The Best Wine Stores

Friday, April 18th

2025 Wine Store Reviews

Wine Access

• Prices from $13 to $6,500
• 406 different wines
• Red, white, sparkling, sake, and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 1882
• Free shipping on orders $150+
• Unlimited time to make returns
• Protected shipping options for bottles
• Wine clubs for membership fans
• 4.2-star average
• 95% positive reviews

Wine Access is a wine store designed to make it easier to find and try out the most "inspiring” wines in the world. Headquartered in Napa, California, Wine Access is backed by industry experts who seek out wines for you, and all you need to do is enjoy. The site was first conceived in 1996 when Stephen Tanzer was trying to make a database of all the wines people wanted or were trying to find. It was mostly an inventory archive that developed into a site for wine stores to host their websites. Wine Access launched its own online store in 2017.

406 wines to pick from - and a vintage from 1882

Wine Access sells 406 different wines with a variety that focuses on unique or "inspiring” finds curated by the Wine Access staff. You can expect to find a range of favorites like Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, but also some unique wines left out at most basic wine stores, like Malbec, Grenache, and Semillon. You'll find selections from the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Japan, and more, with flavor profiles that include fruit, oak, body, sweetness, tannin, acidity, and pretty much anything a pro or amateur sommelier could need. We found the vintages extremely broad with some wines at Wine Access dating back to 1882.

Easy shopping with wine lovers in mind

Shopping on Wine Access shows the company's chops. It's clear from the clean styling and easy browsing that this site knows how to help you shop for wine. You can browse the entire wine inventory, shop by collections, or start by looking through limited-time offers. Once you pick a way to begin browsing, you can use extremely detailed filters to narrow the field including variety, region, availability, specific food pairings, price, alcohol content, vintage, drinking window, flavor profile, and collections. The site feels like it was designed by sommeliers for sommeliers, but it doesn't leave you out if you're not already a wine expert. As you add wine bottles to your cart, you can see which ones members are loving right now with a helpful visual on the listing photos. If you're interested in becoming a Wine Access member, there are 9 different wine clubs to choose from. Some of the standout clubs include "The Discovery Club,” "Collector's Club” and "The Wine for Normal People Club.”

Prices from $13 to $6,500

With low-cost wines and exclusive vintages, Wine Access offers prices that appeal to many budgets. It's possible to keep the total under $20 per wine bottle if you need to, or you can buy some exclusive collector's wines for a splurge. To compare prices at Wine Access to other sites in our review, we looked at the price ranges for three types of wine: red, white, and rosé. We also found the most expensive and rare wine at Wine Access. Take a look:

• Red wine: $13 to $2,300
• White wine: $15 to $6,500
• Rosé: $23 to $26
• Top vintage: 1882 W & J Graham's Ne Oublie Port with a dense and pure flavor that leans fruity with solid oak and tannin flavor too. This costs $6,500 per bottle.

Shipping free on orders $150+

Wine Access ships to all but four states in the US. If you're in Utah, Alabama, Mississippi, or Arkansas, you won't be able to order from Wine Access, but everyone else is good to go. Ground shipping is free on any order over $150. You can bundle multiple orders (even if the orders are placed on different days) to hit the $150 threshold. Your order will be held by Wine Access for 30 days, and then you'll be charged for ground shipping costs if you haven't ordered enough wine to reach $150 within that time frame. For shipments under the $150 threshold, shipping is a little pricey. Our test order cost $27.71 for standard ground shipping in our area, which does not include protection against weather spoiling or breakage. You can upgrade your shipping for $12 more to guarantee wine freshness during warm weather and with biofoam to protect the glass. If you choose to let Wine Access hold your wine for optimal weather, you may wait a little longer, but you won't have to pay as much for protected shipping.

Credit if you don't love the wine plus no-limit free returns

Wine Access promises that if any bottle you order isn't to your liking, they'll credit your account. Wine Access also states that there is no time limit for returns or exchanges of wine, and they don't charge any restocking fees if you choose to return something. In these cases, they will email you a prepaid label to print if you need to make a return. This is one of the most customer-friendly return policies for the wine stores in our review.

Stellar ratings for quality and customer service

On average, Wine Access has earned 4.2 stars out of 5. Reviews show praise for Wine Access' customer service, impressive and detailed listings, and the wide variety of wines. One shopper noted that Wine Access is one of his favorite places to spend money on wine. Reviewers love the new- and old-world wine options, the impressive flavors, and the solid shipping policies. Across all reviews on Trustpilot, 95% of all reviews were 5 stars. Currently, Wine Access does not have a page on the Better Business Bureau, but the reviews from wine blogs and pro sommeliers support the feedback we saw on Trustpilot.

Best wine experience and vintage selection

Wine Access is the ultimate wine experience. While it may not have quite as many wines as some other wine stores in our review, it makes up for it with high-quality, exclusive vintages, and a website that makes you feel like a sommelier even if you're just starting your wine journey. And if you are already a wine pro? The site has everything you need to make an informed decision about your wine. Whether you want one bottle or several, customers say you'll love your experience at Wine Access. For these reasons, it easily earns the top spot as the #1 wine store in our review. Hop on over to Wine Access ASAP to grab your next vintage.

Total Wine

• Prices from $3,29 to $5,999.97
• 8,000+ different wines
• Red, white, sparkling, sake, and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 1969
• Free shipping on orders $99+
• Free in-store pickup
• Refunds for broken bottles
• 4.7-star average for some branches

Total Wine offers you exactly what it says on the package: a total experience for shopping for wines (and even some other boozy favorites) in person or online. As one of the few wine stores in our review that has brick-and-mortar locations, Total Wine (also known by its full name, Total Wine & More) is one of the largest independent wine retailers in the US. The company started in 1991 and it now operates 270 stores in 28 states. Most retail locations of Total Wine offer over 8,000 different wines. With an extensive team that is trained with weekly wine tastings and wine-producer seminars, you can expect expert advice anytime you shop here.

