Kompas Wine Club Connects Members to the World

Santa Barbara Resident Eric Nielsen Cofounded This Quarterly Shipment Service

Eric Nielsen finds unique wines from around the world to send out to members of the Kompas Wine Club, with detailed information on every bottle and a range of prices in each quarterly shipment. | Credit: Courtesy

Over his years of loving wine, Eric Nielsen built up quite the collection of wine club memberships. But he eventually realized that they weren’t quite doing the trick.

“I was paying too much to too many wine clubs, and I just wasn’t getting the variety that I enjoy most about wine,” explains Nielsen, who moved to Santa Barbara in 2011 to work for Sonos and now does public relations for the video game industry. “I’m not one of those people who find one winery and want to keep drinking that wine over and over again. I like the exploration. I like experiencing new things. And honestly, I love value. Finding those amazing $15 wines that should be $30 to $40 is something that I enjoy.”

Five years ago, Nielsen and his brother, Boyd Nielsen, who then worked at a Bay Area wine shop, made a unique case for themselves that spanned the wine world and its many grape varieties. They shared that with friends, who wanted in on the next case, and then suddenly they were packing 12 cases at a time for other fans.