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Being savvy about wine is the trend of the times. Unless you grew up in the home of a master sommelier, it may be a case of trial and error to offer the best wine to accompany a meal meant to impress guests. Once starting on the road to expertise, it is an interesting exercise and soon a passion to find the best selections may take over. Improving your I.Q. is a matter of learning something about the best vineyards, the top winemakers and vintages, and knowing the terroir (the unique quality of the region) to start you on your way.  And, then, there are the geographical areas, be it California, Burgundy and Bordeaux, Australia, Italy or Chile. There is much to learn for the beginner, and a palate, the ability to taste and judge good wine, certainly helps.

Meanwhile, before we launch into the best of the web sources, we want to credit our local sources. Fortunately, the major wine purveyors, such as Pogo’s Wine & Spirits,  Sigel’s Elite and Centennial Fine Wine & Spirits, have a depth of inventory and share their expertise with novices and connoisseurs alike. We also have a number of smaller wine shops, such as La Cave, The Wine Therapist and Cork, which enjoy well-regarded niches.  Read more about these sources in our Source section on Wine. 

Included also in our Source section on Wine are the major wine writers and their books, as well as the monthly publications that keep us up to date for our personal education, some of which are also included below.  We attempt to introduce you to the best of the web and these are only a few, a tip of the iceberg, compared to the numbers that exit.  Like everything on the internet, there are sites for learning and sites for buying. Increasingly, the lines are blurred as selling sites add their newsletters.  Nonetheless, the internet is a great vehicle for sharpening one’s knowledge about wine, short of visiting the producing area.

Mostly Information: Wine Letters and Magazines

Burghound.com
Burgundy is author Allen Meadow's passion and expertise. The "ultimate Burgundy reference" is the perfect subscription for anyone wanting to expand knowledge of the complex and highly sought-after pinot noir wine. (www.burghound.com)

Decanter Magazine
A British publication, Decanter covers the European wine market with expertise, especially Bordeaux wines. Decanter keeps up with changes in chateaux ownerships and wine makers. The annual en primeur, the futures market in Bordeaux, is well-followed. Decanter is an authoritative publication for oenophiles. (www.decanter.com)

eRobertParker.com
The renowned wine author Robert Parker has an interesting subscription wine site of tasting notes from his books and notes from other experts, as well as virtually all tasting notes from the Wine Advocate. He also has easy-to-use tools for purchasing and managing a wine cellar. (www.erobertparker.com)

Food & Wine Magazine

While food may take up most of the editorial, Food & Wine has good coverage of both culinary and vinous topics. The wine section features informative articles, interactive food pairing, blogs and a wine search.
(www.foodandwine.com)

The World of Fine Wine
The World of Fine Wine is the first cultural journal devoted to fine wine. The editorial team is led by Hugh Johnson OBE, and includes contributors Jancis Robinson MW, Clive Coates MW, Allen Meadows, Antonio Galloni, Serena Sutcliffe MW and other major wine writers. In 2010, WFW won the Louis Roederer Award for International Wine Publication of the Year and the journal also holds the prestigious Gourmand Award for the World's Best Wine Magazine. (www.finewinemag.com)

Wine Enthusiast Magazine
An American wine and lifestyle magazine, Wine Enthusiast has a free database of 35,000 wines, searchable by rating, price, and varietal or blend. The magazine is an important source of ratings and reviews of wine currently available in the marketplace, of interest to both consumers and to the trade. The magazine’s tasting panel includes professionals with years of experience, located in major wine producing areas of the world. The Wine Enthusiast Companies is a prominent multi-channel marketer of a growing line of racking, wine storage products, wine tours, wine events, in short… everything wine. (www.winenethusiast.com)

Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is one of the world’s biggest-selling wine publications. It contains daily wine news, a wine search with access to 85,000 wines, and article archives that includes any major article from the print version of the Spectator from 1994 up to the most recent issue, as well as a dining database and travel articles. Wine Spectator is for those who enjoy fine wine and dining and want to keep up with trends, top vintages and varietals. (www.winespectator.com)

