This Haggerston clubhouse, tucked under a brace of railway
arches, provides a physical space in which oenophiles can geek out
over grapes. There are no red-trousered wine buffs around here;
just Hackney types in fisherman’s hats and Carhartt jackets talking
pet nats and carbonic reds. Opened in autumn 2021, the clean-cut
space was brought to life by Danish interior designers Studio X and
includes a members’ lounge, cellar, shop and restaurant run by
Sebastian Myers (the last accessible to non-members, too).

Membership is open to all, with benefits including 72
bottles-worth of storage in the Planque cellar (that’s three cases
of wine), lounge and private-dining access, priority restaurant
reservations, a two-bottle monthly corkage allowance (anything on
top of that is £10 a bottle), a wine concierge service, exclusive
invitations to club tastings and dinners and discounts at the
Plaque wine store. If you’re hoping to try before you sign up, we’d
recommend heading to the restaurant for a dinner of modern French
food (think creamy guinea fowl parfait and braised piattone beans
over pork jowl ragout), paired with a wine list of rare and
interesting bottles, naturally.

What it costs: £80 monthly, or £880 annually,
with a £150 joining fee.

Wine and food writer Hannah Crosbie launched her inclusive event
series to demystify the wine world and show that having a palate
for a good bottle doesn’t require a trust fund. The title? It’s
ironic; this club is for everyone – no membership required.
Intimate and personal, Crosbie’s events are billed like Corsica
Studios line-ups, with bold one-off poster designs announcing
beaujolais nouveau tastings and evenings with female wine producers
at various locations. The club will soon be moving to a permanent
home at bar and restaurant Rondo La Cave. Ticket numbers are capped, so
you’ll need to be quick if you want one – they always sell out.

What it costs: £35 per event.

Oranj started life as an online shop during lockdown, with a
membership programme, Club Oranj, launched soon after. You can
expect monthly bottle deliveries (complete with complementary
curated mix tapes, tasting notes and a frame-worthy poster by an
artist or design studio), plus early-bird access to tastings and
music events when you sign up. Bottles are exclusively made by
small-scale producers, with a focus on natural, low-intervention,
biodynamic and organic bins. Founder Jasper Delamothe calls the
selection “interesting wines” – his relationships with small,
independent vineyards means the club has access to rare bottles
you’ll struggle to find anywhere else. Membership is on a
first-come-first-served basis, so you’ll need to regularly check
the website to see if places are available, or hope an existing
member invites you along. The Oranj team has recently opened a
185sq m warehouse bar and kitchen on Shoreditch’s Bacon Street, too.

What it costs: The two-tier scheme offers £50
and £100 monthly membership rates, which includes two or five
bottles of natural wine curated by Oranj and a guest sommelier,
respectively, plus an artist-commissioned poster.

“CAVE OPEN”, reads the neon-orange sign at the door of Cave
Cuvée: no subscription is necessary here – good news for those
wanting to get to grips with improving their grape knowledge. The
founders of Highbury restaurant Top Cuvée hit on a golden formula
after launching an online wine shop during the pandemic; cheery
support from London’s bottle buffs led to the opening of a Bethnal
Green Road store, which also twilights as the group’s education
arm. Head down on a Wednesday to join one of the regular, ticketed
natural wine tastings, during which you’ll learn the difference
between carbos and sangos (while scoffing oysters, charcuterie and
cheese), or find your peculiarity of choice at one of Cave Cuvée’s
one-off celebratory events, from NYE parties to vodka-fuelled
brunches.

What it costs: Held weekly, A Natural Wine
Masterclass costs from £45.