Dry Farm Wines Review

One of the things that changes as you hit middle age is your ability to tolerate food and drink like you once did.

I’ve long been a lover of wine, but lately even a relatively small amount has the potential to disrupt my sleep, give me a headache or just make me feel sluggish the next day.

For a while I just accepted that as my
new reality, not thinking much about why that was happening.

Then I saw Dry Farm Wines being promoted by Tim Ferriss. It had a lot of other famous devotees in the wellness space like Dave Asprey and Mark Sisson.

Quick Summary of Dry Farms Wine


Pros:
Delivers on the promise of clean wine
Nice packaging and good looking bottles
Some have 3rd party lab results on label

Cons:
Can’t pick your own wines
Fairly expensive

Verdict:
An alternative, Thrive Market wines, is just as clean and half the price.

I have also tested Scout & Cellar, Thrive Market and FitVine if you’re interested in how those turned out. 

Jump to:

What Is “Clean” Wine?

The pitch of a “clean” wine struck me as absurd initially, but the more I read the more I realized there’s a bunch of stuff in my wine that shouldn’t be there.

There are pesticides and herbicides on the grapes, but that’s just the residues. Then there’s the stuff they add intentionally like extra sugar and sulfites.

So I gave it a try. I was very pleasantly surprised (nearly shocked, actually) at the difference “clean” wine makes.

There are pros and cons that I’ll get into later, but the experience is what I describe as “transparent” to your body.

It’s as if I were consuming a mild poison and then I stopped (which is a fair description of what’s happening).

The clean wine has about the same effects that I’d expect of grape juice–there aren’t any.

“Clean” wine is a continuum of course, and if you want to see what difference cleaner wine makes to your metabolism without investing in a number of different bottles, the “Wand” is an excellent option.

Here’s a video that both explains clean wine and shows the Wand in action:

Who This Review Is For

I will say that the concept of clean wines isn’t for everyone.

If you’re younger or otherwise don’t really experience the downsides of regular wine, you won’t want to pay more for clean wine (though it’s not always more expensive as you’ll see later).

If you’re 100% focused on flavor, a real wine snob, this may also not be for you.

And if you’re a straight value shopper, looking for the best taste at the very lowest price, this won’t be for you either.

But if health and feeling great are top priorities and you still want to enjoy wine, definitely read on.

Dry Hill Farms bottle

One of the bottles from Dry Farm Wines

Dry Farm Wines Review

The Dry Farm Wines service is a regular delivery of carefully selected bottles of wine, delivered to your door. Here’s the insert from the box. The collection of testimonials from wellness gurus is impressive.

Dry Hill Farms Testimonials

You can see all their claims in the image, but several of them are either redundant (e.g., “Low Carb Friendly” and “Paleo & Keto Friendly”) or it isn’t clear how the claim would affect my digestive experience of the wine, like “Older Vines.”

Here are the ones that I think are relevant to having a clean wine:

  • Grown Organically/Biodynamically
  • Sugar Free
  • Lower Sulfites
  • Lower Alcohol
  • No Industrial Additives

The bottles are usually attractive and the box, packaging and inserts are a nice touch. The same is true of the bottle stickers they send with each batch.

You can apply the stickers so you know which wines in your wine rack are from Dry Farm Wines, I found this very handy.

Dry Hill Farms box opening

Some bottles also have the results of their lab tests printed on the back label. This is a feature I’ve never seen before with any wine service or seller.

Not all bottles had the test results, in my last shipment half of the bottles had it and half did not.

Dry Hill Farms box

The lab test label confirms the alcohol percentage and the sugar contents of the wine. This is great, but I think it would also be useful to show the absence of glyphosate and other toxins that would make a wine “clean.”

The service costs $159 for 6 bottles of wine, or $26.50 per bottle delivered.

Pros & Cons of Dry Farm Wines

I found a very distinct set of pros and cons during my test of this service.

Pros:

  • The wines being “clean” works. There was stark difference in how I felt after drinking these wines vs. my regular wines (mostly from the Naked Wines service or purchased from the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list).
  • Lab testing – While there isn’t a lot of information, the independent confirmation that the wines are low sugar/low carb is a key factor for the target audience of Keto and Paleo enthusiasts.
  • Nice appearance and thoughtful packaging
Dry Hill Farms label

Cons:

  • The service is fairly expensive per bottle of wine.
  • You can choose to receive red or white wines, but you don’t make any choices beyond that. So what you get is a grab bag of wines you may or may not enjoy.
  • The flavor of the wines tends to be tart (which in fairness is what happens when you remove the sugar) and in my experience, lacking depth.

