Wine Access Wine Deals?

Newbie here....

Wonder if any members have any thoughts on the daily email deals that wine access sends out? www.wineaccess.com

Are they really good deals? Are you better off going to a local wine store?

I have bought a few of their offers over the past year. I generally am pleased. But I am not that good a wind connoisseur to know if the deals are really that good. They are good with their write ups and generally I would think they are on the level. I have noticed some of their deals aren't really that great a deal where I will see the wine I bought on the super special on the internet from a wine shop for the same price or less. The problem is if you buy a case and you aren't really thrilled with it you have a case. If you buy a few bottles and love it often you cant get more. So catch 22 type of situation.

Some of the wines:

Most of these were the 20-25 dollar range with wine access saying they are 40-50 retail.

2007 DuNah Pinot Noir DuNah Estate Vineyard Russian River Valley - I loved this one. Awesome. Problem here is I didn't buy enough

2012 Rockledge Vineyards Pinot Noir Terres Blanches Carneros - Was not as thrilled with this as it seemed minerally to me. Though got great write ups.

2011 Fiancetto Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Loam Napa Valley - Disappointed in this one. Not a smooth wine. Rough.

2011 Stolpman Vineyards Syrah Estate Grown Santa Ynez Valley - Awesome. Great syrah. Really happy bought a case on this one.

[David M. Bueker]

All the daily deal e-mail sites have good stuff and not so good stuff. It's really an offer by offer evaluation.

All the daily deal e-mail sites have good stuff and not so good stuff. It's really an offer by offer evaluation.

The million dollar question then is " How do you know if its good stuff?" a Tanzer or Parker good review? Or just knowing I guess?

[David M. Bueker]

It helps to know your stuff. WineSearcher helps with pricing. CellarTracker is a good place to look and see what other folks think of any given wine.

It helps to know your stuff. WineSearcher helps with pricing. CellarTracker is a good place to look and see what other folks think of any given wine.

I see you are in Connecticut....the nutmeg state..lol...

Best wine store you get your stuff at in Connecticut? I am on the shoreline....

[David M. Bueker]

I almost never buy wine in Connecticut.

David, I agree with others that a good place to look for opinions about wine is Cellar Tracker, and the best place to check for the best prices is Wine Searcher. When you decide what wine you want and locate the retailer with the best price and reasonable georgraphy (if you live in Connectucut there are obvious probelems with ordering from a retailer in, say, Arizona), then check with our group to see what experience others have had with the retailer. After a short time you will probably acquire a list of your own favorite retailers.

David, I agree with others that a good place to look for opinions about wine is Cellar Tracker, and the best place to check for the best prices is Wine Searcher. When you decide what wine you want and locate the retailer with the best price and reasonable georgraphy (if you live in Connectucut there are obvious probelems with ordering from a retailer in, say, Arizona), then check with our group to see what experience others have had with the retailer. After a short time you will probably acquire a list of your own favorite retailers.

Thanks...that wine searcher is a great site. I had seen that site before but really didn't use it much.

I ran my last purchases through the site and found the wine access price on a lot of stores around the country. But wine access has free freight which a lot of stores don't offer.

Great tool to see if those deals are really deals.

My favorite that DuNah one is twice what I paid from wine access on the market now. so that was a great deal from wine access.

David, eventually you may want to spend a few dollars a year to subscribe to Wine Searcher Pro, which provides prices for a wider listing of retail outlets.

Wine Searcher does us a big favor in another respect as it helps moderate wine shop prices in our neighborhoods and even puts us in a position to bargain a bit when we buy case lots from local wine merchants. I think most of us would much rather support local merchants by buying locally if their prices are competitive, so in that respect Wine Searcher operates in the best interests of both consumers and local mercants. When the wines I want are available locally and the prices for them are competitive, I never buy out of town.