- 707-582-1228
1110 Burlingame Ave, Ste 211, Burlingame, CA 94010
Our 2021 Bennett Valley Single Vineyard Pinot Noir sells for $65 on our website. Calera members pay $52 for it. We’d rather start with that $13 than with a speech about lifestyle, because it’s the clearest picture of what a Pinot Noir wine club membership gets you.
Price isn’t everything, of course. Membership also changes which wines you see and when. We farm one vineyard on Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa and make small lots from it, so members get first pick whenever a new release is ready.
So instead of telling you why clubs are wonderful, we’ll do the math. Here’s what each of our three tiers costs, what it saves, and who each one is built for.
For most people who drink three or more bottles a year from one winery, yes. Between the member discount, shipping that’s already covered on two of our tiers, and first pick of small releases, it tends to come out ahead of buying the same wine bottle by bottle.
Whether it’s worth it for you comes down to your own habits.
Clubs work best for people who already know they like a winery’s wine and want it in the house without thinking about reorders. Small production makes the case stronger. We only make so much Pinot Noir from our site each year, and members get to it first.
If you drink Pinot twice a year, or you’d rather try a new winery every month, skip the club and buy a bottle when the mood hits. We’d rather you join a tier you’ll use than one that leaves bottles piling up in a closet.
We have three tiers. Calera ships 12 bottles a year at 20% off, Pommard ships 6 at 15% off, and Dijon ships 3 at 10% off. Shipments are a mix of current releases and wines from our library.
| Tier | What you get | Best for |
| Calera | 12 bottles a year, 20% off, ground shipping included, free event tastings | Regular Pinot Noir drinkers |
| Pommard | 6 bottles a year, 15% off, ground shipping included, free event tastings | Occasional entertainers |
| Dijon | 3 bottles a year, 10% off, pickup only | Locals and first-timers |
Each tier is named after a Pinot Noir clone planted in our Bennett Valley vineyard. Those clones grow side by side on our hillside, and each one nudges the wine a little differently. Some lean toward bright red fruit; others give it more grip.
Whatever tier you choose, membership includes:
The main differences are volume, discount size, and how the wine reaches you.
At a $65 bottle price, a Calera member saves about $156 a year on their allotment alone. Here’s how that works across all three tiers.
Our current Pinot Noir releases range from $45 (2017) to $72 (2015), and our Rosé of Pinot Noir is $23. To keep things simple, this example uses the 2021 vintage at $65.
| Tier | Retail value | Member price | Yearly savings |
| Calera (12 bottles at 20% off) | $780 | $624 | $156 |
| Pommard (6 bottles at 15% off) | $390 | $331.50 | $58.50 |
| Dijon (3 bottles at 10% off) | $195 | $175.50 | $19.50 |
Your shipment won’t always be the 2021, so your exact savings will move around depending on which new releases and library bottles go in the box. Still, a bigger tier means a bigger discount, and that gap grows the more you buy.
Two extras push the value further. First, the discount carries over to bottles you buy outside your shipment, such as holiday gifts or a case for a dinner party. Second, Calera and Pommard include ground shipping on club shipments, which removes one of the highest hidden costs of ordering wine online.
Choose your tier by how many bottles you open in a year, not by which perks sound best.
If Pinot Noir is your default red, Calera is the clear pick. Twelve bottles cover roughly one a month, and the 20% discount is the largest we offer. You also get free tastings at our events, which is a good way to try upcoming releases before they ship.
Pommard is for the person who saves a good bottle for when friends come over, or for an anniversary dinner. Six bottles work out to about one every two months. The 15% discount comes in handy in December, when you’re buying gifts anyway.
Dijon is the lightest commitment at three bottles a year. Since it’s pickup only, it works best for Bay Area and Sonoma County residents who enjoy a reason to visit wine country. If you’re not sure our style is for you yet, three bottles is a fair way to find out.
One good bottle doesn’t tell you much. For a subscription, what matters is whether a winery’s top-rated Pinot Noir is still good three or four vintages later. So look at the track record before you sign up.
Here’s what we’d point to at Zeka Vineyards:
There’s one more benefit that’s easy to miss. Because club shipments include library wines, members end up with older and newer bottles from the same site. Open a 2017 next to a 2021, and you’ll notice how the wine softens and changes with age. For more on older bottles, see our guide to library vintage Pinot Noir.
The best Pinot Noir wine club in California is the one whose answers to five simple questions match your habits. Ask these before joining any club, including ours:
For Zeka, the answers are simple: one Bennett Valley estate, discounts from 10% to 20%, included ground shipping on two tiers, and library wines in club shipments. For anything we haven’t covered here, send us a note through the Wine Club page.
At Zeka, savings range from about $19.50 a year (Dijon) to $156 a year (Calera), based on a $65 bottle. Discounts on extra purchases add more.
Yes. Dijon is a pickup-only tier. Calera and Pommard include ground shipping on club shipments.
Yes. Each shipment includes some library wines along with new releases, so over a year you’ll get bottles from more than one vintage.
Yes. The member discount works on any extra wine you buy from us, not only your allotment. That comes in handy for gifts or a dinner party.
Most first-timers do well with Dijon: three bottles a year, picked up in person. If you live too far away to pick up, go with Pommard, which ships six bottles a year with ground shipping included.
Be realistic about how much Pinot Noir you open in a year. Hold that number up against the table above, and you’ll know which Pinot Noir wine club membership makes sense for you.
Want the backstory first? Our earlier post on why a Pinot Noir wine club membership is worth considering explains how the clubs came about. When you’re ready, join the Zeka Wine Club and get first claim on our next Bennett Valley release.
Are you 21 years old or older?
