What a wonderful time we live in, if you are a wine buyer or collector. If you live in a state that allows wine shipments from outside your state, it's even better.

People are looking to buy wine online more than ever. There are hundreds of retail outlets and stores that will ship wine to you. Many of these companies are not in pricey shopping centers in expensive areas. If you do your homework, you can save big bucks online and the choices are very attractive. Most of the local stores we buy at are limited on there selection. Many people who shop this way are not aware of the price savings and selections that can be found on the Internet Online.

A great starting point is Wine Searcher. This really is a great resource site for shopping online. Wine Searcher is a site that has thousands of wine stores report their current inventory with prices. You can put in any wine you like, ranging from your favorite $10 house red wine to a several hundred dollar 1982 Mouton Rothschild. Sites like this are generally best for wines priced above $20. This is because the cost of shipping needs to be considered, so if you are saving $120 on a case of very good wine, a $20 shipping charge doesn't hurt you at all.

Weather and Shipping

Shipping wine during extreme hot or cold temperature is definitely NOT advisable. It's funny how some people assume wine is as resilient as hard liquor or other non temperature sensitive beverage - it is not! Wine can be "cooked" and ruined if it is shipped in hot weather. Most retailers and wineries will take precautions to make sure the wine you ordered is not shipped in poor weather conditions.

I normally buy wine in the early spring, fall and early winter - if the weather is mild enough. Hot is worse than cold, but you don't want your wine arriving like a frozen popsicle either! For me, the best temp. range for buying wine online is 40 - 70 degrees. I find that range to be safe. I buy wine in the summer and winter, if a deal is good enough, but I will tell them to hold the shipment until there are better weather conditions. Like I said, most stores will know this and offer to hold it anyway. They want you to be happy. Wine buyers are great repeat customers.

Case Discounts

Many online wine stores will offer a discount for 12 bottle purchases. Some do not require the case to be only comprised of one wine. This is called a mixed case discount. Generally, these discounts are 10%-15% off of the total. A few stores will even offer free shipping. This is a good deal, but only if the price you are saving on the wine itself makes sense.

Buying Wine Online from Wineries

Do you have a favorite winery that is not available through stores enough? Would you like to get the new releases and vintages first? I do, and I belong to dozens. If you are a fairly serious wine buyer and have proper storage conditions, you can sign up to your favorite vineyard and ask to be put on their mailing list. Some wineries will have an online form you can fill out. As long as your state allows for direct shipping to consumers (most do now), you may want to start joining your favorite producers mailing list. You should only do this if the wine is not available locally and is pretty special to you. Remember to check winesearcher also. Just because you local store does not have it, a store 10 miles away may have it or you can buy it online from anywhere else.

There are very few serious wine buyers and collectors who do not buy some or most of their wine online. You have everyting going for you: Price, Availability and Convenience!

Cheers!

Nick Hunter is a wine collector and writes for www.brainyarticles.com

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