You see, that’s the purpose! To be candid, yes it’s a business and all of those business words like profit and cash-flow are important but really it’s about exposing our subscribers to the weird and wonderful wines that they’ll enjoy. The amazing thing is as they taste more wines they broaden our horizons and genuinely get better at tasting. You would be amazed at how far just a little bit of concentration will take you when it comes to tasting and, even better, you enjoy your wines more.
So, on to the question of “Are wine subscriptions worth it?”. I’m trying to run a business so yes, of course they are, don’t ask silly questions.
No, the real answer is it depends. If all you want out of your glass is Friday night pints then the answer is probably not. Don’t get me wrong, we can always organise Friday night wines that will knock your socks off but that may not interest you. However, if you have genuine interest in what goes in to the bottle and want to understand what you enjoy and maybe even why you enjoy them then I think we can all agree that the answer is a resounding yes, wine subscriptions are worth it.