So there’s a definite give and take here. You’re getting wines that are verified to be ok on your restrictive diet, and that’s hard to find.

Dry Hill Farms bottle top

But you’re making a lot of compromises in the process. Buying relatively expensive bottles of wine that you can’t pick out yourself isn’t for everyone.

I received styles of wine that I know I don’t care for and would never choose at a wine store. And I never tasted a single bottle throughout the test that made me say “wow, that’s really good wine.”

A More Affordable Alternative

Another service I tried recently was the wine section at Thrive Market. Thrive Market is basically an online grocery store that caters to any dietary restrictions you might have.

I’ve been a customer there for a while, but this was the first time I had ever tried their wines.

Their wine service is similar to Dry Farm Wines in many ways. All of the Thrive Market wines are organic and chosen by a master sommelier for their taste, quality and sustainability. You can also go farther in filtering the wines to your taste and diet.

Thrive Market Wine Bottles

Thrive Market allows you to filter the wines by:

  • No Added Sweeteners
  • Pesticide-free
  • Preservative-free
  • No sulfites
  • Certifications (Biodynamic, Organic, B Corporation)
  • Farm type (Family owned, Sustainable)
  • Vegan (I’m perplexed by that option)
  • Brand
  • Average customer rating

This is very similar to the profile of the Dry Farm Wines. The only thing missing is “lower alcohol” but the alcohol content is always listed, so if you want to choose wines with a lower alcohol content, you can.

Thrive Market’s Current Offer:

Shop our selection of sustainably sourced Clean Wines curated by a Master Sommelier! Choose a FREE gift, up to $24 value, when you purchase a Thrive Market membership!

One HUGE Difference

The HUGE difference between Dry Farm Wines and Thrive Market is the flexibility.

At Thrive Market, you can not only choose which of those factors are important to you…you get to choose the wine!

You just apply whatever filters are important and you’re presented with a selection of wines. Then you can choose whatever sounds good and if you like it, you can order more of that exact wine.

The only thing that is missing vs. Dry Farm Wines is that half of the Dry Farm Wines had the lab results label and Thrive Market doesn’t do that type of testing.

Dry Farm WinesThrive Market Wines
Grown Organically/
Biodynamically
Sugar Free
Lower Sulfites
Lower Alcohol
Pesticide Free
Preservative Free
Choose Your Wines
Price$$$

Taste and Effects

On average, I enjoyed the flavor of the Thrive Market wines more. I think this is precisely because you get to choose the wines. If you know what you tend to like, you can make better choices for your own palate.

The effects were the same in terms of how I felt. Perhaps it’s the lower sugar content or the lack of pesticides, but whatever I normally react to wasn’t there.

Toscano wine from Thrive Market

Thrive Market Wine Prices

Oh…and the prices! I didn’t see a single bottle that was as expensive as the $26.50 average cost of a Dry Farm Wines bottle. There were options that were less than half that price.

To compare total pricing, you have to consider shipping. It’s included in the Dry Farm Wines price and at Thrive Market it’s free if you order $79 or more in wine alone (food ships separately).

Thrive Market also has an annual membership fee, but amortized across all your wine (and food) purchases, it would only add a nominal amount to the price of a bottle.

This wasn’t even a contest, Thrive Market wines were dramatically more affordable.

Bonus: All Your Other Groceries

Wines are only one aspect of Thrive Market. If you’re a health-conscious person who sticks to a diet that is strict in some way—which you likely do if you’re interested in Dry Farm Wines—then you’ll find a LOT to like about Thrive Market. If you’re interested, check out our full Thrive Market review.

You can filter ALL their products by factors that are important to you. Their whole selection is similar to a normal grocery store, with packaged food, frozen food, meat, supplements, health and beauty products. They have everything except fresh produce basically.

So you’re getting a ton of value beyond just the clean wines. For this reason, I think Thrive Market is a far better value.

Thrive Market’s Current Offer:

Shop our selection of sustainably sourced Clean Wines curated by a Master Sommelier! Choose a FREE gift, up to $24 value, when you purchase a Thrive Market membership!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dry Farm Wines legit?

Yes, very. The service was very professional from start to finish and they delivered what they claimed.

How much alcohol is in Dry Farm Wines?

Typically 12.5% alcohol or lower.

Are dry farm wines sweet?

No, not at all. Because of the intentionally low sugar content of the wines chosen, I found all of the bottles I tested to be very dry.

Is Dry Farm Wines worth the money?

Personally, no, I found that the offering from Thrive Market wines was comparable in almost every way and a much better value for the money.

Is Dry Farm Wines keto?

It really depends on how strictly you define “keto.” But it is undoubtedly the most keto-friendly wines you’ll find.