8,191 different wines and 1969 vintage

When you hop on Total Wine's website, it will automatically show you the availability for wines at your local brick-and-mortar location. If we took away this limitation, there were 8,191 different wines offered by Total Wine. With the location limitation (where the wine would be delivered to our local store for pick up), we still had access to 5,520. Bottom line? Tons and tons of wine to choose from. If you break it down, the most popular wine type at Total Wine is Cabernet Sauvignon with 1,252 options, followed by Bordeaux Blends with 797 different varieties. Other popular types include 567 Pinot Noir flavors, 627 Chardonnays, and 382 types of Champagne. Most of the wines at Total Wine are sourced from California (2,478 bottles) closely followed by France which shows 2,173 bottles in stock. You'll also find wines from Portugal, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Romania, Japan, Florida, Denmark, Hungary, Lebanon, and more. The oldest vintage we could find was a Mas Amiel Winemaker's Selection Maury Vintage from 1969.

Easy to browse and order

Total Wine offers an easy filtering system for wine shopping. Limit your selection by type of wine like "Limited Time Specials” or "Fine & Rare” to search only the category of wine that matters for your current shopping spree. If you want to see all the wine at Total Wine, the easiest way to see the entire selection is to simply search "wine” in the search bar at the top of the website. Since Total Wine offers more than just wine - you can get liquor, beer, and mixers too - searching just "wine” helps you get exactly what you want. Once you get to the browsing window, there are further search filters with criteria like:

• Price
• Variety
• Customer ratings
• Country/state
• Expert sourcing
• Region
• Brand
• Non-alcoholic wines
• Size

Once you select your wine, you can add it to the cart with one click, and there are multiple shipping methods to pick from. Total Wine offers shipping to your local store for pickup, shipping from your local store to your home (depending on what's in stock), and shipping from any Total Wine location or warehouse to your home. You can complete a secure checkout with PayPal or your credit card once you're finished.

Prices from $3,29 to $5,999.97

The prices at Total Wine are extremely affordable, though you'll find some specialty wines that might stretch your budget a bit. To compare the costs at Total Wine with other wine stores in our review, we looked at the price ranges for red wines, white wines, and rosés. We also found the most expensive rare wine offered by Total Wine (incidentally, this is also the most costly wine offered by this wine store). Here's how that shook out:

• Red wine: $4.97 to $5,999.97
• White wine: $6.97 to $49.99
• Rosé: $3.29 to $64.99
• Top vintage: Ghost Horse Cabernet Premonition from 2019 with black fruit, red fruit, and oak flavors. This costs $5,999.97.

Shipping free on orders $99+

Total Wine offers free shipping on orders $99+ regularly, and with special promotions, you can get free shipping on purchases as low as $49. This lower shipping threshold was available as a seasonal promo during our review. If you don't score free shipping, the cost of shipping will change depending on the shipping method you choose. For example, if you pick the direct shipping (from any Total Wine or direct from the warehouse) the price for our area was $19.80 for a single bottle. If your order qualifies to be shipped out by your local Total Wine location, the delivery fee is much smaller ($4.99 in our area), but you do need to meet a minimum purchase requirement of $24.99 to get home delivery. If you choose in-store pickup, there is a $14.99 minimum order requirement to qualify, but there will be zero shipping costs.

Total Wine will protect you if bottles break

There isn't a specific satisfaction guarantee, but if you are unsatisfied with your order, Total Wine promises to try and resolve the issue on a case-by-case basis. Returns will depend on the reason for your return, and contacting the customer service department is your best first step. There are some laws about returning alcohol in particular states like California, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Kansas, so make sure to review the return policy page if you live in one of those states. We checked in with the customer service chat during our research to see if Total Wine offered any kind of protection against broken bottles. The rep told us right away that if any bottles break during shipping, Total Wine will 100% replace the broken bottle or refund you. The only requirement is to provide photos of the broken bottles and your order number.

Use your discretion for local branches

Regrettably, the reviews for this industry giant aren't stellar. For a major retailer, we're not surprised, as large corporations often have poor reviews on Trustpilot and Sitejabber. Most of the negative reviews are related to particular Total Wine locations or employees who disappointed the customers. The positive reviews cover praise for selection as well as extras to go along with your wine like other spirits, bitters, or glasses. Our best recommendation? Check out the reviews for your local Total Wine before you decide. For example, our local Total Wine has a 4.7-star average rating and highly positive reviews as recently as 2024. Regrettably, Total Wine also has a below-average overall score of "B-” from the Better Business Bureau, but don't let that stop you from giving your local branch a try, especially for delivery or in-store pickup for your online orders.

A total package for wine and spirits

We suggest you give Total Wine a chance once you've checked out the reputation of your local branch. The customer service team members we talked to were very helpful and were able to confirm protection for online purchases if your bottles are broken. Plus, with such a wide selection, it will be hard not to find what you're looking for at Total Wine. So, despite some lower-rated reviews, Total Wine remains a total package for a wine store and earns an excellent rating in this review.

