Ology: How We Select The Best Online Wine Retailers
To find the best online wine stores, we consulted multiple reviews to see which sites earned the most recommendations. Then we visited the top stores to check out their selection, pricing, shipping options, and ease of use.
Based on our findings, we selected the top online wine retailers to fit different wine-buying needs.
Best For Chilling Wine: Derguam 3
Courtesy of Amazon
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Wine chill lasts up to an hour
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Drip-free pouring spout
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You have to use a bit of force to fit the aerator into the bottle
If you like to aerate whites and rosés in addition to red wines, the Derguam 3-in-1 wine tool has some extra features that might come in handy. This aerator comes with a detachable metal rod that can be kept in the freezer and used to keep wine cool.
After freezing the stainless steel chiller rod for at least two hours, attach it to the aerator and place it in your bottle of wine. The metal rod helps chill the wine, even on a hot summer day. To aerate, attach the rod to the aerator, and insert the entire device into the bottle. As you pour, the wine is drawn through the acrylic aerator and dispersed into a thin sheet, exposing more of the wine to oxygen as it pours. When youre finished, we recommend removing this aerator above the sink. The long chiller rod tends to hang on to a few drops of wine.
The Spruce Eats / Madeline Muzzi
Material: Stainless steel, acrylic | Dimensions: 12.6 x 0.79 x 0.79 inches | Weight: 3.52 ounces
Best Budget: Tenten Labs Wine Aerator Pourer
Courtesy of Amazon
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Compact design can fit in your pocket
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Parts difficult to reassemble tightly again
This no-frills aerator is a great budget-friendly option. The small, 4-inch model is easy to use. Just pop it into an open bottle and pour away. There were no leaks or drips during our tests, even when the aerator was placed gently inside the bottle. The silicone band gives the model a snug fit inside the neck of any wine bottle.
As wine is poured through the aerator, a small hole inside the chamber draws in air. A metal plate disrupts the wine as it flows out of the aerator, forcing the wine to bubble and exposing it to oxygen. The TenTen doesnt pour quite as smoothly as other models. When the wine hits the metal plate, you can feel the liquid sloshing back and forth. Pour carefullyif you tip too suddenly some might slosh out of your glass. When tested with a Malbec this aerator helped reduce the hot aroma of alcohol.
The Spruce Eats / Madeline Muzzi
Material: Plastic | Dimensions: 4 x 2.5 x 1.3 inches | Weight: 0.03 pound
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Are Fitvine Wines *really* Healthier For You Here’s What You Need To Know
Available for about $15 per bottle and crazy-popular, FitVine promises to deliver all the spirits with less sugar per serving.
Inspired by some painful post-Napa-cab headaches, Mark Warren and Tom Beaton co-founded FitVine five years ago with one mission: offer vinos of many varieties that have less sugar but the same alcohol level as their competitors.
Related: The Health Benefits of Drinking Wine
The California-based wine company now sells 13 different blends or varietals of sparkling wine, rosé, whites and reds, all emblazoned with a runner holding a glass and bunch of grapes on the label.
As a result of their slick marketing, wellness promises and reasonable price point , FitVine is the fastest-growing wine brand in the U.S., according to a FoodDive report.
Related: The 7 Best Wines under $15, According to Sommeliers
The brand originally homed in on fitness devoteespartnering with events like road races to sponsor finish-line drinksbut then evolved into targeting all people looking to improve their health in some way. FitVine is now sold at more than 20,000 wine shops and supermarkets across the country, including Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Walmart and more. Thought of as a competitor to the big-box brands and “clean” wines like Cameron Diaz’s Avaline brand, Warren proudly boasts that the alcohol by volume of FitVine is on par with other traditional wines.
Best For Every Budget: Garys Wine & Marketplace
The selection at Garys Wine and Marketplace is impressive. It offers nearly 3,000 wines, over 1,200 beers, and more than 1,100 types of spirits. There are also gift sets and a wide assortment of gourmet cheeses, snacks, and other tidbits to go with your beverages.
Garys offers wines for every price range, from under $5 to over $1,000 per bottle. You can browse its selections by style, variety, country, wine region, or features and sort the list by name, price, or whats trending.
Garys also offers several wine clubs, including a sommelier society spotlighting a different type each month.
Garys has four physical stores in New Jersey and one in Napa Valley, California, so customers in those areas can arrange local delivery for a $5 fee. Shipping to other areas takes one to three days. You can see estimated shipping costs on the product page.
Recommended Reading: Sweet Wines Like Stella Rosa
Best For Food Pairings: Bottlerocket
Buying wine at Bottlerocket is a unique experience. Rather than presenting a list sorted by varietal or region, the home page asks what wine you want to pair your food with. Thats the sites focus: helping you find the best wine for any meal, from steak to Chinese takeout.
