Bright Cellars vs. Winc 2024: A Very Close Competition

Bright Cellars and Winc both deliver wines to your doorstep. Both services have many loyal customers, and both offer discounted prices on the wines they deliver. How do you decide which is right for you?

I’ve taken a close look at both services to help you make that decision. I’ve looked at the quality of wines they offer, their prices and shipping fees, and other variables. And now that I’ve weighed the evidence, I can say while it was a close decision, Bright Cellars is the winner of this contest. 

Bright Cellars offers better wines than Winc. While Winc has cheaper prices, you get what you pay for. The superior selection offered at Bright Cellars is well worth spending a little more. You also have the option to order wine bundles at Bright Cellars without committing to a subscription, so you can try the service out first. 

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Wine List Variety

Winner: Bright Cellars

Bright Cellars pulls ahead in this round thanks to its offerings of bottled margaritas. Both services offer primarily domestic California wines, with a small number of imports. If you’re looking for a wider wine selection, I recommend checking out Firstleaf. 

At first glance, Winc appears to offer a decent selection of varietals and specialty wines. But since Winc only offers a bit over 50 different wines altogether, you often find that you have just a few bottles to choose from in each category. 

Among the organic wines you might find at Winc is a 2021 Pizzolato Merlot from Italy. This bold red has tasting notes of black cherry, blackberry, plum, and tomato leaf on the tongue. It’s also vegan-friendly and has no added sulfites. The 2021 Broletto Lambrusco is a lower-alcohol wine (just 8.5%) with tasting notes of blackberry, cranberry, red cherry, and violet.

If you prefer whites, the 2020 Wonderful Wine Co® Inzolia is a light, dry, tart organic Italian wine with notes of green apple, lemon rind, wet stone, and white flowers. 

With the Living Essence bundle, you get 4 or 6 bottles of Albariño wine from Lodi, California. Native to Galicia in northwestern Spain, Albariño is a white grape variety native to Galicia in northwestern Spain. Living Essence’s 2022 Albariño has the classic citrus lime and complex herbal notes commonly found in wines made with this varietal, with afternotes of banana and cantaloupe.

Bright Cellars has a good selection, but its website makes it hard to find information on individual bottles. You must check each individual bundle to find information about the wines it contains. While some names are self-explanatory (the Cab Collection contains Cabernets, for example), others are less obvious. It would be nice if Bright Cellars offered filters that would let you sort by varietals or even colors. 

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: Bright Cellars

Bright Cellars won this time, but it was a close match. Both services have similar approaches to ordering, but Bright Cellars boasts a more streamlined and enjoyable experience.

Bright Cellars and Winc both start you off with a quiz to determine the types of wine you prefer. They ask you questions about your tastes in chocolate, tea, juice, and other beverages to determine whether you prefer sweet or dry wines, full or light-bodied wines, and other aspects of your taste profile.

You can check what’s in your subscription boxes before they ship. If you don’t like any of the wines you are matched with, you can swap them out at checkout. And if you’re unimpressed with any bottle you receive, call your Wine Concierge, and they will replace it with another that’s better suited to your tastes.

If you like surprises, you can also opt to receive a “Mystery Bottle.” Handpicked by the sommelier, this bottle is not based on your account preferences. The Mystery Bottle is a great way to broaden your wine horizons and expand your tasting experience.

Winc ships to the continental US, minus AL, AR, DE, KY, MS, RI, SD, and UT. Winc’s delivery area extends to Alaska and Hawaii. So it’s a great option for wine lovers in those states. 

Winc operates on a unique credit-based system, with each Winc credit costing $1. Each month you are charged $60 for 60 Winc credits, with an option to buy additional wine credits if you choose to spend more. These credits can be used on your subscription or saved for future purchases or more expensive wines. 

Winc’s Skip a Month feature makes it easy to skip a shipment and avoid being charged for that month’s order. Winc’s minimum order is 3 bottles. Winc also offers an iOS app for iPhone users, while Bright Cellars requires you to use a desktop or phone web browser. 

Bright Cellars ships to the continental US except for Delaware, Mississippi, and Utah. Your wines will be shipped via FedEx or UPS within 2 to 4 business days. Once the shipping label has been created, customers are provided with tracking information, including an estimated delivery date. 

Bright Cellars can ship to dedicated FedEx Print & Ship and OnSite locations, as well as UPS Customer Care facilities and UPS Stores. These facilities can hold the packages for up to 5 business days. Should the delivery arrive damaged, contact Bright Cellars' concierge team to arrange either a reshipment or a full refund.

Bright Cellars and Winc both use sustainable, functional packaging. Bright Cellars' wine bottles are carefully packaged in a sturdy box and held in place with wine dividers. Everything in your Bright Cellars order is recyclable except the corks. 

Winc is also committed to sustainability. All of its packaging is recyclable, and the company contributes to 1% for the Planet, an organization that supports environmental causes. Most Winc bottles come without a cork capsule, further saving waste. 

Your Bright Cellars package comes with individual notes describing each wine. To find out more about your Winc wines, you must go online. 

Customer Support

Winner: Bright Cellars

This was another close round, but Bright Cellars pulls ahead thanks to its on-site wine experts. Both Winc and Bright Cellars offer good customer support, but Winc’s team is less knowledgeable about wine. 

The Bright Cellars Wine Concierge team can help you with wine or other issues. You can contact them by phone or live chat Monday through Friday between 9:00 am CT and 5:00 pm CT. Our reviewer was very impressed by Bright Cellars’ customer service team. 

Outside of customer service hours, you can send an email. Bright Cellars promises to respond to questions in the order they are received. Both Winc and Bright Cellars offer refunds if you are dissatisfied with any bottle you get. 

If you can’t find what you are looking for in the Winc FAQ, you can use Winc’s contact form or email directly at support@winc.com. Winc strives to answer within 24 hours. You can also chat with customer service by phone or live chat every day between 7 am and 4 pm PT. 

Pricing

Winner: Winc

A Winc subscription will cost less than a Bright Cellars subscription. A 4-bottle box from Winc costs around $60, while a similar Bright Cellars subscription will set you back $94. And Winc offers free shipping on orders over $50 ($9 otherwise), while you need to buy 6 bottles or more to avoid the $10 Bright Cellars shipping fee.

Winc recommends 4 bottles each month that will cost around $60, with individual bottle prices generally ranging between $12 and $25. If you order less wine, you can save your unused credits for future orders or purchase additional credits to cover extra costs.

Bright Cellars vs. Winc — Quick Overview

And The Winner Is: Bright Cellars

Bright Cellars is a better choice than Winc thanks to its higher-quality wines. If you’re a casual wine drinker on a limited budget, you might enjoy a Winc subscription. But if you don’t mind spending a bit more for higher-quality wines, Bright Cellars will be well worth the added expense. 

If you’re still not sure if either service is right for you, check out our list of the best wine delivery services. You’re sure to find something that will suit your tastes. 

FAQ

Does Bright Cellars ship to all states?

Bright Cellars ships everywhere in the continental US, except Delaware, Mississippi, and Utah. It does not ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or US territories.  

Does Winc offer organic wines?

Winc has a selection of wines made with organic grapes. It also offers some vegan-friendly wines, as well as wines containing no added sugars and a number of varietals.  

Is Bright Cellars a good wine delivery service?

We think Bright Cellars is an excellent wine delivery service. It is more expensive than some other services, but it offers high-quality wines and wine bundles, as well as bottled margaritas. If you are on a tight budget, check out our list of the best cheap wine delivery services.