Wine Insiders

• Prices from $9.99 to $27.99
• 220 different wines
• Red, white, and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 2018
• Free shipping on orders with 6+ bottles
• 100% satisfaction guarantee for refunds
• 4.6-star average
• "A+” rating from the BBB

Wine Insiders is an online wine store that hopes to make shopping for wine easy, convenient, and fun. It also promises to make it more affordable. When considering how to design the site, the team at Wine Insiders wanted to avoid the feeling of a grocery store wine aisle: a wall of wine with no helpful details. So, Wine Insiders created an online wine store that mixes the affordability of traditional retail prices but offers the ease of use that comes from an online platform. They partner with wineries to get you the deals directly, so you're not paying for exorbitant markups.

220 wines with a vintage from 2018

Wine Insiders offers 220 different wines focusing primarily on the three major wine styles: red, white, and rosé. Breaking them down, we found 130 red wines, 18 rosés, and 72 whites. You'll find wines from 10 different countries. Most of the selections come from the United States (54 wines), but there are plenty from Spain and Italy too. You'll also see wine from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Hungary, Mexico, and South Africa. The earliest vintage we found at Wine Insiders was from 2018.

Clean site with simple filters

You can easily browse all of the wines offered by Wine Insiders or simplify your search by looking at sets, featured wines, or wine collections by celebrity partners like Martha Stewart, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Ludo Lefebvre. When you decide how you want to browse, the site offers filters like color, sweetness, country, varietal, and vintage to narrow the bottles to the perfect wine for you. Some additional filters include wines separated by those that have won awards, those that are 100% organic, staff picks, and vegan wines. While it isn't the most robust filtering system (like the one offered by our top pick), it does the job and Wine Insiders remains easy to use.

Prices from $9.99 to $27.99

The prices at Wine Insiders are meant to be impressively low. So, to compare the numbers with other wine stores in our review, we looked at the price ranges for all three of Wine Insiders' major selections: red, white, and rosé. We also looked for the most expensive vintage offered at Wine Insiders to see how the top-quality wines stack up. Here's what we found from Wine Insiders:

• Red wine: $9.99 to $27.99
• White wine: $10.99 to $21.99
• Rosé: $11.99 to $24.99
• Top vintage: 2020 Leo by Leo Medoc Bordeaux with red fruit and chocolate aromas. This costs $31.99 full price.

In all, Wine Insiders succeeds at offering affordable wines. However, if you're looking for older or collectible vintages, you may be disappointed by the selection.

Shipping free if you buy 6+ bottles

Wine Insiders offers free shipping on any order of 6 or more bottles. Notably, you will need to purchase a minimum of 3 bottles of wine to complete checkout. If you don't reach the 6-bottle threshold, shipping will be around $14.95. There may also be a small processing fee. For our test order, the fee was $2.95. If you score free shipping, the processing fee will still apply, but it doesn't go up if you buy more bottles.

100% satisfaction guarantee

Wine Insiders offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you're not completely happy with your wine (any wine for any reason), you can reach out to the Wine Insiders customer service and you'll get a refund. The fastest way to contact Wine Insiders is to call them or use the Live Chat feature. You can get your refund started anytime between 9:00 am to 6:30 pm (EST) on Mon-Fri. If you need help on a weekend, the hours are adjusted to 10:00 am-7:00 pm (EST).

Solid reviews, but could have more buzz

Wine Insiders has a solid presence on the few reviews that are out there. Trustpilot shows just 25 total reviews, but 48% of those are all 5 stars. There are a few more reviews on Sitejabber (1,036 total reviews) where Wine Insiders currently holds a 4.6-star average out of 5. Many of the reviews show customers who are consistently happy with the quality, free shipping options, and flavors of Wine Insiders' wines. There are multiple reviews commending the packaging for transit. From the few poor reviews, Wine Insiders could stand to improve its customer service responsiveness and better resolutions when issues do pop up. Thankfully, Wine Insiders does respond to every review (good and bad) with solutions on Sitejabber. Plus, Wine Insiders has an outstanding reputation with the Better Business Bureau where the company holds an "A+” rating as well as a 4.6-star average out of 5.

Great low-cost option

Wine Insiders is a great site for low-cost wines from a site that specializes in shipping wine directly to your door. If you're looking to try a couple of bottles of wine, this is a great no-commitment-required wine store. While it could use a little improvement in customer service, it's still a solid choice for your next low-cost wine store. For this reason, it earns a solid rating in our review.

Wine

• Prices from $7.99 to $8,000
• 16,000+ different wines
• Red, white, sparkling, sake, dessert wine, and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 1985
• Free shipping with a yearly membership
• Mobile app
• 4.2-star average on Trustpilot

Wine is an online wine store that was designed to completely change how you normally discover and buy your wine. Claiming the world's largest selection with expert guidance, Wine's services are possible due to relationships with wineries around the world. They offer big-name wines, critically acclaimed selections, and small-production or independent vintages. To help you through your selection, Wine offers an online service you can access from your PC as well as a mobile app with live chat features to help you find your next vintage.

16,304 wines and vintages as old as 1985

Wine claims to have the widest selection of wines in the world, and we believe it. The site offers 16,304 different wine products (including packages and collections) across its entire inventory. You can expect to see reds, whites, champagne and sparkling wines, dessert, sherry, and port wines, rosés, and a selection of sake at Wine. If we break it down a little, the most popular wine is Pinot Noir which has 1,713 bottles to choose from. This is closely followed by Chardonnay (with 1,526 options) and Cabernet Sauvignon (1,097). Most of the vintages at Wine are sourced from France with 5,194 of the bottles making up that category. You'll also find a significant number from Italy, California, and Spain. Other countries represented on Wine include Argentina, Australia, Portugal, Germany, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand, and more. The oldest vintage we could find was from 1985.

