What if you couldn't buy wine over the internet?

It would really make my wine exploration infinitely more boring. Burgundy is 41% of my cellar and most of that has been acquired out of state because of the small production that is Burgundy. I’ve also run into scenarios where local retailers have turned down the opportunity to carry a producer because of a squabble with their distribution chain. But, its not just Burgundy, many Rhone producers are not available in MN either. Thanks to the internet and Wine Searcher almost any wine I covet can be sourced. I remember long ago when I asked a local retailer about a semi hard to find CA producer’s availability for sale he had in a locked curio cabinet and his reply was “it depends”. I knew then I needed more options then having to buy that wine only from that goof.

If you couldn’t buy over the internet… Then Southern wins

What’s been on the menu tonight craig? [cheers.gif]

I’d use my phone, nokia naturally.

Funny, they’re one of the distribution sources my local guy loves to hate. So much so, he stopped offering one of favorite wines that he sold out in a heart beat.

Is it winter there already? neener

What’s the saying about SF? “The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in san Francisco” Actually its been raining off and on here, thus these profound posts.

The

Nice touch. I think I will ask C. Fu to change my login to “The Alan Rath”

Not good . . . not good at all. 95% + is via the internet.

Then I would be stuck with what relatively few burgundies the distributors, many of whom are more concerned with their vodka sales, deign to bring into WA state. Oh, the distributor forgot to put in any orders for 2010 Rousseau’s? So we won’t see any in WA? Great.

Probably with reason. Southern is notorious for making retailers buy their dregs in order to get the wines the retailer really wants.

Makes no difference how good a customer you are.

Actually this was all much easier in the pre-internet days. Not to buy wine, but to get good deals on hard to get wine. Before the internet, you’d get on mailers from stores. Guys would actually send you a monthly ‘stock list’. Also when you traveled, you had a real shot to get some fantastic stuff in out-of-the-way locations. My trips to London in the '90s let to lots of great buys. Same to Calif at the same time, Winex and PC and TWC were fantastic and stocked full of rare stuff. And Nashville. Given that it was illegal to sell wine (and ship it) out of state, the in state stuff was fantastic. The internet adds transparency. Transparency removes ‘great deals’.

If I couldn’t buy wine online, I would be buying a helluva lot less of it. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

I buy less than 5 bottles per year locally; prices and selection suck.
Southern is firmly in control.

…I’d have a lot more money in my checking account.

  • infinity

I’d switch to beer.

I think we would use the old “mail” thing.

I can’t buy online. I buy almost all my wine locally, and I am more than satisfied with what I’ve been able to do. Even with $1M a year in budget I could not buy all the local wine that I’d like to.

I don’t have access to US lists, which is probably a good thing.

I would have a large, but not huge cellar, and be much closer to retirement. I would still be drinking well though.

LOL