The Ember Hill wine club
First pour, yours.
Six or twelve bottles of traditional-method sparkling, twice a year, at a member's price. Three tiers, and you can change between them whenever you like.
The club
A wine club for one kind of wine
The Ember Hill wine club is a sparkling wine club, because sparkling is all we make. Twice a year we pack a shipment of our traditional-method cuvées, aged on lees in the cellar under the hill in Pokolbin, and send it to members at a discount they keep on every other order too.
Members get a closer look at the cellar. Bead members get first word on new releases, so when a new vintage of the Blanc de Blancs comes off the riddling racks they hear about it early. Prestige members receive an allocation of the Late Disgorged, our smallest release, disgorged after ten years in the bottle.
There are three tiers: Bead, Mousse and Prestige. They differ in how many bottles arrive, the size of the discount and what you get at the cellar door. All three are for adults 18 and over, and an adult signs for every delivery.
The tiers
Bead, Mousse or Prestige
Each tier is named for something you see in a glass of sparkling: the bead is the fine stream of bubbles, the mousse the foam at the top. Whichever you choose, the wines are the same ones we pour at the cellar door, from the same cellar, released when Daniel decides they are ready and not before.
Bead
Free cellar door tastings for two, and first word on new releases. The right size for a household that opens a bottle with dinner at the weekend. Shipments of 6 bottles travel free to NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland.
Mousse
Free cellar door tastings for four, a place at the members' evening each spring, and free delivery Australia-wide. A full dozen each time, enough to keep a few bottles back and see what another year or two in the cellar does to them.
Prestige
The riddling room tour for two once a year, a place at the members' disgorging day, and free delivery Australia-wide. Prestige members receive an allocation of the Late Disgorged, our smallest release, which spends ten years on lees before it is disgorged.
Shipments
How a club shipment works
Twice a year Daniel Marsh, our chief winemaker, chooses the wines for each shipment from what is ready in the cellar. Most shipments mix the cuvées, so members taste the Blanc de Blancs, the Rosé and the Blanc de Noirs across the year, and Prestige members receive the Late Disgorged as well.
Before each shipment is packed we write to you with what is in it and the price after your discount, so nothing arrives as a surprise. The wines are packed upright in protective boxes and sent by courier, and an adult must sign for every delivery. If no one is home, the box goes back to the depot rather than being left at the door in the sun.
Sparkling wine keeps well when it is stored lying down, somewhere dark and cool with a steady temperature. A wardrobe floor or under the stairs is better than a kitchen bench. These are not wines that need drinking young: each one has already spent three to ten years on lees, and the Blanc de Blancs and the Blanc de Noirs will keep developing for several years after they reach you.
The details
Delivery, changes and age
- Delivery
- Free on 6 bottles or more to NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland; 12 or more ship free anywhere in Australia
- Mousse and Prestige
- Free delivery Australia-wide on every shipment
- Signing
- An adult signs for every delivery
- Changing tier
- Move up or down a tier by contacting us before your next shipment is packed
- Pausing
- Skip a shipment if you are away or well stocked; tell us before it is packed
- Age
- Members must be 18 or over
Members at the cellar door
What a Hunter Valley wine club gives you on the estate
Membership is also a reason to come back. Bead includes free cellar door tastings for two, and Mousse free tastings for four. Prestige members take the riddling room tour for two once a year, down into the cellar to turn bottles on the racks.
Mousse members are invited to the members' evening each spring, an evening at the estate with Daniel and the team. Prestige members have a place at the members' disgorging day, where you see bottles taken off their lees and finished by hand, the same work that happens before any of our wines are released.
Your discount applies to every order, not only the shipments: 15% for Bead, 20% for Mousse and 25% for Prestige. That includes bottles bought at the cellar door and orders from the cuvées page.
Members can also bring guests to their free tastings, which makes the cellar door an easy place to start a day in the valley with visiting family. As always, if you are tasting, arrange a designated driver, a tour or a transfer before you set out.
Each shipment is chosen from what is ready in the cellar, never from what needs to be sold.
Joining
How to join the club
Join at the cellar door after a tasting, or send us a note through the contact page with the tier you would like and your delivery address. We confirm your membership by email and tell you when your first shipment will be packed. Your member discount applies from that point on, to the shipments and to every bottle you order between them.
If you are not sure which tier suits you, start with Bead. Six bottles twice a year is a modest amount of wine to keep in the house, and you can move up to Mousse or Prestige at any time. Members who find themselves well stocked can skip a shipment or move down a tier the same way.
Not sure about the wines yet? Taste all four at the cellar door first. A tasting is $20, and Bead and Mousse memberships both include free cellar door tastings.
Questions
Paying, pausing and gifting the club
How does the Ember Hill wine club work?
You choose one of three tiers and we send traditional-method sparkling twice a year: 6 bottles on Bead, 12 on Mousse, and 12 with a Late Disgorged allocation on Prestige. Before each shipment we write with the wines and the price. Members also get 15% to 25% off every order, plus their tier's own perks: tastings for Bead and Mousse, the riddling room tour for Prestige.
How much does the wine club cost?
You pay for each shipment when it is sent, at your tier's discount: 15% off for Bead, 20% for Mousse and 25% for Prestige. Our cuvées range from $58 for the Rosé to $110 for the Late Disgorged before the discount, so the cost of a shipment depends on which wines Daniel chooses for it. We send the price before each shipment is packed.
Is delivery free for wine club members?
Mousse and Prestige members get free delivery Australia-wide. Bead shipments of 6 bottles ship free to NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland, and orders of 12 or more ship free anywhere in Australia. An adult must sign for every delivery, so choose an address where someone 18 or over will be home, such as a workplace.
Can I pause or change my wine club membership?
Yes. You can move up or down a tier, or skip a shipment if you are travelling or already well stocked. Contact us before your next shipment is packed and we will make the change. Changes take effect from the following shipment, and your discount on other orders adjusts to your new tier at the same time.
What is the difference between Mousse and Prestige?
Both send 12 bottles twice a year with free delivery Australia-wide. Prestige adds an allocation of the Late Disgorged, our smallest release with ten years on lees, and raises the discount from 20% to 25%. Prestige members also get the riddling room tour for two once a year and a place at the members' disgorging day.
Can I buy a wine club membership as a gift?
Wine club memberships are held in the name of the person receiving the wine, who must be 18 or over and able to sign for deliveries. If you would like to arrange a membership for someone else, get in touch through our contact page with their details and the tier you have in mind, and we will talk you through setting it up.
Join the Ember Hill wine club
Bead, Mousse or Prestige. Sparkling twice a year, 15% to 25% off every order, and perks at the cellar door that grow with each tier.