Hello there Sea Changers. Welcome back to my series of program lists to assist those of you looking to fund your sea change with affiliate marketing. Today we are going to pop the cork on my 10 best wine affiliate programs to swirl this year. Wine is a product that creates so many emotions, memories and feelings and is extremely popular the world over. Hence, for those of you with an interest in this niche, it is also a popular option for an online market.

Before we begin however, I am conscious that there are a number of different areas or sub niches within this subject hence the quantity of affiliate programs to choose from may be just as large. So how have I picked my best 10? Well… I really just wanted to give you a good cross section of what is out there so I did some searching around and checked a few out and chose them by looking at:

• What they offer
• Commission rates
• Payment terms
• Cookie duration
• Application processes
• Affiliate/Marketing materials provided

Before we start however, let’s have a look at what I mean by the term ‘wine’ and how it can be incorporated within an affiliate marketing website…

What do we mean by wine?

Now obviously wine is a liquid fermented from the grape to become the enjoyable drop that it is however we don’t necessarily have to limit ourselves there. For the purposes of this post, I am going to focus all aspects of the wine trade including:

• Wine (of course)
• Accessories
• Wine clubs
• Gifts
• Tours/tastings

And of course anything else you can think of when it comes to making money selling wine online… So, if you are looking to set up an online business in this space, let’s check them my best wine affiliate program options below.

What can affiliate marketers promote?

There are essentially no real barriers to what affiliate marketers can promote when it comes to wine. There are however some things to be aware of as you run your eye over wine related affiliate program possibilities that may suit your site. These are:

1. Know your audience, some are looking for specifics and want the best whilst others are hoping to just get a few bottles at a good price. Choose your affiliate sites accordingly.
2. Hard core wine connoisseurs will not take risks if they don’t trust you or your affiliate site. Make sure the programs you choose are reputable and have good recourse options if the purchaser is not happy.
3. Those purchasing as a collectible, investment or as a hobby will need to know exactly what they need and that the products you are promoting will fit in with their requirements. Make sure your programs can provide the products to back up the information that you are covering.

That said, stats show that people will spend money on wine and its related paraphernalia online if it can make their lives easier so as long as you are meeting their needs and solving problems, then you are on the right track. And to give you a boost, let’s have a look at 10 programs that I have found below:

1. wine.com

wine.com is a nice little site with a large range of wine options from all over the world including:

• Red Wine
• White Wine
• Champagne & Sparkling
• Rosé Wine
• Dessert, Sherry, & Port
• Wine Tasting Sets

There is also a nice range of gifts and accessories such as:

• Curated Wine Sets
• Wine Tasting Sets
• Curated Spirits Sets
• Gift Baskets
• Wine & Food Gifts

This is a great site for affiliates as it allows you to cover and review wines from regions all over the world as well as paring with different accessories and gift options. In addition, there is a great ‘discovery’ section with information, tasting notes, blogs posts and various other information to assist your readers (and provide post inspiration for you as well).

Commission Rate: Not Stated

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: Not Stated

Application required?: Yes, wine.com’s affiliate program is managed by Rakuten. You will be required to apply for an account then for the wine.com affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional plans and platforms to be used.

Marketing material provided: Text links, banner ads, or virtual storefronts

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2. Majestic

Majestic is a UK based online site offering a huge range of budget priced (but not ‘cheap’) wines from all over the world including:

• New Zealand
• France
• Italy
• USA
• Spain
• Portugal
• Australia
• Chile
• Argentina
• South Africa

All of the wine categories are covered as well as a good range of beer, cider and spirits as well.

There may just be enough here to base an entire affiliate marketing business around if you are looking at the budget or country specific wine niches. There is however also some extra opportunity here with Majestic’s service offerings to assist with the wine purchases for weddings, parties and the like with added options of equipment hire as well.

Commission Rate: 4% for new and 1% for returning customers

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: 90 Days

Application required?: Yes, Majestic’s affiliate program is managed by Share-A-Sale. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Majestic affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text Links, banners, product feed

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3. Organic Wine Company

As the name suggests, Organic Wine Company sell a large range of Vegan, Gluten free and GMO Free wines drawn from certified organic grapes. They offer all of the main wine categories including:

• Champagne and sparkling
• Reds
• Whites
• Rose
• Dessert

All wines can be chosen by type, country of origin or dietary (sulfate free etc.)

