LUCIDMEDIA

Wine Online Makes Gifting Easy

Written by Catherine Kustanczy Monday, 22 December 2008 09:54

At this point, purchases may arrive late, but better late than never to save money, and find everything you need from the convenience of home. Wine Online, the Canadian wine retailer, has a fantastic selection for the wine lover on your shopping list; it makes the perfect gift –make that gifts – to enjoy year-round. And it may be the easiest purchase to make this holiday season.

Wine Online, started in 2004 by former food critic Aaron Bick, has been helping customers, both private and professional, in terms of their vintner selections, and is growing in client loyalty. They’ve just launched a new website, and are offering more than 153 different wine varieties to residents of Ontario and Nova Scotia. They hope to expand to offer delivery throughout Canada in 2009.

“We’re continually working with regulators in other provinces across Canada to get going out there,” he says, “and we’re working hard to make sure we comply everywhere we go. We want to be on the right side of the law. It’s frustrating at times and expensive to say the least, but it’s coming, slowly but surely. I’d like to be going in Alberta and British Columbia at the beginning of 2009… we’ll see. Conversations haven’t stopped and they’ll continue until we get going.”

Based out of Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood, Wine Online boasts a client database of over 5,000 customers, and it’s growing. Online users perusing the site can choose from a variety of brands and labels not normally offered through their neighbourhood LCBO. Of particular interest is their extensive array of Canadian wines, which matches their philosophy of supporting local growers and businesses, and also meets a growing demand for homegrown product.

“We like to represent our home, wherever possible,” explains Bicks, “it keeps the business (local), although it only represents between fifteen and twenty percent of our business. We searched over Ontario and listed the best products available to us, to everyone and everybody. We want to make sure people have access to these products that, for some reason, aren’t represented at the LCBO. It’s frustrating for people who produce a great product and have no outlet for it other than their own winery store.”

Wine Online also offers mixed cases of Ontario wines, where customers can choose six bottles from a featured Ontario winery (eleven in total) to be shipped to them. Wineries include the Tawse Winery, Stoney Ridge, Flat Rock Cellars, and Mike Weir Winery. Cave Springs Winery offers nine different types –all whites, plus one rose –that would satisfy the white winer-lover on your list, while Henry of Pelham offers a wide selection includes reds, whites, a champagne (Cuvée Catherine Brut Rosé VQA, Henry of Pelham Non-Vintage, $29,95/bottle) and even an ice wine (Vidal Icewine VQA, Henry of Pelham 2005, $49.95/bottle). The Mix-a-Six program makes for a great gift –for friends, relatives, or for yourself.

In terms of seasonal choices, Bick says sticking with a good all-around red is probably the best choice. “The Barbebelle goes with everything,” he states, referring to the fruity, organic, biodynamic French red produced by Marc Kreydenweiss. “It’s cheap and cheerful and it doesn’t limit you to one type of food. Often you’ll have an Argentinian malbec that’s really big, and typically it’s only going to go with the big food like a steak or something off the grill, or with huge flavour. Whereas something like the Barbabelle is soft, sensual, easy on the palette –it’s a crowd-pleaser, and you can feel good about it. Kreydenweiss’ environmental practices are good, and it’s not something that you see everywhere.”  The wine is, however, available at select restaurants and bars in downtown Toronto, including the Drake Hotel on Queen Street West. It’s a smooth, medium-bodied wine with a mix of dried red and dark fruits, and pairs well with winter staples like stews, goulash, chili, ratatouille, and even hard cheese. As such, the Barbabelle makes for a great gift. At $12.95 a bottle (case price is $155.40), it’s also a steal.

With an uncertain economy, the days of pricey wines may be over, or, at the very least, the buying market may be shrinking in some sectors. Bick says his company has seen “people shifting to slightly less expensive products in some cases.” The biggest change, he says, is “not on numbers of orders, but in actual size of orders, in the dollar value, there’s been a slight drop-off, but that’s okay. We really try and find products that are great value for their price, so often people take a step down in price and are pleasantly surprised by what they find.”

Ordering from home? Enjoyed all year? Pleasant surprises? Three perfect ways your gift will be a holiday hit.