Churchill's launches Port.club in the UK

[Glenn E.]

Posted by Alex and Jacob over at The Port Forum...

Churchill has launched a direct to consumer Port Club today, but sadly it is only available in the UK. Still, it's an interesting idea and maybe the concept will spread to the US if it is successful in the UK!

You can sign up for the mailing list at https://port.club. Membership in the Port club itself costs £20 per month for a minimum of 1 year (or £70 for a single quarter). What you receive each quarter is a "Port Pack" that contains:

1 x "Any time" Port
1 x "Right time" Port
1 x "One time" Port

It appears to me that the "Any time" Port used in the picture in the store is a Ruby Reserve, the "Right time" Port is a 20yo Tawny, and the "One time" Port is a 2009 Quinta da Gricha SQVP. What's interesting is that, at least occasionally, the "One time" Port will be a special blend of some kind available only to Port.club members.

Members also receive discounts at the Churchill Port.club online shop, a VIP tour of Quinta da Gricha, and an invitation to tread grapes for harvest 2021.

Given that membership is roughly $320 at current rates, this looks like a pretty good deal based on US prices. Prices in the UK are typically lower than in the US, though, so it may not work out as favorably for the people who can actually sign up for this. (I tried just to see... you cannot add a non-UK address to your account, so there's no way to sign up without one.)

[John M.]

That's a very cool concept. Hope it happens for the US.