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You’re invited to join Church Creek Club, the wine club at Chatham Vineyards on Church Creek. It’s a group of wine enthusiasts that enjoy plenty of perks and is free to join.
Club members who visit our tasting room receive one flight of wine or one glass of wine per guest as part of their membership — a benefit that’s good for up to four guests in one party.
“We have club members who live down the road and they come every Friday,” said Mills Wehner, vintner at Chatham Vineyards with her husband, Jon. “Or if club members are entertaining house guests, they’ll bring them over for a flight.”
Club members commit to receiving quarterly shipments of three bottles of wine. This mix of red and whites priced at a $66 fixed rate, well below what the wines would retail for, is a special curated bundle corresponding to Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend and Christmas.
Jon hand picks the three wines in each of the bundles. Often, these are pre-releases and reserve wines. For example, the Memorial Day selection was the 2022 Steel Chardonnay, still not released to the public, the 2022 Rosé, and the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Twice a year, the curated wines include the Founder’s Reserve, named for Jon’s father, Harrison, and the Retriever Red, a blend made exclusively for club members.
The quarterly selections are either shipped, which requires an additional charge, or members can pick up their wines at Chatham Vineyards.
“I’m happy to hold the wines for people who can’t get here when it’s time to ship a new bundle,” Mills says. “We’re very flexible with pickups. We don’t need any advance notice if you’re coming.”
Wine for pickup comes in a three-bottle tote bag that club members are encouraged to keep for return pickups — an environmentally friendly option. Printed on the tote bag are the months of the quarterly selections as a reminder plus club members receive an email with this information.
By law, wine can only be shipped to Alaska, Washington, D.C., Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and Virginia.
Church Creek Club members receive a 10% discount on all wines purchased in the tasting room, online and at festivals. On occasion, Chatham Vineyards offers special receptions exclusive to club members.
Members may cancel or put their membership on hold after receiving their first four shipments. But almost no one has canceled since the club started, Mills says, other than military relocating to a state where wine cannot be shipped. Church Creek Club has more than 500 members.
Interested in joining the club? Here’s how to become a member.