Online wine buying guide

Stephen Bainbridge (of Professor Bainbridge on Wine) offers online wine buying advice in his latest TCS column. Bainbridge asserts that the web is a great way to find small lot and cult wines that aren't available at your local wine shop(s).

Since shipping charges can add considerable cost to online wine purchases, I only shop online when I can’t find something locally (consistent with Mr. Bainbridge’s advice I suppose). I’ve had good experiences with both wine.com and K&L Wine Merchants. I feel K&L offers better descriptions than wine.com, but neither beats a conversation with the staff of a great local shop like Esquin or Pete’s.