Wine Club Members Want to Swap Wines — Here’s How to Make It Effortless

Wine club flexibility drives retention — but for many wineries, giving members the freedom to change wines before a shipment often comes at the cost of time, stress, and manual work.

In our recent interviews with DTC managers at small and mid-sized wineries, one recurring challenge stood out:

“I get a ton of those emails — people asking to change wines before their club ships.”

While it sounds simple, the process is often time-sensitive, rule-bound, and surprisingly manual. Let’s break down why these requests are so challenging — and how WineSpot’s new Commerce7-powered workflow makes the entire experience smoother for both staff and members.

Wine swap requests typically start arriving right after the pre-shipment email goes out — about two weeks before billing. Customers reply via email, call the tasting room, or send text messages, asking to substitute wines in their upcoming release.

The trouble is that these requests often arrive with little detail. Staff have to look up the account, confirm the membership level and shipment, and double-check whether swaps are even allowed.

As one club manager explained:

“They email and say something like ‘Can I switch the Syrah for the Barbera?’ But they don’t always say what club they’re in, or which shipment they mean. I have to look everything up.”

And even when the request is clear, the manual workflow piles up: log into the system, adjust bottles, save changes, confirm with the guest, and document it in the notes. Multiply that by dozens or hundreds of members, and it’s easy to see why staff feel overwhelmed.

Many wineries already include a portal link in their pre-shipment email, but most members don’t use it.

“We include the link to update wines in our email, but most people don’t use it. They just write back and ask us to make the changes.”

The issue isn’t lack of communication — it’s the friction of the portal experience.

Why? Because the portal experience creates friction:
• Passwords are a barrier: Most members don’t remember their portal login. Resetting a password or digging through old emails is too much effort for a quick change.
• The process feels clunky: Even after logging in, finding the right place to swap wines isn’t always straightforward. Different club levels, bottle minimums, and SKU rules make the experience confusing.

Instead of self-serving, members default to sending vague requests back to the winery team — creating even more manual work.

WineSpot removes the portal barrier by meeting customers where they already are — in email, SMS, or chat.

Here’s how the new flow works:

1. The member clicks a link or “resolve” button in an email, responds to an SMS prompt, or opens the winery’s chat.
2. Quick verification happens inside the chat experience — no password needed, just a simple identity check.
3. WineSpot AI pulls shipment details from Commerce7, validates eligibility, and presents swappable wines in real time.
4. The member makes their selection, and the system updates Commerce7 instantly.
5. If the request isn’t eligible or comes in late, it escalates to staff with full context preserved.

No extra logins. No back-and-forth emails. Just a quick, guided swap that works within winery rules.

Guests can also use a Help Center widget on the winery’s website. It includes quick-action buttons for repetitive inquiries such as Wine Club Management, Track & Manage Orders, or Make a Reservation. From there, they’re guided into the same AI chat-driven experience that resolves requests instantly or escalates when needed.