This would make a great addition to any wine site aimed at collectors and general purchase alike as well as a dietary sites such as gluten free and Vegan. There is also a wine club subscription service available providing for an extra promotional option and a great blog for post ideas and added information for readers.

Commission Rate: 5%

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: Not Stated

Application required?: Yes, you will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text links, banners

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4. Splash Wines

Splash Wines is another nice little wine site that deals in wine by the case. Cases can be chosen from pre-selected cases or as a ‘choose your own’ arrangement from a large selection or red and white wines – or a mixture of the two. Wines are available from all over the world with a promise that they are on sold at a profit of just 15% of source costs.

There is also a small range of merchandise comprising some really cool gift ideas such as shirts, charms, coasters, bottle thermometers and filtering wands (ummm filtering wands?).

This would make a great addition to any wine based niche as it allows for purchase at a number of price ranges. And for the budget conscious drinker or collector of eclectic labels, there are also a number of subscription and membership options to promote as well.

Commission Rate: Not Stated

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: 30 Days

Application required?: Yes, the Splash Wines affiliate program is managed by CJ Affiliates. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Splash Wines affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text links, creatives, tutorials

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5. Wine Enthusiast

Our next site, Wine Enthusiast, doesn’t actually sell wine as such rather it is the “world’s largest retailer” of accessories and storage options. There are so many products that there is too much to list here however their main categories include:

• Wine storage cabinets, racks and accessories
• Wine coolers
• Wine barrel furniture
• Bars and consoles
• Glassware
• Accessories
• Hosting and serve ware
• Unique gifts

This site could definitely be utilised to build a generalist business around if you are dealing with those looking to collect and store wine or as a great side hustle for just about anything else to do with wine, entertainment or gifts. The added bonus here is that they also deal with customised cellars and storage meaning there is also opportunity for some high ticket sales as well.

Commission Rate: 3%

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: 30 Days

Application required?: Yes, the Wine Enthusiast affiliate program is managed by CJ Affiliates. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Wine Enthusiast affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text links, Banners

Note: There is also a good wholesale program for those dealing with professional sales etc.

6. Plonk Wine Club

Now we start our look into an extremely popular area within this niche with Plonk Wine Club. As the name suggests, Plonk Wine Club is an online subscription service for lovers of the drop who can order “a highly curated selection of the best organic, biodynamic, and limited-production wines that we source from wineries in California, Europe, South America and every imaginable wine region in between”. All wines are delivered with complete tasting notes to accompany its range of hard to get and boutique wines.

There is probably not enough on this site to base an entire affiliate marketing site around unless you were able to review each of the wines separately. It would however work very well as a side promotion if you were dealing with avid wine collectors and aficionados.

Commission Rate: up to 40% (first sale only)

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: Not Stated

Application required?: Yes, Plonk Wine Club’s affiliate program is managed by Share-A-Sale. You will be required to apply for an account then for the Plonk Wine affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Banners, Text Links

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7. California Wine Club

Our next site is the California Wine Club which is another subscription based site that deals with smaller and artisan wineries predominantly in California. They do offer a small range of products from other small wineries around the world and incorporate them all into 6 different membership options ranging from 2 bottles to a case of your favourite varieties.

As with the other subscription options listed here, this site is probably not one that you would build an entire affiliate marketing business around however again it would be a great companion/add on to just about any wine related niche possible – and maybe even for those dealing with corporate entertainment as well. There is also a good blog and member interaction capabilities to add value to your promotional posts.

Commission Rate: 15% per sale

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: 90 Days

Application required?: Yes, California Wine Club’s affiliate program is managed by Share-A-Sale. You will be required to apply for an account then for the California Wine Club affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text links, banners, data feed

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8. Wine Awesomeness

And the last in our range of wine subscription sites is Wine Awesomeness. This is an interesting little site in that specialises in building curated boxes of weird and wonderful wines from all over the world. The added coolness here is that each box is paired with “thebacklabel” magazine that covers recipes, tasting notes, and the stories behind the bottles in the box. There are also options for straight forward retail sales as well.

