Total Wine-Winery and Spirits Direct Coupon

[Bdklein]

So we got our first Total Wine coupon .
Any winery or spirit direct recommendations?

[TomHill]

If it says Saranty Imports on the label..don’t buy...poor value.

[Neal.Mollen]

So we got our first Total Wine coupon .
Any winery or spirit direct recommendations?

Most of their non-first growth bdx is winery direct so eligible for the discount. In other categories, I can't help you. Poke around their website to see which producers are labeled winery direct

[Rich Brown]

As mentioned many times, selection varies big-time by location. If you're looking for higher-end/more limited production stuff (using limited production in the sense of non-grocery store wines), hit up a store that's located in what would be considered a higher-income area. Probably common sense but worth mentioning.

And the good news is lots if not most of their wine is winery-direct, so plenty to Choose from (as noted, especially with Bordeaux). Check out the stuff in the glass cases, but note the fine print about the coupon not applying to prices ended in a 7 (that means all the 1st growths and super high-end bottles arent an option).

I'm a fan of total wine if you go to the right location and use the coupons wisely.

[Bdklein]

Thanks all. We don’t drink/buy a lot of high end stuff but will check it out.

[Robert.A.Jr.]

Bordeaux!!

[J. Rock]

I really love the 2014 Austin Hope GSM (from Paso). It's fruit forward and bold, but also had nice complimentary spice flavors.

[Arv R]

If you have a Chase credit card, you might be eligible for Cardlytics Chase Offer. They have 10% off at TW live right now. I used up one last month*, and they reloaded mine again. You can stack that with the coupon as well. (BOA, WF and some others also use that backend. These are like sad weak tea versions of Amex Offers)

* I bought a bottle of Campari, which I then managed to shatter while putting away in the cluttered & cramped bar, thus making an incredible sticky, shard filled mess. Which the ignorant dog wanted to help by licking up. This is probably the first bottle of booze I can ever recall breaking.

[John J]

Bilicart Rose is winery direct

[Bdklein]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

[mmarcellus]

If you have a Chase credit card, you might be eligible for Cardlytics Chase Offer. They have 10% off at TW live right now. I used up one last month*, and they reloaded mine again. You can stack that with the coupon as well. (BOA, WF and some others also use that backend. These are like sad weak tea versions of Amex Offers)

* I bought a bottle of Campari, which I then managed to shatter while putting away in the cluttered & cramped bar, thus making an incredible sticky, shard filled mess. Which the ignorant dog wanted to help by licking up. This is probably the first bottle of booze I can ever recall breaking.

Keep in mind that the Total Wine store in NY is (by law) not affiliated with any other Total Wine retail entity, which means that partnership offers like this are not necessarily valid in NY. NYS law does not allow them to be be affiliated with any other retail location, in or out of state. The NY store also doesn't have a website other than a stub because they can't link into the corporate site. Personally, I think it's to their advantage to develop their own website to expose their inventory and enable selling to the whole state, but they don't seem to be interested in doing that. They are walking a fine political line, and playing the long game, so they may have good reasons for making that choice.

They do have access to the Direct wines, presumably because that's at the distributor level, not the retail level

[mmarcellus]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

They're Direct Imports (a term that can apply to both foreign and domestic wines thanks to the peculiarities of the three tier system). I think there's always a real winery (or perhaps, sometimes, a negociant) behind them.

[Bdklein]

Btw I’m in NY and would use the coupon there .

[Rich Brown]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

Nope, winery direct wines are, just like they sound, wines they procure directly from the winery and are mostly well known brands....... Which I assume allows them better pricing and the ability to throw us common-folk a 20% off bone here/there

[Arv R]

If you have a Chase credit card, you might be eligible for Cardlytics Chase Offer. They have 10% off at TW live right now. I used up one last month*, and they reloaded mine again. You can stack that with the coupon as well. (BOA, WF and some others also use that backend. These are like sad weak tea versions of Amex Offers)

* I bought a bottle of Campari, which I then managed to shatter while putting away in the cluttered & cramped bar, thus making an incredible sticky, shard filled mess. Which the ignorant dog wanted to help by licking up. This is probably the first bottle of booze I can ever recall breaking.

