Winebits 107: Top 100 wines

The Wine Curmudgeon does not do year-end lists, but many others do. Here's a peek:

• Wine.com: The wine retailing Web site is almost apologetic, given the recession: "Surprisingly, the average selling price of this year's Top 100 was $23.50 per bottle, an increase of 15% over last year. ..." No surprises here. Given shipping costs, who is going to buy $10 wine through the Internet? The site's best seller was Cambria's Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006, which is pleasant enough if you like the modern style of California wine.

• San Francisco Chronicle: Less expensive wines, more rose, and better blends -- including one of my all-time favorites, the Pine Ridge chenin blanc-viognier. The McManis viognier, a nifty $11 bottle, also made the list. No wines, however, that aren't from California, Washington, and Oregon.

• Wine Spectator: I love this part: "Since 2009 was a year of economic retrenchment, we focused even more on value as we made our choices; the average price per bottle is $40, down from the past two years." One has to admire the Spectator's consistency -- price is all when it comes to wine.

wine ratings, top wine lists, Wine.com, Wine Spectator, San Francisco Chronicle.

Comments

[Craig]

Although I generally agree about shipping costs for Internet retailers (or wineries), I like wine.com -- if you are patient, you can almost always secure a $0.01 shipping cost on orders as low as $50 or $100.

[Jeff Siegel]

Somehow, I doubt that most of the people who are paying an average of $23 for a bottle of wine on Wine.com are the type of people who pay much attention to shipping costs. You can buy Cristalino for $7 at most retailers and drink it that night, or you can wait for penny shipping on Wine.com and drink it in a week.

[Craig]

That may be, but there are exceptions, such as myself -- wine being wine (heavy and delicate), shipping costs can absolutely destroy an internet bargain. I enjoy an expensive bottle of wine from time to time, but I love finding good wines around the $10-$15 price point to open up on a Thursday evening. Speaking of which, my last order from wine.com included a bottle of your recommended Neprica, which I opened last night. Very very good, and I paid $10.49, no tax, no shipping.

Huh. When did I become a shill for wine.com? Unintentionally, I assure you.