So I am VERY new to this wine endeavor. Up until about a year ago, beer was the only alcoholic beverage I would drink and usually only stouts, porters or ambers. I tried wine many many times over the past 20+ years and either hated the taste or got an almost instant headache. Last year a good friend’s husband (who is a lover of wine) gave me a bottle of red and after it sat in my dining room for months I finally had to open it when some wine drinking friends came over for dinner. Shock of shock I loved it PLUS I didn’t get a headache, not even after 2 whole glasses. 
I finally figured out that the headache issue had probably been cleared up by the fact that I’d started taking a daily dose of Claritin a while ago and that the headache was probably a histamine issue.
So in my normal fashion I have gone completely to the other side and am now “into” wine and am trying to learn as much as possible.
Currently my only source for wine and wine knowledge is Total Wine, which is pretty fun to visit and I have met 2-3 employees who seem very knowledgeable and have helped my buy some decent stuff so far. (decent meaning I enjoyed it and that it was affordable for me, not that it was a great find or anything)
I have joined a couple of online newsletters and get regular mailing about wines and what to buy, that type of thing. My problem is that Georgia (my home state) is apparently strange in that beverage places are limited to stocking what certain distributors carry. So whenever I read these newsletters and want to try something I am pretty sure I won’t be able to find it locally. Or I will try something in a local restaurant and will have the same issue, I can’t buy it anywhere.
So I have decided to try buying online but having never bought alcohol online I am very leery. And not being particularly sophisticated about the subject I am nervous about being ripped off as I don’t know what things “should” cost (within reason).
My other option is to join a wine club of some sort but since I’m really out of my wheelhouse on that one I have waited to get going on that.
I would love advice, help and recommendations on both options.
Thanks all and looking forward to my time here 
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Annette
Welcome to the board!
K&L wines will treat you right, as will Wine Library and Wine Exchange, and Zachys (kinda expensive except for deals) and others that will be mentioned below.
Thanks, Ed. K&L doesn’t ship to Georgia but Wine
Library does so I am reading and shopping 
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Hi Annette, welcome to the board! Don’t know where you are in GA, but if Atlanta area, there are a number of us on the board who could recommend true wine shops close to you that will give you personal advice, place special orders, help you identify your palate preferences, probably even have tasting events. No offense to Total Wine (well okay, a little offense), but I’d equate them to trying to explore local artisan produce thru a warehouse club.
Chad,
I’m up in Milton/Alpharetta. I have checked out a few wine shops around here but left feeling totally intimidated. I can’t really justify spending what they were showing me. I don’t mind spending up to $25 per bottle but as I’m usually the only one drinking the bottle I don’t like to go overboard. When we are having friends over I look forward to opening one of the better bottles.
Total wine could never be my primary store but I do shop there 3-4 times a year and feel that its not as bad as most people want to make it out to be. Prices can be all other the board and they do push the wines that the have special arrangements with over others so I don’t really listen t the sales staff. The total wine store that I shop has a decent Italian section, ok domestics and Spanish and sometimes others like Greek. Not as thrilled with the French selection or pricing. One thing I have noticed especially in the Italian section is to look at the top and bottom shelves and ignore the middle. I seem to find the best wines and prices there as they use the eye level shelves for what they are making the most profit off of.
I like to order directly from wineries that I like as I like supporting them directly so they can make a better profit off of their product and because I know that the chances of transport or storage issues are much less than most retail stores. Your best retailers will ensure this is not a problem but I would not trust the total wine takes the same care as others listed above and I will add in MacArthur Beverage in DC which I know takes special care to ensure proper transport.
Winery direct pricing will be higher as they have to hold the line and can’t undersell retail for risk of losing retailers. But many will offer quantity discounts to make it more reasonable. Also a number of wineries will have wines that are not made in sufficient quantity or that don’t sell as well and are not picked up by distributors so are only available directly from the winery.
Berserker day - you just missed it - is a good way to get smaller orders to sample wineries that you may be interested in trying without having to decide to eat the increased cost of a few bottles or commit to more bottles than you want for something you have not tried as shipping cost is going to add up quick.
A good way to get more info than probably useful now is to post to wine talk as to what you have had that you like and asking for recommendations as to other wines that are similar to it. You will likely get a long list that will take you a while to work through. I think I saw in another thread that you tried a Grenache and really liked it. Grenache can be run from perfumed and lighter to deep and bold so what Jemrose does with it is going to be different than Larry at Tercero. Both are good and worth trying if you like Grenache and there are many more out there.
Thanks, Brian. I’m going to make a short list and post to Wine Talk to get going .
Is any one able to recommend B-21 to Annette? I believe they are located in FL. I have had only one purchase from them but it went well. Free shipping on the 21st of the month if I recall correctly( 12 bottles?).
I have had excellent experiences with Empire for several years but they no longer ship to my state.
I thoroughly enjoy the online experience, being able to check reviews, find the exact wine you’re looking for… that said, I’m torn by my desire to support local wine merchants… so I split my purchases.
I found a small place nearby called Vin 100 that’s model is to stock 100 wines under $25. (they have other wines as well, but the main thing is the 100) I bought 6 bottles there yesterday.
I’m going to check out B-21 today!
Annette, if you haven’t already, I’d strongly encourage you to join Cellar Tracker (www.cellartracker.com) where you’ll find a lot of great information on wines, including scores from “real people” who drink the wines. Before I purchase anything, I always consult with this first to view tasting notes, average costs paid, scores, etc. Good luck!