Quick shopping and options for free shipping membership

Wine makes it simple to find the categories you want using the "Varietal” and "Region” headers on the top navigation bar. If you want to view the entire wine list at Wine, you can simply click on the Varietal heading, and you'll be able to browse and filter all 16,000+ wines. The site allows you to sort the immense selection of wines by variety, region, price, rating, how soon the wines will ship, vintage, savings, and winery name. Adding a bottle of wine to your cart is simple, and you can either purchase it immediately or save a bottle for later. If you want to score free shipping on your wine, Wine offers the Stewardship membership which costs $69 per year normally but was on special for $59 per year during our review.

Prices from $7.99 to $8,000

With so many wines to browse, it's no surprise that the prices vary greatly. There are plenty of cheap wines (just enough to get you through girls' night) or some high-end bottles that are worthy of any wine cellar. To compare prices between Wine and the other wine stores in our review, we looked at the price ranges for red wines, white wines, and rosés as well as found the most expensive (and rare) wine listed on the site. Here's what we found at Wine:

• Red wine: $7.99 to $8,000
• White wine: $15 to $4,199.97
• Rosé: $9.99 to $440
• Top vintage: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Richebourg Grand Cru (torn label) 1990 with black currant, red fruit, earth, spice, and floral aromatics. This costs $4,199.97.

Some of the rare vintages like the Domaine de la Romanee-Conti are only available for purchase if you have the Stewardship membership.

Shipping from $19.99 unless you're a member

Shipping prices will change depending on the number of bottles in your cart. If you have the Stewardship annual membership, shipping will be free on orders over $49. However, for those who choose not to become an annual member, you can expect shipping prices to be around $19.99 for 1-3 bottles, $25.99 for 4-6 bottles, $31 for 7-9 bottles, and $37 for 10-12 bottles. The price will continue to go up every three bottles, so if you're on the fence about how many wines to try, keep your shipping costs in mind.

Contact support if you need assistance

There isn't a specific satisfaction guarantee at Wine, but the company does offer to correct mistakes in three cases. First, if you receive a wine you didn't order, you can contact Wine and the service team will work to resolve it. If your package is missing a wine you paid for, the process is the same: contact customer support for resolution. If you receive the wrong vintage, this is probably a case where your chosen vintage wasn't available, and Wine made a substitution. This usually happens with wines under $30 per bottle. However, if you're unhappy with that, you can contact the service team for your options. Notably, no direct promises are made in the return policy, so you'll want to get the details before purchasing if you're worried.

Mixed reviews across different platforms

Wine has a decent reputation with a solid 4.2-star rating average on Trustpilot. Reviewers say that the wide selection of wines and prompt delivery are two main reasons they keep returning to Wine. There is also high praise for the customer service team at Wine. On the other hand, Sitejabber shows a different story with a 1.7-star average. Customers on Sitejabber noted they were sent the wrong bottle (with a difference of more than $30 between them) and had issues contacting customer support and getting any kind of resolution. While there are fewer reviews on Sitejabber, the complaints are worth considering. As for the Better Business Bureau, Wine currently holds a "B” rating which is only about average.

The most wines in one place

If you're looking for the largest variety in one place, Wine is going to be it. With over 16,000 different wines in stock at the time of our review, the impressive variety with plenty of new and old vintages makes Wine the best one-stop wine shop in our review. While we would like to see more positive reviews across the board, many customers on Trustpilot love Wine and recommend it to others. Though charging a membership fee to score free shipping isn't our favorite, if you subscribe, you're in for a great deal. For these reasons, Wine earns a strong rating in our review.

Parcelle

• Prices from $19 to $3,950
• 690 different wines
• Red, white, sparkling, rosé, and sake
• Oldest vintage: 1995
• Shipping starts at $20
• Refunds within 7 days for unopened wine
• Wines from around the world
• 4-star average on Yelp

Parcelle is an online wine store based out of New York City. The company includes multiple restaurant and bar locations in Manhattan as well as a fully online shopping experience. Shopping online at Parcelle includes a wine tracker to keep an eye on the wines you've tasted along with personal notes to begin building your skills as an amateur sommelier. Plus, you'll be able to keep a record of all your past purchases, so if you love a wine you grabbed a few months back, you can easily rebuy your favorites right away. Open since 2018, this wine store is newer than some competitors, but with a booming business in New York City, it's clear they're supplying high-quality wines.

690 wines and a vintage from 1995

Parcelle has 690 different wines in stock. These include a variety of reds, whites, champagne selections, rosés, orange wines, and even sake. To break it down a bit, you'll find 427 reds, 188 whites, and 13 rosés. Sake is a standout offering at Parcelle and you can find some fruity and earthy flavors of the popular rice wine. You'll also see Dom Perignon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Nebbiolos across the Parcelle wine store. The majority of the wines at Parcelle are from France with others popping up from Argentina, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the US (among others). The earliest vintage offered at Parcelle is from 1995.

Helpful browsing tools and plenty of details to help you decide

Parcelle's full wine list is in the "All Wine” header on the top menu or jump right to "Fine & Rare” if you're looking for something more unique. Once you get to the browsing window, you'll see filters for types of wine, wine gift packs, and the ability to narrow to natural wines only. Other filters include shopping by country, region, grape, vintage, producer, and price. Every wine listing shows you the name and the vintage at a glance as well as any discounts if the wine is on sale. There's also a special field during checkout if you want to send wine as a gift, to offer a recipient email, gift message, and a printed gift note. You can check out with Shop Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, or Venmo for a secure purchase.