Keep in mind that the Total Wine store in NY is (by law) not affiliated with any other Total Wine retail entity, which means that partnership offers like this are not necessarily valid in NY. NYS law does not allow them to be be affiliated with any other retail location, in or out of state. The NY store also doesn't have a website other than a stub because they can't link into the corporate site. Personally, I think it's to their advantage to develop their own website to expose their inventory and enable selling to the whole state, but they don't seem to be interested in doing that. They are walking a fine political line, and playing the long game, so they may have good reasons for making that choice.

They do have access to the Direct wines, presumably because that's at the distributor level, not the retail level

The only thing I know about NYS wine laws is that Zachys is required to have the highest prices.

[Anthony Iezzi]

As said before I use mine solely for Bordeaux. Almost all in my area is winery direct.

[Neal.Mollen]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

Nope, winery direct wines are, just like they sound, wines they procure directly from the winery and are mostly well known brands....... Which I assume allows them better pricing and the ability to throw us common-folk a 20% off bone here/there

I wouldn't take "winery direct" too literally. Most of the bdx are labeled WD and are almost certainly bought through negociants. I suspect it is just a designation of wines on which they have pretty fat margins and can offer the discount

[Rich Brown]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

Nope, winery direct wines are, just like they sound, wines they procure directly from the winery and are mostly well known brands....... Which I assume allows them better pricing and the ability to throw us common-folk a 20% off bone here/there

I wouldn't take "winery direct" too literally. Most of the bdx are labeled WD and are almost certainly bought through negociants. I suspect it is just a designation of wines on which they have pretty fat margins and can offer the discount

That's probably spot on, especially in regards to Bordeaux - good call Neil!

[Ron Erickson]

Is anyone familiar with their WD offering Tupinier Bautista? I have no experience with anything from the Mercurey appellation.

[David Glasser]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

Nope, winery direct wines are, just like they sound, wines they procure directly from the winery and are mostly well known brands....... Which I assume allows them better pricing and the ability to throw us common-folk a 20% off bone here/there

I wouldn't take "winery direct" too literally. Most of the bdx are labeled WD and are almost certainly bought through negociants. I suspect it is just a designation of wines on which they have pretty fat margins and can offer the discount

My guess is that Winery Direct means they direct import, skipping the importer markup. Like Macarthurs.

[Neal.Mollen]

Nope, winery direct wines are, just like they sound, wines they procure directly from the winery and are mostly well known brands....... Which I assume allows them better pricing and the ability to throw us common-folk a 20% off bone here/there

I wouldn't take "winery direct" too literally. Most of the bdx are labeled WD and are almost certainly bought through negociants. I suspect it is just a designation of wines on which they have pretty fat margins and can offer the discount

My guess is that Winery Direct means they direct import, skipping the importer markup. Like Macarthurs.

But they call a bunch of domestic wines WD too. I just think it is a label they stick on stuff they are willing to discount

[David Glasser]

I wouldn't take "winery direct" too literally. Most of the bdx are labeled WD and are almost certainly bought through negociants. I suspect it is just a designation of wines on which they have pretty fat margins and can offer the discount

My guess is that Winery Direct means they direct import, skipping the importer markup. Like Macarthurs.

But they call a bunch of domestic wines WD too. I just think it is a label they stick on stuff they are willing to discount

Obviously no importing going on with the domestics. Still wouldn't be surprised if they direct imported in states that allow it.

[Mike Kuller]

I really love the 2014 Austin Hope GSM (from Paso). It's fruit forward and bold, but also had nice complimentary spice flavors.

Their 2017 cabernet is highly rated and seems to have a similar fruit-forward profile for around $45.

Chuck Wagner is a part owner.