But thats not the only search option. You can browse the 500-plus wine collection by category, grape, region, or price. You can also use tasting criteria like floral, muscular, or jammy. Choose green for organic and natural wines, critics for expert picks, or gifts to find wines for people from the boss to third date.
Bottlerockets prices range from under $15 to over $200. Delivery is free within some parts of New York City. Elsewhere, orders ship via FedEx and can take three to 12 days.
Welcome To Okanagan Estate Wine Cellars
Welcome to your neighbourhood wine shop where you will receive friendly and knowledgeable service! At Okanagan Estate Wine Shop, we strive to supply good value while bringing fine wine within thereach of numerous individuals. We stock British Columbia winemakers and growers that first and foremost make delicious wine. Also we look for well-balanced wines of character that reveal a sense ofpride in location.
Our Kitsilano wine shop is operated without any commitment to hotels, restaurants, or pubs, so we are truly a neighbourhood-friendly wine shop, offering your favourite BC wines at winery prices!
Our staff are all extremely well trained and knowledgeable of BC Wines, especially in food pairings. Our owner, Michael Romand, also likes to work in the store and is dedicated to customer needs. Wework hard to deliver impressive service and understanding in a friendly and welcoming, no-pressure environment.
Whether you’re looking for a Merlot, Chardonnay, or Shiraz, among many others, we’ll help you find the best BC wine. Everything we have is well-suited to fit any taste and any event. And dont worry.If youre not quite sure what you’re looking for, let us know your taste and budget preferences and our educated personnel can happily suggest something that fits the flavor profile and cost rangeyou’re searching for.
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The Best Places To Buy Wine Online
Our pick for the best wine seller online, Wine.com, offers the best combination of selection, searchability, and shipping options. If all you want is a good bottle of wine and an easy shopping experience, its a great choice.
average return of 618%
However, if youre looking for something more specific, one of the other sites on our list might meet your needs better. Some specialize in particular wine types, like organic wines, rare vintages, budget bottles, or curated collections.
Others stand out for service. They offer more delivery options or recommendations geared to your particular needs and tastes.
More Ways To Save Money On Quality Wine
Beyond looking for certain regions for value, you can also get creative with how you buy and consume your wine.
While I urge consumers to be respectful of a restaurants policies on corkage, if buying wine from a restaurant wine list is cost-prohibitive, you may consider going to a BYO restaurant.
Additionally, many consumers are now buying wines online or from wineries through direct-to-consumer programs. Increasingly, online flash sales are popping up as well.
Sites like Wine Access andTotal Wine and More offer great values through special buying relationships with wineries.
That said, the personalized experienced you get when you shop at a local retailer or have a sommelier assist yourselections at a restaurant is a big part of the experience for many consumers, and rightfully so. If you enjoy this value-added experience, as I often do, then by all means enjoy–and feel good that you know where that money is going!
There are some online wine stores that are doing a good job creating that personal touch. These stores typically have a chat feature. The person on the other end of the chat is a wine expert who is trained to assist you in your search for high-quality wine. The online wine superstore, wine.com offers a live wine expert to help you as you shop.
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Best With A Stopper: Zwilling Sommelier Accessories 3
Courtesy of Amazon
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Includes a rubber stopper for airtight storage
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Unique spiral system for aeration
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A bit expensive
The Zwilling aerator features high-quality stainless steel fabrication. Measuring 5.12 inches in length, the aerator chamber uses a patented spiral design and air hole to incorporate oxygen as the wine flows through. As you pour, the device allows oxygen to flow into the bottle, which smoothes out the pouring process in addition to aerating the wine.
This model includes a cork that closes the aerator for easy storage. After pouring a few glasses, place the cork in the aerator and store the entire bottle, device and all, upright in the fridge. During testing the Zwilling aerator enhanced the flavors and aromas in red wine, and didnt splash or drip during pouring.
The Spruce Eats / Madeline Muzzi
Material: Stainless steel | Dimensions: 5.12 x 3.15 x 1.65 inches | Weight: 0.44 pound
Great Tasting Wines For Those Looking For A Better Fit
FitVine Wines red, white, and sparkling varietals are all gluten-free and vegan with no flavor additives and no compromise to compliment all lifestyles and walks of life. We simply wanted to make wines that people could enjoy and feel good about. Enjoy!
WARNING: Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol
REMINDER, all packages must be signed for by someone 21 years of age or older per FedEx & UPS
Web accessibility policy
FitVine Wines remains committed to serving persons with disabilities and we are actively updating our site to ensure that everyone has full and equal enjoyment of our products, and their ability to purchase these online. > > more
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Educate Yourself So You Can Find The Best Places To Buy Wine
You want to buy the best wine for the money online, but how? Where can you find great value wine? Which online wine stores deliver quality without big markups?
