The Wine Society has been going for over 130 years and is the most popular wine merchant in the UK…read more I was introduced to it by my father in 1973, so I've had a few year's experience with them. Their website tells us The Wine Society is owned by its members and exists exclusively for their benefit. Founded in 1874, its aim is to introduce members to the best of the world's vineyards at a fair price. From fine wine at more than £250 per bottle to everyday red wine and white wine at £4.25, The Wine Society stocks over 1,500 wines and includes something for every pocket and palate. The Society also sells wine en primeur, offers wine storage, wine cellar plans and runs nationwide wine tastings. In 2008, they were named Wine Merchant of the Year by Decanter Magazine and Wine Club of the Year in The International Wine Challenge. Somewhat over-respectful to French wines for my taste, and correspondingly less well-represented in the great New Zealand pinot noirs and without some of the stunning chardonnays of Australia such as Devil's Lair, they are nevertheless wonderfully reliable and service orientated and have an excellent delivery system. I wish though that they would have a 'feed-back' section so that one could let them know easily what one thought of a particular wine and to suggest others.

This is an awesome wine society. No monthly fees, no obligation to buy and great customer service…read morefor a one off cost of £40. This buys you a share in the company and is for life. We have been members for around 6 years, my parents for ages before that and their customer service, value for money and knowledge about wine is second to none. For example: 1. Convenient online and telephone customer service - if something is out of stock, informative replacements can be made. 2. Wide variety of wines and spirits for a wide variety of budgets. 3. Own labelled wine has been sourced from excellent vinyards - often small scale and provide great value for money. I know that their standard cab sav used to be produced by concha y toro - was much cheaper than the supermarket price. 4. Can buy by the bottle or by the case. Can buy a case of the same bottles or can mix your own cases. Can buy a pre made case chosen by the society. 12 bottles start at around £70 i think for a mix of their own label reds. 5. Cases can be bought on a sale or return basis. We used them to buy the wine for our wedding and so over ordered so we didn't run out. We didn't end up returning the wine on that occaision, but we have done in the past with no hassle. 6. One (rare) occaision the wine was corked and was corked in a couple of bottles from the case. We were sent a replacement case and told just to keep the remainder of that case - a few of the bottles were actually OK! This makes an excellent gift - deliveries are swift and you can instruct the drivers to leave somewhere convenient if you are out - easier than having to reschedule redelivery. Wonderful company - absolutley 100% recommended

I love going in to this shop, there is a wonderful selection of wine in stock and very knowledgable…read morestaff on hand to advise. Oh! And the gin, oh the gin. This is a dangerous stop en route home but highly recommended.

Fantastic small independent wine merchants that seeks out interesting and unusual wines, as well as…read morethe classics, always has a bottle open to taste and knowledgeable staff to chat to. Throw in a brilliant specialty beer selection and some impressive ports, spirits and Bob's your uncle. But if you're looking to spend less than a fiver a bottle, stick to the beer, or pop up the road to Tesco.