[Mike Kuller]

I thought TW direct are private brands (maybe wrong term) of which I have never heard ?? Am I mistaken/wrong ??

Nope, winery direct wines are, just like they sound, wines they procure directly from the winery and are mostly well known brands....... Which I assume allows them better pricing and the ability to throw us common-folk a 20% off bone here/there

I wouldn't take "winery direct" too literally. Most of the bdx are labeled WD and are almost certainly bought through negociants. I suspect it is just a designation of wines on which they have pretty fat margins and can offer the discount

I think "Winery Direct" just means it has a yellow price tag.

[Rich Brown]

Ha! Nice

[Markus S]

I always thought of Total for retail in the same vein as Southern for wholesalers: a beast you do not want to feed.

[Albert R]

I always thought of Total for retail in the same vein as Southern for wholesalers: a beast you do not want to feed.

Yeap, I feed the beast on a very limited bases now! They keep sending me "We've missed you coupons"........

[Albert R]

Winery direct means more of a direct profit.........

[John Glas]

[quoteWinery direct means more of a direct profit.........][/quote] Well said!

[TomHill]

Winery direct means more of a direct profit.........

Well....it's a well-know fact that the TW sales associates are instructed to push the wnry-direct wines because
they have the largest profit margins.
Tom

[John Glas]

Some of the winery direct wines we all have heard of however their biggest profit margins are the no name wineries they really push. This Pinot Noir is as good if not better than the one you are selecting sir and it is $4 cheaper.

[TomHill]

Some of the winery direct wines we all have heard of however their biggest profit margins are the no name wineries they really push. This Pinot Noir is as good if not better than the one you are selecting sir and it is $4 cheaper.

Yup, John.....no-name wineries. Some of those unknown names, if you Google them, only show up on the TW websites. Stuff that has been bttld
just for TW. No way of knowing who made it or where. In theory, stamped on the case is supposed to be the bonded wnry # that you can supposedly look up.
For the imported stuff, that mostly all comes thru Saranty Imports in CT, the label often identifies, in fine print, the actual producer. Which are actual wineries,
though mostly unknowns. But the name on the label, Chateau Da-De-Da, is a made up name. My experience w/ these imported no-names thru Saranty,
has not been very good. Usually poor values.
They have a distributor here in NM (forget the name) that handles only the wines for the two TW's here in NM. By law, they must sell to other retailers
her in NM other than TW...at the same price. In theory, anyway. In practice...forget about it. The big 18-wheelers roll into NM, make a "stop" at the distributor
to "warehouse" the wines, and then immediately, after the paperwork exchange to make it legal, roll on out to the TW stores.
On the Wnry Direct wines, TW appears to mostly control the distribution all the way from the producer to the actual retail TW outlet.
Tom

[Scott Brunson]

I am three bottles in from a Winery Direct purchase. All three have been horrendous.
The spirits are a bit better.

[Neal.Mollen]

Total Wine is the Circuit City of wines. If you know what you want and look carefully, you can do yourself some good shopping there, but it is also a place where the unwary can get righteously fleeced.

[Jeff Vaughan]

My TW purchases are limited to Bordeaux and Nada Fiorenzo (Barbaresco).

[Jim Stewart]

Total Wine is the Circuit City of wines. If you know what you want and look carefully, you can do yourself some good shopping there, but it is also a place where the unwary can get righteously fleeced.

Good advice.
I have been led to some very mediocre bottles when I have asked a Total Wine associate an open ended question about wine? On the other hand, I have also picked up some good wine at good prices when I go there knowing exactly what I want. The stock of your local store is online, so just do your homework before going in.

[lleichtman]

Total Wine is the Circuit City of wines. If you know what you want and look carefully, you can do yourself some good shopping there, but it is also a place where the unwary can get righteously fleeced.

Good advice.
I have been led to some very mediocre bottles when I have asked a Total Wine associate an open ended question about wine? On the other hand, I have also picked up some good wine at good prices when I go there knowing exactly what I want. The stock of your local store is online, so just do your homework before going in.