If youre reading this article, its a safe bet that you have purchased a bottle of wine at some pointperhaps at a restaurant or wine shop, or even at a winery. Its also a safe bet that at some point youve wondered if youll have to take out a second mortgage to support your habit .
Given that the more wine we drink, the more refined our palates become, we have to ask several important questions if we are to be fiscally responsible wine consumers: why is this grape juice so expensive? Who decides what I will pay? And how can I continue drinking delicious, quality, interesting wine without losing my shirt? . To sum it up, you want to find the best wine at the best price. We want to help you with your quest.
Let’s start with the easy part. What are the costs associated with making wine?
Regions To Look For When Buying Wine Online
The best places to buy wine online will have a good selection of wines from lesser-known regions. Being armed with the knowledge to recognize quality is paramount, long-term, for deciding what you like and how to get value for your money. Before you have an opportunity to taste a lot of wine, however, it can be difficult to know where to get the most bang for your buck. To help you on your quest, here are a few of my favorite wine regions to find phenomenal value:
Lodi, California: We are happy that Lodi’s wine country has remanded a relative secret all these years. The anonymity has allowed the local wine quality to increase without a corresponding increase in prices.
When people do know of Lodi, they generally know about Zin. That means you can find amazing deals on any other varietal. Love Napa Valley Cabernet? You can find similar quality in Lodi at a quarter of the price.
for a selection of Lodi wines at Wine.com.
Portugal: When most people think of Portuguese wines they think of Port sweet, fortified after-dinner wine. What most dont realize is that Portugal makes a stunning variety of world-class dry wines as well, and at a fraction of the price of many better-known wine regions.
Barolo lovers should look for reds from Bairrada those who like Bordeaux-blends may find the dry reds of the Douro region to be of interest Sauvignon Blanc drinkers will adore the whites of the Vinho Verde region in the north.
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Buying Wine Online Faqs
If youre new to buying wine online, the idea can seem a little confusing. Its quite a different experience from visiting your local wine shop and walking out with a bottle under your arm. These are the answers to some of the most common questions shoppers have.
Buying wine online has both pros and cons. The most significant advantage is choice. Online wine retailers can offer a much wider selection than most local wine shops, and their prices are often lower. They can be a better place to find obscure wines, such as those from small winemakers.
Shopping online also offers unparalleled convenience. You shop from your couch, and its much easier to search for the specific features you want than to examine bottle after bottle in a store. Ratings, tasting notes, and prices are all at your fingertips.
Finally, online wine stores are useful for people who havent found a good wine shop in their area. If you dont know where to shop or find the prospect of walking into a store full of wine snobs intimidating, shopping online is much easier.
The biggest downside of buying wine online is that you cant drink it right away. At best, you have to pick it up or wait for local delivery. At worst, you may have to wait several business days for shipping. Shipping also adds to the cost of each bottle and in some areas, its not available at all.
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What If My State Doesnt Allow Wine To Be Shipped In
There are several states that dont allow any alcohol to be shipped in. In these cases, youll need to find a retailer in your own state that ships wine and work with their site to find what youre looking for. Wine-Searcher is probably a great way to look for a reliable shipper if you dont know the best retailers in your area. Here is a list ofstate wine shipping regulations to help you determine if you can receive shipments.
Always look for a site with real-time inventory and clear shipping methods. Avoid fly-by-night sites that list ghost inventory and overcharge for shipping.
Do you have a favorite online retailer that helps you find your favorite wines? Let us know in the comments!
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Dry Farm Wines Family
We consider ourselves more than a wine club. At Dry Farm Wines, we are a Family that believes in the power of optimal health, good taste, artisan farmers, and most of all, a strong community. We meditate together daily, share health advice, indulge in artistic creation, travel to source wines, host large, frequent family dinners, and share our love of pure Natural Wines. For us, this is not a business its a lifestyle.
Thank you for getting to know us.
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Best For Happy Hours: Loimer ‘lois’ Gruner Veltliner
Region: Kamptal, Austria | ABV: 12% | Tasting Notes: Green apple, Radish, Sea salt
Refreshing, responsibly-produced and delicious? Count us in. For the perfect at-home happy hour wine, look no further than Loimers Lois Gruner Veltliner. The high acid and solid structure in this biodynamic wine complement a variety of snacks, including fried appetizers, cheese boards, and even ‘hard to pair’ salads and veggies. The wine boasts flavors of green apple, citrus rind, radishes and sea salt.
Good to Know:Thomas Pastuszak, beverage director at The NoMad and founder of Empire Estate, has some suggestions when seeking out excellent, affordable wines. A good move is to head to your local wine shop and make some friends, he says. In smaller stores, space is limited, so the wine buyers have to be really selective when making their purchasing decisions.”
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