Prices from $19 to $3,950

The wine prices at Parcelle start pretty average, but if you're looking for some truly rare (and costly) wines, you'll find those here too. To give you a clear idea of what you can expect price-wise we looked at the price ranges for reds, whites, and rosés at Parcelle. We also looked at the top vintage to give you an idea of the quality and flavors you might find. At most sites, we looked only at the highest-priced wine offered, but at Parcelle we chose the most expensive wine offered on the rare wine list, specifically. Take a peek at what we discovered:

• Red wine: $20 to $3,950
• White wine: $21 to $1,950
• Rosé: $19 to $85
• Top vintage: Domaine Roulot, Meursault Premier Cru 'Perrières' 2007 Chardonnay from France; the most expensive rare wine, but not the most costly on Parcelle. This costs $2,500 full price.

Shipping from $20 flat rate

Shipping is calculated based on your location. If you live in Manhattan, there is a $20 flat rate for any order. For our area, standard ground shipping cost $26.36 for one bottle. So, you may need to be prepared for pricey shipping at Parcelle compared to other wine stores. There are no other fulfillment costs aside from shipping, though, so what you see during checkout is your final total.

Only 7 days to make returns

Parcelle's return policy is pretty short-term. The wine store is happy to accept any unopened bottles of wine within 7 days of the date of sale. However, if you purchase a corked wine you are out of luck. There is also a listed policy that Parcelle will "make it right” if you receive the wrong product, though there aren't any specific details on what this will include (refund or store credit). If you're worried, but still like the wine list, you may want to reach out to customer service before purchasing. We reached out to Parcelle with the chatbot feature on its website, but never received a reply.

Not many reviews for the wine store itself

Regrettably, Parcelle doesn't have a lot of buzz outside of the Yelp reviews for its restaurant locations. This wine store doesn't have a page with the Better Business Bureau, nor are there any listed reviews on third-party sites like Trustpilot or Sitejabber. Depending on which Parcelle location you look at, the reviews range from a 3.8-star average to a 5-star average. Most of the reviews are for the experience of eating and drinking at Parcelle rather than on the wines or online wine service, but there was general praise for wine quality and ambiance. On some blog sites, Parcelle earns around 4 stars out of 5 on average specifically for its function as a wine store. Customers especially loved the online education journal on the Parcelle website that helped develop their knowledge of wine.

Great for rare wines

While there aren't a lot of reviews for the online wine store, Parcelle is well-regarded for its restaurants in Manhattan. With a wine selection that ranges from affordable to rare, you'll find something to suit every wine occasion here. The inclusion of unique wines like sake also helps this wine store to stand out from the pack. We would love to see a more robust return and refund policy to support customers and better responses from the customer service team, though.

Fresh Vine Wine

• Prices from $17.95 to $125
• 7 different wines
• Red, white, and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 2019
• Free shipping on 12+ bottles
• Returns with $20 fees
• Low-calorie and low-sugar wines
• 4.4-star average for some wines

If you're looking for a place to score some California wines made in-house, Fresh Vine Wine is a fun place to look. Crafted and bottled in Napa, California, Fresh Vine Wine's collection is designed to appeal to those with an active lifestyle. As such, most of Fresh Vine Wine's selection includes low-calorie and low-sugar wines. Fresh Vine Wine's team completes the winemaking process in-house for high-quality and consistent wines every time.

Only 7 wines to pick from

The selection of wines at Fresh Vine Wine is extremely limited when compared to other wine stores in our review. This retailer only sells wines produced in the in-house winery. You can find Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, rosé, Sauvignon Blanc, and a Limited Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. There are exactly 7 wines at Fresh Vine Wine. Yep - that's it! There are two types of rosé, but otherwise, the wines listed above come in exactly one style and one year each. The earliest vintage is 2019 (the Limited Reserve), and otherwise, most of the wines are labeled between 2020 and 2021.

Easy shopping and a VIP wine club too

Since there are so few wines to choose from, it's a pretty simple shopping experience here. Either choose your preferred wine from the top navigation bar or view all the wines in a side-scrolling menu. The only difficulty in completing your order is that you do need to provide an email and verification of your age (which is a good thing) before you're allowed to proceed to checkout. From there, Fresh Vine Wine allows for purchases through a credit card, Klarna, or a direct purchase from your bank. If you're hoping for a subscribe-and-save option, you can join Fresh Vine Wine's VIP Experience Wine Club to get regular shipments of wine. The VIP Club offers 10% off 6 bottles of wine or 15% off 12 bottles with each scheduled shipment. There are shipment intervals every month, every two months, or every three months.

Prices from $17.95 to $125

The prices are pretty low at Fresh Vine Wine as most of the wines are pretty modern, and there aren't any special or European vintages on sale. The prices range from $17.95 for the in-house rosé and go up to $124 for the Limited Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. To give you the breakdown we're doing at every retailer, here are the prices separated by wine type:

• Red wine: $18.95 to $125
• White wine: $18.95
• Rosé: $17.95 to $22.95
• Top vintage: Limited Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 with blackberry, boysenberry, and licorice. This costs $125.

Shipping from $19.95

Shipping is usually around $19.95. The shipping cost was the same whether we added one bottle or multiple bottles to the cart. If you order more than 12 bottles, the shipping cost is included in the price of purchase. The only drawback at Fresh Vine Wine is there are limitations on where they will ship. At the time of our review, the following states were excluded from Fresh Vine Wine's shipping area:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arkansas
• Delaware
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Rhode Island
• Utah

If you live in any of the other 50 states in the US, you're good to go, but Fresh Vine Wine does not ship internationally at this time.

