Joelle Thomson hears about the merits of buying wine online.
We have internet dating, internet shopping and internet networking to stay in touch with even our closest of friends, so why isn't internet wine buying as popular as a long black or cappuccino on Ponsonby Rd?
Convenience is the answer, suggests an owner of one large New Zealand-based internet wine site.
"Nothing is as convenient as shopping for wine at the supermarket, but nothing is as boring either, in terms of what you'll get."
As cheap as that stack of wine at the end of the local supermarket aisle may be, it is shrinking in terms of variety and, increasingly, it isn't even offering the best value.
Thanks to the big-name internet wine sites such as wine-cellar.co.nz and blackmarket.co.nz, it's incredibly easy to buy extremely good European and Australasian wines for less than $15 and very passable drops for well under a tenner. And as any savvy grocery shopper knows, some supermarkets can charge like wounded you-know-whats to deliver anything to your doorstep - whereas wine websites charge relatively little and, sometimes, nothing at all for delivery.
Paul Mitchell, who has been importing wine and selling it via mail order for more than two decades, says nothing has changed in his 22 years of selling wine via mail order - except the communication method.
Also known as "The Wine Importer", Mitchell is a one-man wine website.
He bases himself at home in West Auckland and ships wine around the country. There are no minimum orders and for every order of 12 bottles or more he gives a 10 per cent discount.
As for pitfalls in ordering via the internet or mail order: "There are none really. If you aren't happy supplying credit card details online, then you can use alternative payment methods; phone, fax, mail or send a cheque or transfer directly from your bank account."
Mitchell also encourages existing customers to email or free-phone instead of ordering anonymously.
"Then we can talk, I can suggest another wine to them once I know their tastes and get a feel for what wines they really like, and how much they want to pay. Online shopping works well but can be impersonal. Some customers prefer it that way, whereas others like a little guidance and help."
TOP SHOPS
Scenic Cellars
New Zealand's most drop-dead gorgeous location for a holiday is also the location of this country's largest, most eclectic wine collections: Scenic Cellars. The shop is impossible to miss, two doors along from KFC and Pizza Hut on the shores of Lake Taupo. It began as the biggest mail order wine database in the country and is now the largest internet wine store in New Zealand, with 1700 different wines on the site, including everything most wine lovers can think of and more. The site is easy to navigate and features a broad sweep. At the time of writing, a five-star Italian bubbly at $21.90 a bottle sat right next to Chateau Haut Brion Pessac Leognan at $1250 a bottle. Lest you desire neither, there's plenty of Central Otago pinot noir, Spanish sherry and mixed case deals. Search under "top recommendations" for the best price deals and it will suggest affordable bargains at least on a par with your local supermarket. Search for a favourite wine style - German riesling, for me - and up pops German gems from $15.90 to $160.50. Top drops such as J J Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr and Weingut Paulinshof Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr, are for fanatic riesling lovers, but there are masses of wines for the masses. Phone (07) 378 5704, sceniccellars.co.nz.
The Wine Importer
Who says French wine is over-priced? Even on a limited budget of $9.95, there are wines available via Paul Mitchell's online and snail mail wine business, The Wine Importer. He currently sells a French white from the Rhone Valley for less than $10. If your budget is $14.95 (and as case deals are 10 per cent cheaper, $179.40 immediately becomes $161 - $13 a bottle), shoppers to his site can source exceptionally good, low-priced syrah and grenache-based Rhone reds. But it's not all French wine. This easy-to-navigate site has a mostly European flavour with classic wines from France, Germany and Spain - the latest beaucastel, telmo or graacher himmelreich, anyone? wineimporter.co.nz
Wine Direct
Since taking over the well-worn reins of Wine Direct in Auckland last decade, Ryan Quinn and Alastair Pope have moved their physical premises from Newmarket to Parnell and given their business a new lease of life online. Their range of wines is one of New Zealand's most varied from top Australian whites such as Grosset "Polish Hill" Riesling to vintage port and stellar German rieslings - and the predictable sought-after bordeaux and burgundy. Bargains are also to be had. And if you're in Auckland, there are free instore wine tastings every Saturday at Wine Direct, 69 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell, Auckland, phone 0800 660 777 or winedirect.co.nz.
Caro's
Yes, it's a fine wine store and, yes, its focus is on "fine wine" but there's plenty of $11.99 wine on this well-laid-out wine website for purchase, too. If you could buy any wine at a bargain price, what would it be? Champagne tops the list for many, and this website offers plenty, at more affordable than usual prices: $39.95 for lesser-known labels. The site - and the store - are owned by brothers John and Richard Caro, who stock many of New Zealand's most sought-after wines - such as pinot noir king, Larry McKenna's new Escarpment pinot noirs. The Caros distribute a wide range of imported wines, many of which they bring into New Zealand. For a face-to-face experience, check out their instore tastings; Alsace and Austria is on August 17; $25 per person. Caro's Wine Merchants, 114 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell, Auckland, phone 377 9974, email: wine@caros.co.nz or caros.co.nz
Bargain basement sites
blackmarket.co.nz
winesale.co.nz
