The Hive on Wine

April 5, 2010 6:04 PM

The world of online wine is overwhelming to say the least. What are the best websites for ordering wine over the internet, and what makes them distinguishable or better than other sites? What reliable methods or services do you use to determine what specific new wines to try?

I am looking to broaden my horizons in wine online beyond what is available at various local stores. I generally prefer red wine and like all different types and different regions. I am still in an exploratory phase. I have a decent budget for a novice and typically spend $15-$25 for normal bottles and double that for special occasions or to splurge. The problem is I have no idea what to buy when I go to the store.

The world of online wine is also overwhelming and its hard to figure out which sites are good and what to buy. Wine of the month clubs look intriguing, but it's hard to tell if there is better value elsewhere from following some good newsletters or otherwise. I would be interested to hear about any experiences with any specific clubs.

Also, I wonder if there are any specific newsletters or other selection methods that people follow (e.g. the Sale area of a certain website).

I'm in NY in case it matters.

posted by jameslavelle3 to food & drink (6 answers total)

I haven't used them, but you might check out winelibrary.com, and Gary Vaynerchuk has a popular wine video podcast that is often interesting: Wine Library TV
posted by smcameron at 6:24 PM on April 5, 2010

Yes, Gary Vaynerchuk is a hoot. Definitely check out his video podcasts. And I think his store is fairly well stocked, and they ship.
posted by dave*p at 6:26 PM on April 5, 2010

Even though I can't buy from wine.woot.com, I often look at the commenter's reviews so if I can find the bottles out, I'll buy.
posted by deezil at 6:41 PM on April 5, 2010

For wine recs and info, mr. hgg really likes Jancis Robinson's website.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:48 PM on April 5, 2010

The best way to find stuff you will like is to try different types of wine and keep a record/journal of what you like. Other peoples reviews can be useful for general characteristics (sweet/dry, cherry or plum flavors, ect.) but in the end it comes down to what you enjoy drinking.

NY state has some nice wine growing regions. If you can make it out to Long Island there are a whole bunch of vineyards and wineries that are open to the public and do tastings (unfortunately most all of them charge now a days but its not so bad, anywhere from 5-7$ to try flights of 4 different wines (whites, reds, ect) Last year my wife and I went with my sister and her boyfriend and had a great day visiting 4 or 5 different places, trying different wines, and buying bottles of stuff we really liked.
posted by Captain_Science at 6:56 PM on April 5, 2010

I like the Virgin Wine Club but I'm in the UK so that may not be an option.
posted by dmt at 3:16 AM on April 6, 2010