(ARA) – Becoming a wine connoisseur has probably entered your mind once or twice during your lifetime. Being able to match the perfect wine with a delectable dinner, knowing exactly what to order for the table when going out to eat or just knowing what makes a quality wine are great tools to have at your disposal.

Joining a wine club gives you the opportunity to learn about different kinds of wine, provides you with background information on the growing year highlighting how the weather for that vintage’s growing season changed the flavors of the grapes and also allows you to discover different wine varieties you may not ever consider sampling all on your own. It’s a great start to becoming a wine connoisseur.

A wine club membership also provides you with these additional benefits:

* You don’t have the risk of choosing a wine that doesn’t taste like it should because of poor wine making or bad grapes. For example, Paul Kalemkiarian, owner of Wine of the Month Club, samples thousands of wines from all around the country every year before determining which wines are quality and can be distributed to members of the club. So if a dry summer changed the flavor of the zinfandel grapes one season so that the resulting wine is more tart and lower quality, you won’t have to worry about that wine arriving in your mailbox.

* By joining a wine club, you rely on the palate of the experts, who taste different wines daily. Kalemkiarian has been doing this for most of the 30 years his club has been in business, and he knows what makes a quality Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. You might discover you don’t like the taste of these particular types of wine, but at least you know that it’s not because of the quality of the product (everything is guaranteed anyway).

* A wine club membership saves you time and potential money. Time because a membership provides you with an encyclopedia of information that could take you hours to research online or in the library. For example, the Wine of the Month Club’s newsletter discusses recipes to make around the wines, the wine steward’s thoughts on the wines highlighted that month, characteristics of the grapes, characteristics of the region where the grapes were grown and even the mechanical part of making wine. And you save money because you aren’t second-guessing whether the wine will be high quality. Which means you aren’t purchasing bottle after bottle to sort out different brands and seasons yourself.

A membership with the original Wine of the Month Club provides you with two bottles of wine every month, every other month or once every three months for a year, along with a copy of the monthly Wine Letter and newsletter. It’s the perfect start to increasing your wine knowledge so you will know which brand of Chardonnay will perfectly match the pork chops you plan to serve for a special dinner this weekend. For more information, visit www.wineofthemonthclub.com. Kalemkiarian recommends the Classic Series for wine beginners. If you are interested in trying a club, but hesitant to do so, use promo code “expert” and you will receive a free set of two beautiful crystal wine goblets.