The sales people at my local TW are totally useless. The only thing they seem to know about wines are that they mostly come in bottles. I have received wrong information about several bottles including not knowing what country they came from. I shop there own without engaging with the sales clerks. Few good deals now and then.

[Jim F]

Some of the winery direct wines we all have heard of however their biggest profit margins are the no name wineries they really push. This Pinot Noir is as good if not better than the one you are selecting sir and it is $4 cheaper.

Yup, John.....no-name wineries. Some of those unknown names, if you Google them, only show up on the TW websites. Stuff that has been bttld
just for TW. No way of knowing who made it or where. In theory, stamped on the case is supposed to be the bonded wnry # that you can supposedly look up.
For the imported stuff, that mostly all comes thru Saranty Imports in CT, the label often identifies, in fine print, the actual producer. Which are actual wineries,
though mostly unknowns. But the name on the label, Chateau Da-De-Da, is a made up name. My experience w/ these imported no-names thru Saranty,
has not been very good. Usually poor values.
They have a distributor here in NM (forget the name) that handles only the wines for the two TW's here in NM. By law, they must sell to other retailers
her in NM other than TW...at the same price. In theory, anyway. In practice...forget about it. The big 18-wheelers roll into NM, make a "stop" at the distributor
to "warehouse" the wines, and then immediately, after the paperwork exchange to make it legal, roll on out to the TW stores.
On the Wnry Direct wines, TW appears to mostly control the distribution all the way from the producer to the actual retail TW outlet.
Tom

Well, for these Winery Direct wines, there bascially is not a lot of competition, as well as little to no knowledge as to what is in the bottle. Let the buyer beware- they can charge whatever they want. BTW, it is not just Total Wine. Here in NJ, Bottle King, a big chain, has a ton of such stuff. And Gary’s “GF” wines series is the same thing.

[John Glas]

I usually buy very little from them but did have a nice $5 discount today. Not sure how the points equal up on money off but for the every day sparkler Mumm Brut Prestige it worked out.

[Scott G r u n e r]

I’m 90% convinced that a fair number of “winery direct” wines are essentially private label wines that have no business existing- think two buck chuck. Stick with known producers.

[EHeffner]

Substance cab and Billecart Salmon rose are the only wines I consistently buy using WD coupons, or bdx

[Bdklein]

We didn’t need any wine so we never ended up going to the store.

[David Glasser]

We didn’t need any wine

I Googled this but remain at a loss. Can you explain?

[Neal.Mollen]

Substance cab and Billecart Salmon rose are the only wines I consistently buy using WD coupons, or bdx

Billecart Salmon is labeled as WD in your part of the woods? Sweet!

[EHeffner]

Substance cab and Billecart Salmon rose are the only wines I consistently buy using WD coupons, or bdx

Billecart Salmon is labeled as WD in your part of the woods? Sweet!

It is. But the rose is still $89.99 before the discount. I usually just grab my bottles from Costco. My TW always has a ton of half bottles though which I prefer but a shame they do not discount 375’s for WD

[Neal.Mollen]

Substance cab and Billecart Salmon rose are the only wines I consistently buy using WD coupons, or bdx

Billecart Salmon is labeled as WD in your part of the woods? Sweet!

It is. But the rose is still $89.99 before the discount. I usually just grab my bottles from Costco. My TW always has a ton of half bottles though which I prefer but a shame they do not discount 375’s for WD

VERY interesting. I had assumed that whatever WD meant, it meant the same thing for each store, and each would have the same listings. Not WD in my store. (And I have never seen a 375 BS rosé in my TW)

[David Glasser]

Billecart Salmon Rosé isn’t Winery Direct in MD either. It’s $85, which makes it reasonable at $68 with the 20% off coupon.

[Bdklein]

We didn’t need any wine

I Googled this but remain at a loss. Can you explain?

Funny