How to Find a Particular Wine

By Alex Russell Instagram @OzWineGuy on June 24, 2016 in Other

I received a lovely e-mail the other day (thanks Diana) asking where to go to get some of the wines that I write about. It’s not always easy to track down a particular wine that you want, so here are some tips to help you find what you’re looking for…

The winery’s website
This is the best option if you only want to get a bottle or two. Some wineries will list stockists of their wines. For example, last month I wrote about the great wines of La Violetta, and they list Five Way Cellars at Paddington as a stockist. This doesn’t mean that they stock every wine by La Violetta, and websites can be out of date, so call ahead. They might even put it behind the counter for you so that someone else doesn’t buy it before you get there. or they might order some in for you.

You can also try calling the winery if stockists aren’t listed on their website, or contact their distributor (if they have one). Don’t be shy; they want to help you buy their wine!

Order direct from the winery
If you’re willing to buy six or a dozen from one winery, look at ordering direct. Some wineries have online shops and most will let you mix up the wines in any combination that you like. They’ll generally ask you to buy a minimum number of bottles, usually 6 or 12.

That said, eCommerce websites are expensive to build. When you’re a small winery just starting out, that’s money that you’d rather put into equipment to make sure that your wine is as good as it can be. As such, some wineries just have order forms that you fax in with your credit card details, and some are so small they don’t even have credit card facilities and will ask you to transfer funds into their bank account instead.

Online retailers
There are certain online retailers that tend to have some of the wines that I write about. East End Cellars is one; they have the Jauma wines that I wrote about last month (but there aren’t many left!). These sites may or may not have a minimum number of bottles that you need to purchase, but this often provides a good excuse to mix and match a few different wines anyway. If you go to East End Cellars, for example, you could include some of the Hoddles Creek Pinot Noirs and Chardys (which are pretty much universally recognised as incredible value at around $20-25, as are the Wickhams Road label made at the same place).

Mailing lists
Some producers make wines in such small amounts that there simply isn’t enough to make it into stores. They’ll often reward their regulars with a first chance to purchase, so join their mailing lists. They’ll let you know when new wines are released, which is great when a particular vintage of a wine is sold out. Great lists to join include La Violetta, BK Wines, Small Winemakers Centre (Hunter Valley), Clonakilla and SC Pannell, to name just a few.