Direct from Wineries
There are 45 states that allow legal direct-to-consumer shipments from licensed wineries, while the remaining five (Alabama, Delaware, Mississippi, Kentucky and Utah) make it near impossible to get wine from wineries. Residents of those states are best advised to work with their local retailers.
Other states, like Indiana, force wineries to choose between selling direct or selling through a wholesaler, adding extra hoops and limiting choices.
Some have other restrictions, like Ohio and New Jersey, where direct shipments can only come from wineries that produce under 250,000 gallons a year. Meanwhile, Rhode Island allows online orders only.
Online Wine Stores
Wine.com is one of the largest digital wine retailers, with 19% of the online wine market. The San Francisco-based site ships to 42 states and the District of Columbia, including private homes as well as some 14,000 Walgreens (Duane Reade in New York) and FedEx Office locations for customer pick up. Shipping rates depend on the size and weight of the order as well as how fast you’d like the wine.
Michael J. Osborn, founder of Wine.com, says the site usually carries 45,000 specific wines per year. Selections, even vintages, vary by state, so a drop-down selection of where the wine will be shipped is crucial to select from the beginning. For example, choose California and 17,253 items are currently available. In New York, there are 13,918 individual SKUs at press time.
Gary’s Wine and Marketplace has four stores in northern New Jersey and offers local delivery via Drizly and curbside pickup. West coast offshoot Gary’s Napa Valley ships wine, spirits and food with free doorstop delivery in St. Helena, Yountville and Napa. The company website has real-time inventory for each of its stores and, if you choose curbside pickup, a text message will let you know when your order is complete.
Sotheby’s Wine in NYC offers free delivery within Manhattan on orders of $175 or more and free ground shipping throughout New York state on orders over $175 right now, during this crisis. It can only ship to California, Idaho, New Hampshire (with an 8% fee), New York and Washington, D.C.
