Buying Wine – Big Stores or Small Shops?

Wine is a billion dollar industry. In our modern culture, this means it has come into the sights of the huge, mega market stores that we all visit to buy 400 rolls of toilet paper and 10 pound jars of peanut butter. The question addressed in this article is whether you should buy at the big stores or the little, specialty versions?

Modern society is all about convenience. The fact there are now cars that will back up and parallel park for you should both tell prove that and be embarrassing! Regardless, the mega store has become the hub for most of our shopping. These stores now carry everything from lawn furniture to food to cars and, yes, wine. Well, not just wine. They carry wine in volume. You don’t buy a bottle. You buy half of that year’s production! Ah, but should you?

There are definite advantages to buying wine at the large mega stores. Chief among them is the simple fact that by buying in volume, you save some serious money. There are, however, downsides. The first is there is no one to discuss the merits of the wines being offered with. The second is there usually isn’t a lot of choice. A wine shop might offer a couple thousand choices. A mega store might offer 20 or 30. At most!

The wine specialty shop is an entirely different world. In contrast to the mega store, the specialty shop is usually owned and manned by a big time wine lover. They can tell you anything you want to know [and more] about the wines they have on offer, the vines they came from and so on. These shops tend to have a few cheaper wines, but many more expensive versions.

There are numerous advantages to buying wine from specialty shops. First and foremost is the fact you will get answers to your questions. Second, you can obtain some truly fine vintages. If you continue to go to the store, they will develop a feel for your preferences and make recommendations for you and even order in special selections just for you. It is a great way to discover some amazing wines!

So, which is better? Each has its place. I generally approach my wine purchases using the following strategy. I buy “every day” wine from the mega stores. I then buy specific bottles for storing and special occasions from the specialty shops. It is somewhat akin to having both a pickup truck and Ferrari in the garage. You drive the pickup truck all the time, but it is nice to pull out the Ferrari every so often.