The Next Big Thing: Buying Wine Online

The future of wine is connection — between winemakers and the land, winemakers and consumers. The future of wine is freedom — freedom from brand restrictions and expensive facilities; the freedom to experience new grapes and wine styles. The future of wine depends on the return of the artisanal craft of winemaking and the unique experience of sharing your wine experiences with friends. The future of wine is all this and more...

Online wine sales in Canada have been a small, but growing force for the past six years since wineonline.ca, Canada’s first online wine retailer, was launched in Ontario in May 2004 (the company has since branched out to Alberta and plans to expand into other provinces soon).

“It took a while for it to catch on, but since then there’s been a steady upward trend in the number of people who buy wine online,” says Aaron Bick, a company partner.

Will Bernier, business development manager for Alberta-based Zyn.ca, agrees: “It’s definitely growing as Canadians’ comfort level with ecommerce in general grows.”

Bernier says there’s enormous room for growth, noting that, in the British market, online wine sales are trending towards 20 percent of all wine purchases. In the U.S., it’s approximately 10 percent, while in Canada it currently only accounts for one to two percent of sales.

Bernier says the majority of Zyn.ca’s sales are for fine wine, and customers appreciate the convenience of sourcing and ordering hard-to-find wines online and having them delivered to their home. He adds there’s also a cost benefit of up to 40 percent to ordering online, since the company doesn’t have to absorb the cost of buying and storing inventory that may not sell.

Bick says it’s options, especially with imported wines, that drive sales at wineonline.ca, whether in fine wines or value wines.

“We provide alternative products," he says. "In Ontario, the LCBO won’t bring in certain wines if there’s not enough demand, so we provide wines not otherwise retailed in the province, including value wines and the best of the best.”

At present, online retailers are limited by provincial laws from selling outside of their home provinces. As consumer demand for increased selection rises, retailers and consumers are hopeful these regulations will be relaxed so wine drinkers across the country will have access to the tremendous selection of domestic and imported wine available in Canada.

Online Wine Retailers

marquis-wines.com (British Columbia)

highlanderwine.com (Alberta, Calgary delivery)

wineonline.ca (Alberta, Ontario delivery)

zyn.ca (Alberta, Calgary delivery)

thebeerguy.ca (Ontario, Toronto delivery)

saq.com (Quebec)

cristallandluckett.com (Nova Scotia)