For over forty years now, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant has been an importer and retailer of some of the finest wines from France and Italy. We purchase all the wine we sell direct from the winery. We value long-term relationships with our customers just as much as we value our relationships with the winemakers in Europe and consequently we offer wines that we’ve imported for more than thirty years. Each club package contains two bottles and our wine club bulletin, which provides a profile of each wine, and a recipe written by Christopher Lee, the former head chef of Chez Panisse and Eccolo in Berkeley.
Adventures Club members receive our best values in red, white, rosé, and sparkling. Each package will contain at least one bottle of red. If you’re interested in discovering the wide range of regions and styles that France and Italy have to offer, this is the club for you.
Club Rouge members receive two reds each month. These complex, often cellar-worthy selections will expose you to the top appellations of France and Italy. Past selections include Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Barolo, Bandol, and Patrimonio.
If you can’t decide, you can always join both!
If you’d like to peruse our previous club seletions, at the bottom of kermitlynch.com/wineclub you’ll see the link “Wine Club Bulletin Archives.” Click on it and you can access PDFs of all our previous club bulletins.
Christopher Lee, the former head chef of Chez Panisse and Eccolo has been a close friend of the company for years now. He’s the culinary mastermind behind our parking lot events, and since the inception of our wine clubs, he’s been writing the recipes. He carefully pairs each recipe with the wines while also adding great insight into how a top chef puts together a dish. Learn more about Chris at his website, oldfashionedbutcher.blogspot.com.
We bill on the 23rd of each month. If you pick up your wine in our Berkeley shop, your wine will be available on the 23rd or the next day we are open (retail store hours are 11 A.M. to 6 P.M. Tuesday through Saturday).
If you have your wine shipped, you will receive an email during the billing week detailing when your package will go out. Typically, the clubs ship four to eight days from billing—it just depends on what day the 23rd falls. We always ship on a Monday (provided that it is not a national holiday like Memorial or Labor Day) and our preferred method is with FedEx.
If you prefer UPS, need your shipment delayed, or have any special delivery instructions, either send us an email at [email protected] or fill out the “Send Us A Question” form above. We’re happy to accommodate your shipping needs and understand you’re not always available at the beginning of each month.
We currently ship to residents of California and of number of other states. At this time, we only accept Wine Club sign-ups for out-of-state residents over the phone. Please call 510.524.1524 to join the club or click above on “Send Us A Question” to inquire about shipping to your state.
Yes. Because we are shipping alcohol, an adult, 21 years or older, must be present for delivery and sign for the package. FedEx makes three attempts to deliver your shipment and should leave a note each time they attempt a delivery. Also, if you prefer, you can have your package re-directed to the nearest FedEx-Office location and they will hold the package in their air-conditioned stores for you to pick up at your convenience.
In the event that you cannot receive delivery of your club, just respond to the shipping email you receive and let us know when we should ship it. If your package has already shipped and you are unavailable to sign for it, it is best to give us a call at 510.524.1524 and ask to speak to our shipping department who will help work with FedEx to remedy the situation.
We take the shipping of your wine very seriously and recommend postponing shipments during periods of very hot (highs of 80° or more) or very cold (highs of 25° or below) weather. Each month, we check the weather in your area and if we feel it is too hot or cold to ship, we let you know. We then hold the wine at our retail store until weather improves and accumulate your club shipments if needed. When weather improves, we adjust your shipping rate (saving you money) for the bundled clubs. If you feel that our prediction for weather in your area is not accurate and would like your wine shipped anyway, just let us know and we’ll send it along.
At the bottom of kermitlynch.com/wineclub you’ll see the link “Wine Club Bulletin Archives.” Click on it and you can access PDFs of all our previous club bulletins.
Absolutely. To add to your order, give us a call at 510.524.1524 and a salesperson will help you. Let them know that you’re a club member and you’d like these wines shipped with your club. It’s important to call because the billing information we have for your club is securely stored and inaccessible to our salespeople. We encourage you to develop a relationship with one of our salespeople so they can get to know your likes and dislikes and better guide you on your wine path. If you’d like to work with a salesperson, send us an email at [email protected] or fill out the “Send Us A Question” form above.
We always have extra club wines available if you’re interested in purchasing more of wine you just tasted—but act fast, most club selections sell out relatively soon after the club is released. To place an order, give us a call at 510.524.1524 and a salesperson will help you. If you’d like, we can ship your order with your next club. It’s important to call because the billing information we have for your club is securely stored and inaccessible to our salespeople. We encourage you to develop a relationship with one of our salespeople so they can get to know your likes and dislikes and better guide you on your wine path. If you’d like to work with a salesperson, send us an email at [email protected] or fill out the “Send Us A Question” form above.
To update your credit card, please give us a call at 510.524.1524. Let the salesperson who answers the phone know that you’re a club member and you have new billing information. Please DO NOT email us your credit card information or send it to us through the “Send Us A Question” forms. These are not secure methods for transferring sensitive information. In the future, we plan to provide you with a system whereby you can log in to our website and manage your billing information and account preferences yourself.
You may absolutely include a gift note—before check-out, you’ll see a text box to write your note. Your recipient will never receive an invoice for their club.
We understand that sometimes people move on. To leave the club, send us an email at [email protected], fill out the “Send Us A Question” form above, or give us a call at 510.524.1524. When you cancel your club, you’ll receive a five-question exit survey. It takes about one minute to fill it out and greatly informs us on how we can improve the clubs.