Wine Collecting: Keeping a Connoisseur’s Cellar
Learn all about stocking a wine cellar with the Wine Collecting Web Guide, including how to assess, purchase and store your wine. You'll also find wine news, reviews and events, so you can stay abreast of current trends in wine culture.
Expand All Guide SectionsBuying Wine Online
Learn all about buying wine online through high-end online wine shops, and find venues for selling the wine you’ve collected.
Insights for Buying Wine Online
- Wine is sensitive to its environment and its handling. Inquire as to a merchant's shipping policies, including weather restrictions and returns of corked (spoiled) bottles. You’ll usually find this information on a site's shipping or FAQ page, or by asking directly through the "contact us" links.
- Many online wine shops and dealers will sell your wine for you on consignment, without the risk of an auction. However, most require a minimum consignment value in the neighborhood of a few thousand dollars, and take a hefty percentage of the sale.
Top Sites for Buying Wine Online
To rate wines …
CellarNotes
ranks regions and vintages in a detailed chart. Read about wines from 1977 through 2008, with exceptional vintages noted as far back as 1945. Also use this site to compare auction prices, look up grape statistics and browse varietals by country.
To expand your collection …
Porthos
is a sophisticated resource for wine lovers. Go to “90+ Rated Wine” for a list of highest quality wines available for purchase. The site also offers a Monthly Wine Club membership.
To have wine delivered on a regular basis …
WineQ
allows you to maintain an ongoing stream of wines by selecting the number of bottles you’d like delivered, and creating a queue.
The California Wine Club
sells individual bottles and offers wine-of-the-month clubs that draw from small-scale, private vineyards. Prices vary by club, starting at $34.95 a month.
For information on pricing wine …
Wine-Searcher.com
is a wine search engine that looks for wine by name or vintage and finds retailers for that wine, displaying prices in whatever currency you choose.
To sell wine online …
WineCommune
is a wine community that lets you sell or consign your wine through its site. Register for free to become a member and share your wine.
To buy and sell wine through online auctions …
WineBid.com
is a company whose offerings are sophisticated and can be quite pricey. If you’re selling wine, be aware that the site is geared toward the serious wine enthusiast and requires your wine collection to exceed $2,500 in value.
Who knew?
Crushpad
helps you create your own bottle of wine without owning a vineyard. Select a vineyard and wine type, and the site keeps you up to date about your grapes as they grow and are harvested.
How to Build a Wine Cellar
Use the following sites to learn how to build a wine cellar, and keep track of the bottles you’ve collected.
Insights for How to Build a Wine Cellar
- If you’ve never built a wine cellar before, get some tips from Richard Gold’s “How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar.”
- For a list of the essential qualities of a wine cellar, read an interview with wine expert James Halliday.
Top Sites for How to Build a Wine Cellar
To build a wine cellar …
Wine Cellar Innovations
offers custom-made wine cellars. The site sells kits and parts for creating or supplementing a wine cellar. Visit the “Residential” section to see the options offered.
Vintage Cellars
explains how to select a room and convert it into a wine cellar. The company sells wine storage cabinets, cooling systems and other cellar necessities.
To manage your wine cellar …
CellarTracker
offers price and valuation tools to research and organize information about your wines. The site allows you to generate barcode labels and track the value of your wine collection.
Wine News
Use the following Web sites to stay abreast of wine news, including upcoming wine tastings, reviews, vineyard openings and events. You’ll also find outlets for connecting with other wine enthusiasts.
Insights for Wine News
- Browse blogs or personal Web sites about wine with a critical eye. Read the author’s reviews to make sure you trust his or her opinion before buying wine or attending tastings based on the site’s recommendations.
- Food magazines such as Gourmet and Food & Wine have great wine sections, full of the latest in wine releases and reviews.
Top Sites for Wine News
For wine releases …
WineRelease.com
tracks new wine releases to let you know what’s coming on to the market.
For professional wine news and reviews…
eRobertParker.com
presents all the reviews, educational features and articles you would expect from the world’s leading wine critic. Complete access costs $99 per year, though much of the information is available without a subscription.
For independent reviews and interactive sites…
The Pour
is a blog published by the New York Times. Popular tags allow you to trace discussions on various wine categories. Visit the blogroll for an extensive list of other noteworthy sources.
Vinorati
is a free community for wine lovers. Rate and share wines with friends, or join groups to explore wines with other users who have similar tastes.
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