MVA is the wine club that we have dreamed about.  However, while building MVA, we struggled to use the word "club". That's because MVA is a classic case of a venture born out of frustration. After benchmarking as many wine clubs as we could, we convinced ourselves that we could do it better, curated with total integrity.

From a structural point of view, we created 'Maison Vernhes' to be able to import the selected bottled cuvées directly from producers anywhere in the world so our curation wouldn't be limited to what is already imported. It also enables us to keep the price fair for such quality wines. We accepted that membership at the club would be capped because typically the wines we like have limited productions. All this has added a few layers of complexity to the typical wine club (although it must be said that some of them import large tanks of wine which are then blended and bottled domestically and that ... cannot be easy!)  Last but not least, we plan to involve members in the scouting. So we prefer to call MVA a wine alliance.

The integrity of our selection process is unparalleled and delivers astonishing quality at affordable prices.

We buy directly from vineyards - wines that they have bottled for us. So we are not limited to wines that are already imported in the US. Some of the selected wineries already export to the US, but rarely the specific cuvée that we select. These wineries are usually among those that liquor stores find difficult to obtain wines from because of their limited production.

Memberships are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and require a commitment to receiving 2, 4, or 6 consecutive collections. Each collection is a case of six carefully selected wines. A new collection is released every 2 months.  Members can opt to receive one or two cases of the 6 wines which constitute each collection. If you cannot access the current or next collection because they’re sold out, you can commit to collections further in the future, when we’re able to source more wine and, as a result, make more memberships available.

No. You pay only for the wines that you receive. In order to become a member, all you need to do is to commit to receiving at least 2 collections of wine from MVA. Each collection is a case of 6 different wine collaborations curated by Maison Vernhes. No collections are alike. A new collection is released every 2-3 months.  There is a discount if you commit to 4 collections instead of the minimum of 2 and a further discount if you commit to 6.

No, membership is not time based. However, there is a relationship with time. For example, if you become a member by committing to receing two collections and these collections are released 2 months apart, you will effectively be a member between the moment you sign-up and the moment when you receive your second collections. These two moments will rarely be more than 3 months apart.  If you commit to 4 or 6 collections, the duration of your membership will increase accordingly.

Have you ever found a wine that you loved and was affordable? How wonderful is that?  You started buying it regularly only to find that a couple of years later it had become two or even three times more expensive once the rest of the world caught up.

Our goal is to find these wines before they become expensive. Because we know they most likely will become more expensive, our quest must never end.  These wines must be on par with or better than many more expensive wines in terms of quality and personality. We are definitely not looking for wines that are ok for the price.

Curation happens every 3 months at Maison Vernhes in Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, where the founders of MVA — known as the “Elders” — spend a week blind tasting over 50 pre-selected cuvées. For each blind tasting, we invite winemakers of formerly selected wines as well as chefs we admire. The curation process is at least 2 collections ahead of the latest collection being delivered.  A wine is selected only if it receives unanimous approval from the participants.  

So far, we've been fortunate that more than 6 wines have received unanimous approval by the end of each blind tasting week. This is a testatment to the pre-selection work and it enables us to conduct these blind tastings every 3 months rather than every 2 months. It gives us the necessary time to focus on the ongoing pre-selection, featuring winemakers from terroirs known to have the potential for great beauty.

The price of a collection of 6 wine collaborations is $210 if you commit to receiving the minimum of 2 collections.

If you commit to receiving 4 successive collections, the price per collection goes down to $190 per collection and $180 per collection if you commit to receing successive 6 collections.

These prices are excluding the shipping cost. We've negotiated a flat shipping fee of $20 per case of six bottles regardless of which delivery state it's going to and $35 per case of 12 bottles.

After curating our first 3 collections, we’ve become confident that this is the lowest price we can maintain while consistently delivering on our promise of quality. Of course, there are market forces at work that are stronger than our curation which is why we recommend committing to more than 2 collections which secures their price over the time of your commitment.

It’s difficult for independent, artisanal winemakers to scale the love and labor they put into each bottle.  Our enduring challenge is to discover unforgettable wines before their cost is driven up by hype. When we succeed, we may contribute to a wine’s rise in price and relative scarcity, but we’ll know its makers will have earned it.

It is simply due to the nature of the wines that we pick for each collection. They come from small artisanal properties so their production is limited. It's hard to scale quality.

Yes, we set aside a few invividual bottles from each collection to ensure that members are able to reorder a few of their favorites, before the next collection arrives.  Click on an individual collection to see the individual bottles and order them.

First, we’ll explain why not “industry” wines. Some wine producers are more influenced by taste trends and market analysis than by improving the quality and individuality of their product. Instead of respecting the unique local conditions of their own vineyard, they’ll use additives in an attempt to match the perceived profile of a region. This is the wine industry at work, and we reject it.

Artisanal wines are less likely to take shortcuts or indulge in these unhealthy excesses. They better reflect the singular passions of their producers and the very soil from which they came. Not every artisanal wine is extraordinary, of course. That’s why we taste relentlessly, pursuing wines that are elegant, well constructed, and that genuinely express their terroir. Our dedication ensures you’ll have the best chance of discovering wines that inspire the emotions you’re seeking.