What are the best places to buy wine online? We selected 9 top online wine retailers in the US and compared them based on selection, pricing, quality, features and site experience. last updated February 23, 2015 Selection: over 10,000 wines Focus: California, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône and Oregon Pricing: 66% of wines are over $30 Shipping: $13 for 2, $25 for 6 (cross-country Fedex Ground). Location: Redwood City, CA Summary: At first look, K&L Wine Merchants has a circa 2001 look, but once you get browsing you begin to realize that it offers more wine than any other online retailer. The selection is clearly curated, even on the low sub-$10 end where it looks like they are very careful to avoid fake relabeled bulk juice wines. One neat search feature is the ‘Direct Buy’ sort which shows wines that K&L Wines import. The site is quick to load and a pleasure to gawk at. Selection: over 8,500 wines Pricing: most wines under $30 Shipping: ~$10 per shipment (1–6 bottles)

and fulfilled by wineries, importers and distributors around the US. Because the site welcomes independent wineries that may have little to no distribution otherwise, you’ll see many wines on here that you won’t see on other wine shops. On the one hand, this is really cool because you can be exposed to independent producers. On the other hand, if you’re new to wine and don’t know how to look for quality, it’s hard to be sure that you’re getting the product you want. Be sure to select your state before you start browsing. Selection: over 7,500 wines Focus: fine, rare and collectible wines Pricing: 82% are over $30 Summary: WineBid is like the ebay of online wine buying. The site is populated with wines from collector’s cellars and importers/distributors wanting to sell directly to customers. The user experience isn’t flashy but it is fast and easy to navigate. One exciting feature is the ‘Buy it Now’ wines which offer sub-$20 options that are screaming deals.

is designed for experts and no-doubt feels immense and daunting for the novice. Before you dive in, keep in mind that sales are final. Focus: Cheap bold red wine Pricing: 72% are under $30 Value: Average to Good Shipping: $15 for 2 or 6 bottles (cross-country UPS ground). Summary: This site is geared toward value-seeking, bold red wine drinkers offering a large selection from California, Washington and Bordeaux. Since the selection is designed for low prices, it does have a large number of average-to-low quality wines which require savvy shopping. Total Wine is the only online wine store that ships to all 50 states. The site user experience does feel a bit clunky with slow page loads but checkout is easy. Selection: over 7,000 wines Focus: California and New World wines Pricing: 45% are under $30 Shipping: $15 for 2 bottles, $22 for 6 (cross-country UPS ground). Summary: This site is fun to explore because of all the different ways to sort, search and explore wines.

The selection is geared toward the bolder fruit-loving palate with tons of California, US and New World wines from Australia, Argentina and Chile. Below $15, the US wine selection should generally be avoided. After texting several people who offer guidance on the ‘Chat with an Expert’ pop-up, we confirmed that they are indeed knowledgeable and work on-site in San Francisco. glass of wine ok to driveThe checkout is easy and tells you when the order will ship (e.g. ‘will ship today if you order in the next 1 hour’). 10 best wine travel destinations 2014 was that the prices seemed high for what you get, particularly in the sub-$20 realm.wine best buys 2013 Selection: over 3,000 winesbest wine club uk 2015

Focus: Napa and Burgundy Pricing: 50% are under $30 Tasting notes on most wines Sort by Reviewer, Free-Shipping wines, 90+ wines Fun wine sales-geared blog – 1000 episodes (2006–2011) Summary: Overall, site has a great selection of still wines priced over $15. There are also many high end wines over $30 that were very low priced for what they were. best wine country vineyardsWe did, however, spot several sub-$15 gems from other regions like Portugal, Greece, Germany, Argentina, South Africa and Australia. box of wine standThe shopping and browsing experience is easy and logical with many ways to sort. order wine online free shippingAt the shipping screen, the site even had a ‘poor weather warning’ indicating that they would hold shipments for free until it was safe to ship.order wine online free shipping

Selection: over 1,500 wines Focus: Affordable French and Italian wines Pricing: over 50% are under $30 Shipping: ~$20 for cross-country UPS ground shipping. Free for first time orders over $100. Summary: A fun selection of unique and affordable European wines along with a few New World wine choices. best wine that's not dryThe user experience is a little overwhelming with several drop down menus requiring that you really know what region/varietal you want. Of course, if you know what you want, you might enjoy this. However, if your search returns more than 100 results they are truncated to just 100 wines, which is annoying if you like to browse. Checkout experience is good and offers a shipping calculator but only ground as a shipping option. Selection: over 1,200 wines Focus: Old world wines Pricing: most wines are over $30 Value: Average to Low Shipping Cost: Free UPS ground shipping for our $70 wine order

Summary: The wine selection on this site is very unique and clearly on the trending side of what people like in New York City. Wines tend to be expensive but the expense affords exceptional wines that have clearly been vetted by the staff. The online user experience is somewhat frustrating because the Advanced Search feature has limited options that don’t seem geared for regular wine consumers (e.g. you could search by distributor). Checkout was easy but does require an account and payment information before showing shipping options. Selection: about 1,200 wines Focus: high-end Italian wine Pricing: most wines are over $100 Summary: High end Italian wines offered at moderately fair values. Wine selection is small but is clearly curated by people who care and who are in-the-know. The user experience is not fun, because of difficultly finding and sorting wines. Does Wine Ship to Your State? Find out the shipping laws for your state. Sorry in advance if you live in Utah.