Grape lovers! I’m on a crusade to help us get better wine, for less.
For FAR too long the supermarkets have tricked us into thinking that they’re giving us the best deal on wine.
(All these 25% off… 50% off deals are usually nonsense because they never sell the wines at ‘full price’ for more than a couple of weeks).
The truth is there are now some fantastic online resources where you can order great wine and pay a lot less – often with free delivery.
Not only that, you’ll have access to a much greater range, reviews from other wine drinkers and suggestions about what kind of foods they match with.
Imagine how your family and friends will swoon when your pour them a fine vintage wine that you picked up for peanuts – and proclaim the sumptuous notes of waffleberry, lunar mist and bed linen.
Ok, don’t do that. But do check out these resources before you hit the supermarket to buy your wine.
Here are 7 of the top wine price comparison websites:
1. Wine’s Direct (UK)
These guys automatically compare the price of wines from some of the UK’s top outlets. They have an impressive range on offer but if you’re looking for something particularly obscure or ‘boutique’ you may struggle.
One very clever feature of this site is that they show you if there are any voucher codes available alongside any of the wine retailers. This is particularly useful if it’s your first time buying online (as most of them are for first time customers).
2. Vinopedia (Europe)
This is a powerful wine price comparison website and caters for most countries in Europe (for any Insider’s Edge readers on the continent).
It lacks the voucher code facility of Wine’s Direct but you may be able to find these yourself for some of the listed retailers by doing a quick Google search. Just head over to Google, type in the name of the wine retailer e.g. “Laithwaites” and “voucher code” and if there are any offers available they should pop up in the results.
3. Find The Best (US)
The site offers a clear rating system, winemaker notes and covers a huge range of vintage wines (some of which are eye wateringly expensive).
It’s an easy to navigate wine comparison site for US customers – so well worth looking at if you’re reading this from across the pond.
4. Wine Robot (Australia)
It might not be the most beautifully designed website in this list but they offer a decent selection of bottles and cases from a variety of wineries.
Clicking the red ‘More Info’ button takes you direct to the individual retailers where you can purchase your wine.
5. My Supermarket (UK)
https://www.mysupermarket.co.uk
We’ve covered this website before in Insider’s Edge. As well as food, cleaning materials and other household products, these guys offer price comparison for wines and other beverages.
Again not the greatest selection on offer (they’re largely limited to supermarkets) but worth a look if you’re already doing your supermarket shopping online.
6. Wine Searcher (Global)
In addition to their wine price comparison tool Wine Searcher provide expert articles, tasting tips and more. It’s a great site to browse if you’re not feeling inspired.
To find merchants selling to your country simply look for the little flag listed next to the wines that come up in the search.
7. Bring a Bottle (UK)
These guys are relatively new to market and offer price comparison on wines from some of the UK’s more mainstream outlets (mainly supermarkets but also Majestic Wines).
As well as wines they offer a decent selections of beers, ales and spirits. The site features a handy price slider which helps you whittle down selections according to your price range.
2 bonus selections definitely worth visiting…
These next two aren’t wine ‘price comparison’ websites, but they’re definitely worth visiting.
Uvinum (Global)
A great resource for some of those harder to find wines and a seamless ordering process.
They offer some fantastic discounts and often, when I’ve used them, they’ve credited my account with funds (to be redeemed on further purchases) as a ‘reward’. On many occasions I’ve found the wines here to be cheaper than anywhere else. Well worth a look.
The Wine Society (UK only)
The wine journalist’s favourite. I recently became a member and I’m glad that I did. The major catch is that you have to pay a one-off £40 lifetime membership fee, but once you’re in you’re in.
You’re given a generous voucher code for your first order and 6 months free delivery. The REAL benefit of becoming a member is that they only list carefully chosen wines. You can often buy wines that are available exclusively to Wine Society members and some fantastic bargains can be found investing in new wines that haven’t hit the shelves yet (which can go up in value exponentially).
I know it doesn’t come easily for a lot of us but it’s worth getting into the ‘price comparison’ mindset when shopping online.
You’ll get better deals and will often be helping out smaller retailers.
Did you find this article helpful? Have you used any of the above? Or perhaps you’ve used other retailers. Please leave a comment below and share this article.