A lot of wine-of-the-month club brochures cross my desk; most of them fall somewhere between completely uninspired and schlocky.

So I was pleased to learn recently of a couple of homegrown wine clubs that you could give to the most hard-to-please oeno geek for Christmas. From affordable to deliciously over the top, these two guilds for the glass are all class:

From Oregon to Argentina and back
Two years ago, Portland native Daniel Karlin traveled to Argentina and fell in love -- twice. His first love is named Lourdes Silvera, and she's now Karlin's fiancee. His second love was Argentine wine, and it's now his baby.

Karlin's company, called Anuva Vinos, sources small-batch, artisanal Argentine wines that aren't available in the U.S. and direct-ships them to its members. (Anuva is a mishmash of "Argentina" and uva, which means "grape" in Spanish.) The well-curated monthly picks tend to be heavy on Argentina's signature red, malbec, followed by lesser-known Argentine as well as international varietals.
If you've been reading this column lately, you know that malbec and the white torrontes offer tremendous bang for the buck. Unfortunately, this is due to the fact that Argentina's economy has been a mess for at least two decades.

Karlin, who just turned 30, has had a bumpy ride trying to start up his first business in that nation, where gangsters steal trucks carrying cargo, monetary transactions are unreliable and everything takes twice as long as it's supposed to. Add to that the Byzantine laws regarding the import and sale of wine in the U.S., and the young merchant admits, "This is absolutely the most challenging thing I have ever done in my life."

Here in Portland, twentysomething design whiz Yuji Tomita, a former Catlin Gabel schoolmate, keeps the business running by managing the Web site and producing the slick explanatory cards that hang around the neck of each bottle, succinctly dishing out detailed information and food-pairing suggestions.

Meanwhile, Karlin has learned that conducting business in Argentina requires a lot of coffee-sipping and small talk. "In the U.S. we sort of dispense with pleasantries when we establish business relationships," he says. "In Argentina you might have to chat for three hours before getting to the business side of things."

But -- thanks largely to his aforementioned fiancee -- Karlin is now comfortable enough with Argentine culture to lead winery outings for tourists visiting Buenos Aires. Sample a taste of his offerings at one of his private Portland tastings for 10 people ($175 for the next three weeks; regularly $275) or purchase a gift package ($69 to $89) of Argentine wine or a wine-club membership starting at $69 per month. Check out the site at anuvawines.com