Still here in Israel and having a blast…while working my ass off. Still sleep deprived as well, but I’ll have plenty of time to sleep…in another life.
In the meantime I have been speaking with lots of people here about online wine sales. There are many different opinions and thoughts as to how viable online sales of wine really is. I suppose you can visit online retailers such as wine.com and wineaccess.com or a brick & mortar with a massive online presence in winelibrary and you will find some apparently thriving businesses. Amazon has recently thrown their hat into the online wine sales ring, while it is reported that the Wall Street Journal is even getting involved.
I must admit that I am a bit skeptical. Which seems weird when I think about how many time I myself have purchased wine online – but I am an admitted wine buying addict. The skepticism I have comes from the realization relating to when wine purchased is consumed. And the answer to that question is (about 90+% of the time) IMMEDIATELY. OK, not the instant one leaves the wine shop, but certainly within 24-48 hours – and apparently generally even within 1-2 hours. So where do online wine purchases fit into this equation??
Thanks to Megan of “Wine & Spirits Daily” I discovered this recently written Reuters article. An interesting little read that does point out that online sales only represents about 1-2% of US wine sales. Ahhhh…who knows…??? I guess only time will tell…
Happy online wine (purchasing then) tasting!
WTG
Tags: Amazon, online wine sales, Wall St Journal, Wine Library, wine.com
Gary,
Back in Israel and hitting the road…can’t wait to hear your latest findings. As far as online buying, I think people’s motives need to be considered. I have never purchased them, but online sites can have a greater access to rare bottles. Although, people can find them on the net then call the companies (I guess that is a partial online sell).
I would say online purchasing is huge with California wineries as I am speaking from experience. In most cases, customers have visited the winery and fell comfortable placing the order in this forum.
Glad you are mixing business with pleasure!
I guess people are afraid it would be fragile. It seems like the bottle can break if it is mishandled. If it is an expensive bottle I would rather see to it’s safety myself. And if its a cheap bottle i wouldn’t want to spend all that money on shipping!
Good point Peter. I gather California wineries get a lot of business from visiting room customers who become club members and have wines shipped… Thanks!
Chico – I had never thought about it from that perspective. Interesting. Thanks Jen!