Returns allowed with possibilities for fees

It's hard to find the return policy at Fresh Vine Wine. We dug through the entire terms and conditions page (which is a strange link on an otherwise blank area of the website), and it doesn't mention anything to do with returns or refunds. We had to click the "help” icon at the bottom of the website (a little question mark with the word "help”) and it brought up the customer service bot. From here, we were able to search for the return policy. Fresh Vine Wine offers refunds for incorrect or missing items, damaged shipments, and some return shipments (though there may be a $20 fee for return shipping).

Reviews are limited to those on other retailers

It's hard to find reviews for Fresh Vine Wine online. The company isn't currently rated by the Better Business Bureau, and there are no reviews for the company as a whole on sites like Trustpilot or Sitejabber. Instead, we found reviews for individual wines where they are sold at other retailers. The wines from Fresh Vine Wine range in ratings from 4.1 out of 5 for its rosé and up to 4.4 stars out of 5 for the Cabernet Sauvignon. In general, wine fans said that the Cabernet Sauvignon was an impressive wine for the price point, though some shoppers complained that they didn't get enough of a "buzz” from this wine. However, most customers praised it as a "new favorite” or a "tasty and refreshing” option.

Perfect for those looking for a low-calorie wine store

While the praise is pretty high for individual wines, we would love to see more buzz for Fresh Vine Wine. But if you're interested in shopping for a wine that offers a low-calorie or low-sugar option, this is a great spot to try something new. However, with a pretty low inventory and limitations on returns, Fresh Vine Wine could do a little work to be more competitive. For this reason, it earns a middle-of-the-road score: it's worth trying for its unique approach, but it may not be as competitive as sites that sell Fresh Vine Wine as well as wines from many other wineries.

Splash Wines

• Prices from $6.99 to $50
• Subscriptions from $59 per month
• 65 different wines
• Red, white, sparkling, and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 2013
• Free shipping for members
• Refunds within 180 days
• 4.5-star average on Trustpilot

Splash Wines is a family-owned business that stands out as one of the best-rated wine stores on Trustpilot. The company was founded by Rob Imeson and his dad Bud Imeson. They created Splash to work on their passion: finding and helping winemakers spread their unique wines around the world. Splash Wines promises that it treats its customers like family. While the site states you can order wines with no commitment, Splash Wines is known for its subscription model: a monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly membership that starts at $59 per month.

Choose from 65 wines to build a case

Splash Wines offers plenty of ways to try some new reds, whites, and bubblies. The company currently offers 15 curated cases of wine samplers. From unique collections like the "Supreme Sampler” or the "Super Sippers White & rosé” you can find plenty of ways to break up your normal wine routine with some of Splash Wines' bottles. If you'd rather build your case, browse the bottles offered on Splash to create a 15-bottle (the minimum) case of new and familiar flavors. The site offers popular varieties like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Noir. There are currently 65 wines to choose from, which isn't the largest variety we've seen. The earliest vintage was a red wine from 2013.

Some orders qualify for free shipping

Ordering is simple; either select one of Splash Wines' pre-curated cases or build your 15-bottle case. If you build your own, there is a counter on the right that will remind you how many bottles you have left to choose. The filters can help you narrow the options to your preferred wines with categories like style of wine, variety, and country of origin. When you finish building your case, check out easily through the Shop Pay app. In our case, shipping was free through FedEx and UPS if we chose to become a member of Splash Wines, though whether or not we were being automatically enrolled was unclear.

Prices from $6.99 to $50 plus subscriptions

Scoring the best prices on Splash Wines is a little difficult since there's no way to filter the wine bottles by price. However, the wines are generally affordable. We did the same comparison as with other wine stores, looking at the price ranges for red, white, and rosé as well as the most expensive vintage overall. Here's what we found at Splash Wines:

• Red wine: $6.99 to $50
• White wine: $6.99 to $24.80
• Rosé: $6.99 to $24.95
• Top vintage: Empyrean Eridanus Claret Red Blend 2020 with black cherry, black plum, and orange marmalade with notes of leather and cedar. This costs $50 full price.

Now, if you want to join the subscription plan, you can choose from three tiers: Standard, Vineyard, and Cellar. The Standard subscription includes 6 bottles for $59 or 15 bottles for $89 of your choice of red, white, or mixed wines. The Vineyard subscription is $10 more for either 6 or 15 bottles, and the wines are selected from the top vineyards in the world. The Cellar subscription is an additional $39 for the 6-pack and an additional $70 for the 15-pack. Cellar only comes in red wines and they can be kept safely in a cellar for years to mature.

Returns offered within 180 days

On top of the confusion on enrollment, we also found that Splash Wines has some high shipping costs for returns. While you can ask for a refund within 180 days of your purchase, you'll be paying a $22 return fee. If you want different wine shipped out as part of your return, there is also a reship fee that depends on the number of bottles you're getting:

• $14.95 for a 3-bottle case
• $20.95 for a 6-bottle case
• $29.95 for a 12-bottle case
• $34.95 for a 15-bottle case
• $39.95 for an 18-bottle case

Something fishy going on with shipping

Shipping for members is free, but we ran into a little snag when looking for non-member shipping costs. Even though we added a pre-curated wine crate to our bag for purchase (with no attempt to join a subscription), Splash Wines applied the membership-only free shipping when we went to complete our purchase. We reached out to the customer service team to clarify if making a purchase will automatically enroll you in a membership. The responses we got were somewhat confusing. Instead of directly answering our question, the rep talked about the difference between the membership and email offers (which we hadn't mentioned). Further, he said "Feel free to place an order. You can reach out once done so we can confirm that you are not enrolled.” So, we were expected to purchase without clarification on the membership enrollment (or non-member shipping fees) and confirm our membership status after the fact. When we asked for further clarification, the rep told us to "freely place the order and we'll check it after if you are enrolled,” repeating the same instructions. The conversation did not make us feel secure about not getting "accidentally” enrolled in its subscription plan.