Again, this site is probably not one that you would build an entire affiliate marketing business around although with the inclusion of the magazine, might make one that could be based on for reviews and other information for readers. That said, I think there is enough difference in the three subscription models listed in this post to incorporate them into a wine subscription based niche – especially as they all use Share-A-Sale.

Commission Rate:

• Earn $10 for every new subscription
• 15% revenue on curated wine packs that we offer weekly
• 8% of standard eCommerce orders via the WA Wine Shop

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: Not Stated

Application required?: Yes – the Wine Awesomeness affiliate program is managed by Share-A-Sale. You will be required to apply for an account and then for the Wine Awesomeness affiliate program. You will need to enter personal and website information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text Links, banners, GIFs

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9. Priority Wine Pass

Now, for the avid wine traveler and taster, let’s take a look at Priority Wine Pass. Priority Wine Pass is a subscription based service offering:

• 400+ wine tasting deals
• Digital & physical wine tasting options
• Free custom tasting itineraries

Obviously this site would work best as an add on to any wine related site especially as a great gift idea or for within the travel or outdoors niches. There is also a fantastic blog allowing for some great post ideas and/or bonus information for your readers.

Commission Rate: up to 25%

Payment Terms: Monthly.

Cookie Duration: Not Stated

Application required?: Yes – You will need to enter personal and website information as well as promotional strategy to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text links and banners

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10. Etching Expressions

And finally we look into a cool little wine based gift site called Etching Expressions. This site turns normal bottles of wine, beer and glassware into personalised keepsakes. Bottles are stenciled and then sand-carved by hand to create a deep etched pattern on the bottle.

It would be hard to build an affiliate site around this one however it would make a fantastic addition to just about any wine, gift, corporate, sporting niche (or any other that you think may fit).

Commission Rate: 15%

Payment Terms: Monthly

Cookie Duration: 30 Days

Application required?: Yes – You will need to enter personal and payment information to apply.

Marketing material provided: Text Links

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Amazon Associates

Alternatively, should you wish to set up your site up with a range from a few different brands or companies on the same site then you can do so via Amazon. Amazon does not allow for the sale of wine however does provide access to a good range of vino related products and accessories and has a fairly good affiliate program as well. So if you wish, join the Amazon Associates program, locate the best products relevant to your site within Amazon itself and you can post links on your own site as per below:

Amazon’s commission rates are not too bad and some prefer this avenue due to the sheer amount of traffic and trustworthiness that comes with a company site of this size.

How to find your own affiliate programs

As stated earlier, by outlining the sites above I have really just tried to give you a good cross section of the types of programs that are out there by listing the really good ones in each ‘category’. That does not mean that you cannot find affiliate programs that better suit what it is that you are trying to do within this space especially as I could never even begin to cover every wine related requirement or sub niche in the one post. Luckily for us, there is a simple way to find these programs online.

All you need to do is enter “affiliate: niche type” into your search engine (substituting ‘niche type‘ for whatever product it is that you are choosing to sell).

There are wine related affiliate programs for everything else that we have listed at the top of this page as well – you will just need to have a look around until you find one or two that suit your site. Once you have completed your searches, you can look through and find programs that:

• Relate to your niche/problems that you are solving.
• Have quality products – your brand can be severely damaged if you promote poor quality products.
• Have solid payment and customer service arrangement.
• Pay decent commissions.
• Have good testimonials covering commission payouts and quality of product.

In most cases, you will need to apply for the program before you are allowed to promote their products – don’t take this step lightly or you will be rejected. Affiliate programs will generally want to know:

• Your website name.
• Traffic levels.
• Why you want to join – (so I can make money by selling your wine racks is unfortunately not generally a good enough answer).
• How you plan to promote their products.

Conclusion

So… There are 10 of the best wine affiliate programs to swirl this year. I hope it has been helpful for you as you commence your own wine based affiliate marketing business and as usual, please do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, need some advice or have any experiences to share. Oh, and especially comment if you have any experience with these, or any other programs as well.

Until next time

Have fun

Paul

Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.

Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own wine based website?

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