When to Buy Wine Online : Tips for how to search.
Nowadays, you can easily find, order and get wine shipped to your door from the comfort of your own home. However, there are certain ways to go about it, and obstacles you will face, notably due to shipping regulations per country.
Advices to search and shop wine – A guide of the online retailing
Shopping for wine online is best suited to buying fine wine and bottles that are a little harder to find. “If you’re looking for 8€, 9€, 10€ bottles of wine, it doesn’t make as much sense to buy them online,” says Tom Wark, the executive director of the National Association of Wine Retailers.
“However, if you’re looking more along the lines of 30€, 40€, 50€, 100€ a bottle, then the price of shipping becomes a smaller percentage of your overall purchase.” Because wine is heavy, it’s expensive to send it and it’s difficult to find free or discounted shipping deals.
Tips for searching on the internet
Start with outlining your goals. Are you looking for something specific or are you just browsing? If the former, the first thing to do is a simple Google search. This will bring up results from retailers that carry the product.
WineSearcher.com is also handy as an aggregator, as you can search for wines that are available at retailers in your state or area. To make sure the retailers you’re finding through these searches are reliable,
Google Alert
Wark suggests looking up how long they’ve been around, and if there are mentions of them on other sites. If you have your heart set on a particular wine but can’t find it immediately, you can create a Google alert for it; and you will be noticed with an email if it becomes available somewhere.
This will also allow you to shop around for the best price on that special wine. “I think wine lovers have a great advantage now that there’s real price transparency. You can easily comparison shop,” says Jamie Wolff, owner of Chambers Street Wines in New York.
Choose the best wine for you
Shopping for wine online can’t be the same as having an interaction with a person in a retail shop and building a relationship with them. However, there are things you can do to get the most out of your online shopping experience.
“We look at our online and digital programs as being extensions of our company and our brick-and-mortar operation, and we try to bring the personalities of our staff and bring that life online,” says Brian Zucker, of K&L Wine Merchants..
Good retailers will provide a lot of information on their websites about wines you are considering buying. This can include technical sheets with information on the winemaking and reviews from reputable wine publications like Wine Spectator.
Enjoy your trip…
Source: Emma Balter – winespectator.com
