Ultimate Wine Closeout Sites

[Joe H]

http://www.vinography.com/archives/2010/04/the_coming_carnage_in_the_cali.html is the link to a really interesting blog's discussion about the excess of unsold wine and some of the problems that the CA wine industry is facing related to this. Midway through the article is a link to a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle which is equally revealing. Near the end of the article are linked two closeout specialists who sell unsold wine at 50-70% or more off. These are those two:

http://winestilsoldout.com/

http://cinderellawine.com/ is owned by the Wine library.

On Cindarella check out the previous months sales-some incredible stuff! '03 Dal Forno Valpolicella was $69 in one of these-yes it sold out!

[cjsadler]

http://winestilsoldout.com/

There have been some nice deals on WTSO (including an excellent Rioja the other day). Have ordered a few times from them and been happy. You obviously gotta be careful with some of these sites, as the wines are often overhyped and have an inflated "original price" (you can check out the controversy over some of WTSO's practices if you google "Jonathan Newman and WTSO").

Another popular one is Wine Woot

[LowellR]

http://www.vinography.com/archives/2010/04/the_coming_carnage_in_the_cali.html is the link to a really interesting blog's discussion about the excess of unsold wine and some of the problems that the CA wine industry is facing related to this. Midway through the article is a link to a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle which is equally revealing. Near the end of the article are linked two closeout specialists who sell unsold wine at 50-70% or more off. These are those two:

http://winestilsoldout.com/

http://cinderellawine.com/ is owned by the Wine library.

On Cindarella check out the previous months sales-some incredible stuff! '03 Dal Forno Valpolicella was $69 in one of these-yes it sold out!

I've ordered several times from Cinderella - it works as advertised. One big plus is that usually, with a "large enough" purchase, shipping (usually two-day overnight) is free. "Large enough" is rarely more than three bottles (and that was for some $13.99 wine), and can be as low as one bottle for more expensive stuff.

[treznor]

Another popular one is Wine Woot

I've ordered a number of items from Wine Woot and have always been happy. I haven't ordered any of their more expensive items (at least on their scale, i.e. $70 or so a bottle), but some of their lower/mid-end items are good value and quite decent.

[collije]

I'm familiar with Wine Woot, but thanks for the other 2. I'll bookmark those.

[mr food]

I've made numerous purchases with WTSO but usually don't buy anything with which I'm not familiar-no problems at all and they will credit if you get a corked bottle. Cinderella is part of Wine Library, an excellent retailer based in NJ.

[Sthitch]

This is the antithesis of how I buy wine, quite a while ago I gave up on using the scores of people I don’t know to judge if I am going to like the wines that I am blinding buying, this method resulted in far too many overpriced bottles of hyper-extracted/Parkerized plonk. I find that the best deals are on wines that a trusted vintner is proud to sell you so that you come back for more – a deal is not always reflected in the price you pay for a bottle but for the time and energy that those that you deal with put into selecting and caring for what they sell.

[Rovers2000]

I find that the best deals are on wines that a trusted vintner is proud to sell you so that you come back for more a deal is not always reflected in the price you pay for a bottle but for the time and energy that those that you deal with put into selecting and caring for what they sell.

I agree with the point in theory (and put it into practice in areas, like beef/produce/etc, when I can). However, for someone like myself who is a wine neophyte in every sense of the word, these sites (and more importantly the recommendations from people on this site) offer someone who has a vague sense of what they like to branch out and explore based on a recommendation...often at a price that is much reduced from what they would get at the vineyard or even the wine store up the street.

I'd love to be at the point eventually where I can look at wine the way some of the more experienced folks on the site do...until then, I'm going to have to keep trying new things as I further narrow down what it is that I truly "like" while not destroying my budget

[Sthitch]

However, for someone like myself who is a wine neophyte in every sense of the word, these sites (and more importantly the recommendations from people on this site) offer someone who has a vague sense of what they like to branch out and explore based on a recommendation...often at a price that is much reduced from what they would get at the vineyard or even the wine store up the street.

One of the best way to learn what you like is to go to a store that offers tastings of what they sell, talk to the people about the wines, most are quite knowledgeable and happy to answer questions, and give insights into the wines they are pouring and even some other wines in the store so as to compare different styles of the same grape - if the person who is pouring is the owner or an employee your conversation may even lead to a different bottle being opened for you to try for this purpose.

[Choirgirl21]

http://www.vinography.com/archives/2010/04/the_coming_carnage_in_the_cali.html is the link to a really interesting blog's discussion about the excess of unsold wine and some of the problems that the CA wine industry is facing related to this. Midway through the article is a link to a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle which is equally revealing. Near the end of the article are linked two closeout specialists who sell unsold wine at 50-70% or more off. These are those two:

http://winestilsoldout.com/

http://cinderellawine.com/ is owned by the Wine library.

On Cindarella check out the previous months sales-some incredible stuff! '03 Dal Forno Valpolicella was $69 in one of these-yes it sold out!

Do you happen to know how the wines are stored at these places? Any concerns that a wine would have been improperly stored for any length of time?

[Joe H]

Do you happen to know how the wines are stored at these places? Any concerns that a wine would have been improperly stored for any length of time?

Cindarella is the Wine Library which is an enormous, extremely reputable store. I believe the other is Canal's but that is only a guess. The real question is how hot will it be when the wine is shipped? Generally, any forecast of 80+ degrees and I do not order wine from out of town. I should note here that Fed Ex Ground is ONE DAY from NJ and UPS is two days. Most of my wine buying from out of the area ends around the middle of May each year and resumes in September. Alternatively, you can buy and have them hold it for you and then ship in the Fall.

[wineitup]

This is the antithesis of how I buy wine, quite a while ago I gave up on using the scores of people I don’t know to judge if I am going to like the wines that I am blinding buying, this method resulted in far too many overpriced bottles of hyper-extracted/Parkerized plonk. I find that the best deals are on wines that a trusted vintner is proud to sell you so that you come back for more – a deal is not always reflected in the price you pay for a bottle but for the time and energy that those that you deal with put into selecting and caring for what they sell.

Well said. Couldn't agree more.