High scores from Trustpilot

Despite the issues we ran into regarding transparency, we can confirm the claim that Splash Wines has some of the best reviews from customers. It holds a solid 4.5-star average from Trustpilot across 40,929 individual reviews. However, it also has some review red flags. The average ratings on Sitejabber show just a 2.8-star average out of 5, and the Better Business Bureau shows a below-average "B-” rating. According to reviews left within a few months leading up to this evaluation, Splash Wines' quality has declined as it started outsourcing (though we're not sure if this is for customer service or outsourcing the wines themselves). Customers who had complaints said that they had issues receiving the correct wines in their orders, and there were multiple mentions of extremely slow shipping. However, for most shoppers who left reviews on Trustpilot, the experience at Splash Wines was perfect. Most reviewers ordered from Splash Wines multiple times and had zero problems with requesting replacements.

Good for cheap wines, but keep an eye on the subscription

While the company's reputation on Trustpilot is undoubtedly impressive, we are still left a little concerned about Splash Wines. Our experience with its customer service encouraging us to purchase without knowing if we would be enrolled in a subscription didn't create any confidence. Further, there are plenty of recent reviews that show a decline in service quality. If you're looking for very cheap wines that roll into a monthly wine subscription, this might be worth checking out; so, Splash Wines earns a middle-ground rating overall.

Buy Wines Online

• Prices from $5.95 to $949.95
• 5,566 different wines
• Red, white, mixes, rosé, and champagne
• Oldest vintage: 2003
• Shipping starts at $25
• Returns within 30 days
• Stored in temperature-controlled facilities

Buy Wines Online is a wine store that's been around for over 25 years. This retailer specializes in direct-to-consumer services. With tons of wine in stock online, you can expect to see familiar as well as new and unique wines you've never found before. All wines in the Buy Wines Online store are kept in a temperature-controlled warehouse for maximum freshness, and the wine is handled directly by Buy Wines Online employees to avoid any chance of breakage.

5,566 different wines dating back to 2003

At the time of our review, we found 5,566 different wines in stock. To break it down a little, there were 761 Cabernet Sauvignon, 561 Chardonnay, 521 Pinot Noir, 344 Sauvignon Blanc, and 279 rosés. You'll also find red blends and sparkling wines at Buy Wines Online. Currently, the majority of Buy Wines Online's selection comes from California, but there are also a significant number of wines from Italy. You'll also see vintages from France, Spain, Argentina, and Oregon. If you're looking for older vintages, you might be disappointed. Currently, 1,383 of the wines at Buy Wines Online are non-vintage, and the oldest vintage you can find is 1 wine from 2003.

Great browsing experience and auto-ship options

Browsing on Buy Wines Online is easy. The range of filters on the left-hand side of the window will help you easily find what you want with just a few clicks. You can buy single bottles or large cases of "tasting sets” that include 12-20 bottles in one shipment. When you decide you want a wine (or wines), it's simple to add your selections to the cart with the red button on every listing. Adding wines doesn't interrupt your shopping, and you can keep browsing until your cart is full of all the bottles you want to try. If you decide to choose a tasting set, select from three options: a mixed set, an all-red set, or an all-white set. To make it easier, Buy Wines Online also offers an auto-ship feature. if you plan to regularly repurchase the same wines, for a 10% discount. Checkout is simple and Buy Wines Online lets you complete your purchase with Shop Pay, Amazon Pay, or Google Pay.

Prices from $5.95 to $949.95

To compare prices across different retailers, we looked at three types of wine at each wine store: reds, whites, and rosé. To show you an accurate comparison, we found the most and least expensive wine in each category. We also found the most expensive vintage to show the range of unique wines available. Here's what the prices look like at Buy Wines Online:

• Red wine: $5.95 to $949.95
• White wine: $5.95 to $324.95
• Rosé: $5.95 to $549.95
• Top vintage: Masseto 2020 (red) with blackberries, cherries, and black currants. This costs $949.95.

Shipping starts at $25 per bottle

Orders from Buy Wines Online are usually shipped within 1-2 business days. Shipping is promised to be the best rate in the industry. 1 bottle ships at $25 and the shipping fee is increased by $1 for every additional bottle. Notably, this is more costly than some of the wine stores in our review, showing this isn't actually the best rate in the industry. The cost caps at $39 for 15 bottles. Anything above that is considered a "separate package” which you'll pay for starting at an additional $25 for one bottle and repeating the "package” increase until you hit another $39.

30 days for returns, but you pay restocking fees

Buy Wines Online promises that if you have any issues with your order, they're happy to assist. You just need to contact Buy Wines Online within 30 days of your purchase day. Buy Wines Online will arrange for pickup of your wine, and once the items are back in the warehouse, you will be issued a refund for the items you returned. Shipping and restocking fees may be deducted from your final return amount, but the totals aren't listed on the Buy Wines Online return policy.

Extremely strong opinions on quality

Currently, Buy Wines Online does not have a page with the Better Business Bureau. So, most of the feedback we found came from third-party websites like Trustpilot. There aren't a lot of reviews out there, though. We found just 21 individual reviews for Buy Wines Online on Trustpilot, and they were almost evenly split between 1- and 5-star ratings. While some customers praise fast shipping and solid packaging to protect the wine, others complain about dishonest sales practices, rude customer service, and issues with delivery windows (where they needed to be home to accept the order). While we aren't sure how trustworthy Buy Wines Online is, we can see that former shoppers have some strong feelings about their experiences.

