They come in several variations, but the overall appearance is generally similar: old white guys in monkey suits, festooned with medallions, oversized neck chains or tastevins. Usually, you’ll hear the loud belly laughs of the alpha males first, then notice the delicate clinks of fine stemware and the slurping sounds of wine being tasted. At some occasions there’ll be a spouse or two wearing the long dark gown that’s the distaff counterpart’s uniform, but not too many. It’s obviously a boys’ club, after all. Catching a glimpse as you enter the restaurant, you might wonder “What’s going on in the private dining room?”

It’s likely to be a meeting of one of the many drinking clubs that travel under such monikers as Commanderie, Confrèrie or Chevaliers. Typically associated with a specific wine region, like the Compagnons du Beaujolais, they’re groups of enthusiastic supporters and devotees of that region’s wines who have banded together in a sort of social club, but one that also serves to promote those wines. And while it might be easy to dismiss them based on the description above as anachronistic cliques out of touch with the times, that wouldn’t be entirely fair.

One of the first features I wrote after coming to Wine Enthusiast back in 1999 was on a 35-vintage vertical tasting of Penfolds Grange put together by the La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs at a Massachusetts restaurant. More recently–two weeks ago–I was a guest of the New York chapter of The Commanderie de Bordeaux for a couple of events spotlighting the wines of Château Branaire-Ducru back to 1928, including the fabulous ’59 (more on Branaire-Ducru some other time). Without organizations like La Chaîne and The Commanderie, such events would be even rarer than they are today.

Yet without these sorts of tastings and the generosity of these organizations in inviting the media to attend, the result would be less-informed journalists and fewer articles covering the the wines some of you may still have stashed in your cellars. More importantly, these organizations represent a collective repository of vinous and culinary experiences that is irreplaceable–while CellarTracker may let users share tasting notes with one another in greater quantity than ever before, you won’t hear wry tales of visiting domaines in Burgundy or stories about drinking all night with the Artisans of Barossa when you go online.

The best way to ensure that these troves of information endure is to join one or more of these organizations. Through an infusion of young, active members, these groups can evolve to more closely reflect today’s wine drinkers while preserving institutional memories that would otherwise slowly fade away. Collectively, the members of these clubs represent a modern cultural history of wine in America and are treasures that should be learned from and respected. That’s who these guys are.

What do you think about the various food and wine societies?

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