Does the idea of receiving two bottles of handcrafted wine, direct from the winery, appeal to you? What if I told you that the bottles were at a discount? Sounds great, doesn't it? The only catch is that in order to get in on this deal, you need to be a member of a new and very exclusive online wine club.

WineWeb.com has launched Club WineWeb, a monthly direct-from-winery wine club of small production wines. But unlike other online wine clubs, this one invitation-only. In fact, the club's tagline is: "It's not about WHAT you know about wine, it's about WHO you know." Prospective members must have received an invitation code from a current wine club member or been given the invitation code at a WineWeb-sponsored event. As incentives for club members to invite their friends into this club, members with the most referral members are highlighted and receive club promotional items. But how does one get an invitation?

From the club's Web site:

If you don't have an invitation, as part of our initial launch, we've made some available. Check our discussion forum under "WineWeb Features", or for a limited time you can plead your case to club@wineweb.com in 50 words or less, and we'll pick the best ones.

Why did we do an invitation-only club, you may ask? Although it may seem counter-intuitive, we believe that once you taste these wines, you will want to invite your friends to join. After the initial launch of this club, we intend to limit our marketing activities and rely on our members' word-of-mouth to drive the membership. Our success will be dependent on offering wines that you want to tell your friends about.

The shipment scheduled for mid-October is from Kendric Vineyards. Members will receive a bottle of the 2005 Marin County Pinot Noir and the 2004 Shenandoah Valley Syrah.

For more information, visit www.clubwineweb.com.