Reputation doesn't impress

While the selection is competitive if you don't mind newer vintages, we aren't overly impressed with Buy Wines Online. On top of the polarized opinions in customer reviews, we don't love the unclear policies regarding return shipping and restocking fees. Given the opportunities to find unique wines at other retailers, Buy Wines Online doesn't quite make it to the "average” mark in our review. It needs to do a little work on its reputation before it can earn a higher rating.

Naked Wines

• Prices from $11.99 to $229.99
• 502 different wines
• Red, white, sparkling, dessert and rosé
• Oldest vintage: 2016
• Free shipping on 6 bottles (in some states)
• Refunds for store credit
• Wines from around the world
• "A” rating and accreditation from the BBB

Naked Wines is a wine store known for its subscription plan. For a monthly fee of $40, you cover the costs of talented independent winemakers supported by Naked Wines. Since opening in 2008, Naked Wines has used the help of customers (who they call "Angels”) to invest in 159 indie winemakers across 14 countries. What do you get out of the deal? Exclusive wines at extremely discounted prices (up to 60% off). Each one is selected by one of the Naked Wines on-staff sommeliers, so you know you're getting top quality with details on notes, the winery where the wine was created, and more. Plus, if you don't want to be an Angel, the site offers wine at full price to enjoy Naked Wines' services without any commitment.

502 wines with some from 2016

The selection at Naked Wines is based on the careful work of the in-house experts. They taste over 10,000 wines to create tasting cases of six bottles for you, and the individual offerings on Naked Wines are all carefully selected for top-quality flavors from independent wineries. At the time of our review, there were 502 different wines on Naked Wines. You can find dessert and fortified wines, reds, rosés, whites, and sparkling wine. To break it down a little, there are 302 flavors and styles of red, 21 rosés, and 141 white wines across the site. You'll find wines from Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and many more. The majority of Naked Wines' selection is from the United States, and the earliest vintage we found was in 2016.

Can take a minute to find the wines

The Naked Wines site is a little harder to browse than some of its competitors. The main landing page is designed to advertise the Angel subscription program, and at first, it can be hard to find the page to browse individual bottles of wine. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll see a small link titled "Our Wines,” and you can easily start browsing all of the Naked Wines options from there. Once you get to the browsing window, it's much easier to shop. There are plenty of helpful filters to narrow wine by country, style, grape type, price, alcohol content, and particular winemakers. However, we did have some trouble on certain browsers getting the filters to load. So, if you run into similar problems, try using an alternate browser. If you are not an Angel member, you'll see the full-price costs on each listing, and you do need to meet a minimum order of 6 bottles to complete your purchase.

Prices from $11.99 to $229.99

We've already covered the Angel membership fee which is $40 per month. If you subscribe, you'll see up to 60% off deals on every case you order. If you choose not to subscribe, the bottles will be sold at full-price. We did our price comparison with the full-price costs. To get accurate numbers against other wine stores, we looked at the price ranges for red wine, white wine, and rosé. We also found the top vintage sold by Naked Wines. Here's what we found:

• Red wine: $12.99 to $229.99
• White wine: $11.99 to $59.99
• Rosé: $15.99 to $33.99
• Top vintage: AVA Collection Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 with dark fruit flavors and oak spice, aged 18 months in French oak barrels. This costs $229.99 full price.

Free shipping to many states

The cost of shipping will vary slightly depending on how much wine you buy. Naked Wines promises to include the cost of shipping in larger packages, but there may be a $9.99 charge to cover order fulfillment costs. We did a test order to see how the costs show up in practice, and for Florida, shipping for one case of wine (the required 6-bottle minimum order) was already free. There were four states where this wasn't the case; in Michigan and Indiana, shipping costs $29.99. Shipment to Alaska is $130 per package and to Hawaii is $70 per package.

100% guarantee for store credit

Naked Wines are 100% guaranteed according to the wine store's company policies. This means Naked Wines promises you'll love every wine or they will add a store credit to your account for the value of the wine you don't like. However, the only recourse appears to be store credit so you can try a different wine from Naked Wines. A full refund is not offered by Naked Wines at this time.

An "A” rating isn't everything

There's a lot of news floating around for Naked Wines, but before we dig into the nitty-gritty, here's the good news: Naked Wines currently holds an "A” rating from the Better Business Bureau as well as accreditation. However, that's where the good news ends. The BBB also shows a current alert for Naked Wines stating that there is a known lawsuit from 2022 filed for business marketplace conduct. This was because the Angel program (at that time) was not clearly labeled as a monthly subscription. That issue has since been resolved, though the lack of clarity on where to buy wines outside of the membership program remains an issue on the site. As for feedback, the average rating for Naked Wines is a mid-tier 3 stars out of 5 on Trustpilot and a 1.8-star rating out of 5 on Sitejabber. There are frequent reviews that mention scams and issues with unwanted credit card charges. Further reviews also mentioned "terrible customer service” and orders being canceled for no reason.

Too many complaints to be competitive

Despite some unique opportunities for buying wines around the world, Naked Wines comes in as our lowest-rated site due to the number of concerns from customers. With issues that include unwanted credit card charges, poor customer service, and a limited return policy where you can only get store credit, Naked Wines doesn't stand out as a wine store that supports its customers. For this reason, Naked Wines gets a cautionary note based on recent customer reviews to be careful about giving this company your credit card information.