WCI back again!

Having recovered from my weekend with Don Townshend, I’d like to detour slightly today, and talk about a very cool wine site on the web.

Hooked on Wine (hookedonwine.net) is one of the best wine purveyors on the web. Actually, Michael Shemali is a wine re-buyer, I guess. He buys entire cellars of wine from folks, buys on consignment, buys from the wineries, and then offers the great deals he finds to those on his mailing list, and through his on-line store. Folks can also consign wine through his store or through auctions he runs.

One of the coolest things is that he really focuses on fine wines, and offers some great deals that you just won’t find in many places.

For example, today in my emailing, he had verticals of Opus and Silver Oak on, going back more than twenty years!

His site is attractive to look at, and is well set up and easy to navigate. He has it broken down by Favorites, by Region, by Rating, by Bottle size and by Vintage.

The Region section is extensive, covering most of the main wine growing areas of the world, and many of the minor ones. It also breaks them down by varietals.

The Ratings section has wines from 85 – 100 points, broken down in small increments.

The Bottle size section has wines up to 18 liters (!), and the vintages go back to the 50′s. He also has a section on new wines, and one for his favorites, which has some interesting choices. Some of the lots have one bottle, some have several cases… you never know, which is why it’s so fun to keep up with what’s new.

They will also ship wines as a gift, and some of these bottle will make GREAT gifts! D’you have someone who really likes wine on your list? How about shipping them an 18 liter  (That’s equal to two full cases, BTW!) bottle of 1999 La Petite Cheval Bordeaux for only $3900… Now THAT’S a Wine Club Gift that I’d like to see under my tree!

Cheers,

WCI