Major Web Sellers of Fine Wines

Acker Merrall & Conduit Co.
A major importer of fine wines and the oldest wine merchant in the country, Acker Merrall & Conduit has a huge inventory available on the internet and presents on-going auctions of vintage wines, as well as wine tasting and dinners at New York’s fine restaurants.  Acker Merrall is one of the real forces behind the expansion of fine wine auctions in Hong Kong and other areas of the Far East crediting the company with burgeoning auction and internet sales. (www.ackerstore.com )

Burgundy Wine Co.
Native Burgundian Philippe Sauriat caters to Burgundy collectors around the country from his Chelsea location in New York. We like the quote taken from his site, “We know that finding a wine you're sure to like, regardless of its origins, is like navigating your way through a foreign country without a road map. French wines can be especially difficult since the labels often require some level of knowledge or expertise. But there are delights and treasures to be found on the wine route - on well-traveled roads and in little known villages. If you're willing to explore, we would like to be your guide.” The wine site is excellent and has expanded to include pinot noirs from the state of Washington. (www.burgundywinecompany.com)

Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits
Sherry-Lehmann is a prestigious name in wine sales and expertise with a strong internet informational and sales site. From Madison Avenue in New York City, Sherry-Lehmann has taken its highly regarded selections of wines and made them easily available to everyone, everywhere. The site offers some real standouts.  Among them, be sure to look at Bordeaux “Unsung Heroes” (Petits Chateaux) and wines not just from well-known regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy. Their regular sales and spotlights are appealing, as well as occasional specials that include free shipping. Master wine expert Kevin Zraly gives frequent master classes under their auspices. (www.sherry-lehmann.com)

K & L Wine Merchants
K&L Wine Merchants of San Francisco have been offering thousands of wines from around the world since 1976. Its popular internet sale site is in addition to its three California retail shops. K & L wins accolades from many sources. According to the Wall Street Journal “… this is the best wine Web site in the U.S. Visiting it is like dropping into an outstanding wine store with plenty of time on your hands to browse. Inventory is real-time -- the site shows how many bottles are available at which location -- and there is plenty of commentary, both from the store's staff and critics, about each wine.” Costs are kept low by buying direct from winemakers.  (www.klwines.com)

Wine Access
With expert reviews with each internet offering, the site is a primer on wines. Together with special prices to Access customers, the temptation to buy is great. The finest wines in the world, at all price points, are made available in surprisingly small lots. Every day, WineAccess presents one wine – a few hundred cases of the very best – for delivery right to your door. (www.wineaccess.com)

Zachys
For over 65 years, Zachys Wine & Liquor has been a Tour de Force in the wine world. Any regular reader of the New York Times sees Zachys frequent full page ads for wine sales. Whether it is their competitive prices, or having one of the country’s largest wine selections, Zachys claims it is always backed by its dedication to customer service. (www.zachys.com)

Sites to Assess and Organize Your Wine Cellar

Cellar Tracker
Cellar Tracker partners with community readers for their tasting notes as well as with wine experts, such as Allen Meadows from Burghound and respected wine author Jancis Robinson. Cellar Tracker’s wine inventory program is voted as the best by many collectors.  (www.cellartracker.com)

Snooth
Check your wines for reviews and current prices and find the wines you want for purchase with price comparisons.  Snooth, a free access site, is the top-visited internet site on wine. As their site claims, “With our database of more than 3 million wines, Snooth helps you find better wine online.” (www.snooth.com)

Wine-Searcher
A vast wine database of regularly updated prices and availability from merchants world-wide, Wine-Searcher can help find that special wine. We check regularly to assess the value and critiques of our wines. A premium membership site goes far beyond in available information.  (www.wine-searcher.com)

Wine Clubs, Auctions, Tastings and More

Another chapter remains to be written as space inhibits the expansion of the remaining topics of tastings, classes, auctions and wine clubs.  Stay tuned for future coverage! All are important aspects in the development of wine expertise.

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