Wine-of-the-Month Club

What's in the box: A case of panel-selected South African wines in your choice of red, white or mixed, at the quality level of the plan you pick.

Wine-of-the-Month Club is a South African wine club founded in 1986 and still run by the founding family. Its main selling point is how it chooses wines. An independent panel of paid judges blind-tastes more than 3,000 wines a year, and members are offered only the wines that come out on top. That takes the guesswork out of buying local wine, which is the whole idea. There are three membership plans. Best Value is aimed at everyday drinkers, with typical bottle values of R180 to R195. Classic, the most popular plan, sits at R280 to R295 per bottle. Reserve is for collectors, with bottles valued at around R480 to R500. On every plan you can choose red, white or mixed. The club says all plans include cellar-door prices or better, delivery to your door and flexible delivery scheduling. The money-back guarantee is unusually generous. If you open a bottle and don't like it, the club will collect the case and refund you in full. New members are also offered a free intro gift. The site does not make clear upfront how many bottles come in each delivery, how often deliveries arrive or what each shipment costs in total, so check those details before you join. The club also runs a shop selling wine, spirits, gourmet items and gifts.