Wine On the Web
The Top 25 Sites for Restaurateurs (4/20/01)
The internet boom, dot com
millionaires, and the new economy have not yet
dramatically impacted the way restaurants do
business, but things are changing fast. There has
been an explosion in the number of wine related web
sites in the last few years. They contain a plethora
of wine information available at the click of a
mouse, which can be of great help to restaurateurs to
learn more about wine, make wine list selections,
train their staff, design their wine lists, find the
right glassware and other accessories, and sell more
wine, profitably.
Over 600 wine related web sites
were reviewed for the quality and depth of their
content, as well as ease of navigation within the
sites. The following are the 25 best, listed by the
type of content for the site. Some web-sites are
listed in multiple categories.
Indexes
These two are not
technically web sites as they have no content of
their own. They are pages that link to many other web
sites. They are great one stop shopping URLs that
should be bookmarked on your PC.
www.bboxbbs.ch/home/tbm/index.htm (TBM's Wine Links)
This links page has web sites
organized by continent, country, region, general
information, wine ratings, and software. There are 50
categories with many choices within each category.
Each of the sites has icons next to its' name
indicating what language(s) the text is in.
www.vine2wine.com
This links page has thousands
of well-organized sites listed by categories of
associations, publications, wineries (by country),
accessories, and auctions. It is a good source for
obscure information such as web sites for wineries in
Japan, Mexico, Croatia, and virtually anywhere else
you can think of. There is also great depth in the
more mainstream areas. There are 300 web sites listed
for Bordeaux alone.
Web-Sites
Basic Wine Information
www.aboutwines.com
This site is run by Seagram
Chateau & Estates. They only provide detailed
information about wineries and wines from their own
large portfolio, but the information is very
extensive and they also have great general
information content. This includes regional
information for eight of the major wine producing
nations covering history, labeling, and grape
varietals. They also have a wine term glossary, grape
varietal dictionary, a worldwide vintage chart, world
harvest reports, news, events, and perhaps the best
feature; a section called "Ask Evan" . In
this section there is a series of articles on
service, wine program tips, FAQs (Frequently Asked
Questions), and "Tasting 101" written by
Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier.
www.bar-do-binho.com (The Port Guide)
This site is run by a wine shop
in the town of Sintra, Portugal that specializes in
fortified Port wine. The site gives an overview of
the region, grapes, styles, and a glossary of terms.
The best part is detailed profiles of sixteen Port
houses and detailed vintage reports and tasting notes
for each producer going all the way back to 1900.
www.bbr.co.uk (Berry Brothers & Rudd)
This fine wine shop in the U.K.
specializes in French wines and Port. Their web site
contains news, world harvest reports for 1998 and
1999, a vintage chart, overviews of some wine
regions, and links to winery and other related web
sites.
www.marksquires.com
This wine lover's page has good
basic wine information, news, and events. It also has
his reviews of wine books with a link to purchase
them through Amazon.com.
www.tastings.com
This site is run by the
Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago. It has news, a
wine dictionary, book reviews, an on-line or hard
copy magazine, 1,500 winery listings with over 400
links, and wine reviews.
www.travelenvoy.com/wine.htm
This travel web site
has a very large section on wine, larger in fact than
most of the wine-only web sites. The basic
information includes a wine glossary, grape
varietals, styles of wine, worldwide wine regions and
American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), over 4,000 winery
listings with over 1,000 links, wine reviews by
category (but no search engine), links to
associations, non-alcoholic, kosher and organic wine
producers.
www.wineinstitute.org
The Wine Institute in San
Francisco provides statistical information and news
to the California wine industry and lobbies the
government on the industry's behalf. Their web site
contains information on current wine laws, proposed
legislation, wine industry statistics, a brief
history of the California wine industry, news,
events, a California harvest report, links to
California winery associations, universities,
magazines, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, &
Firearms (B.A.T.F.), and other wine related web
sites. The best feature is an overview of American
Viticultural Areas (AVAs) and extremely detailed
information on every one of the AVAs in the U.S..
www.wine-lovers-page.com
Robin Garr, a U.S.
wine writer, has one of the biggest and best wine web
sites. The general information includes a
"Questionary" (Frequently Asked Questions
in a Dictionary format with a search engine), a
lexicon where you can look up the phonetic
pronunciation of words or listen to them via MP3,
vintage charts, and "Anthony Hawkins' Super
Gigantic Y2K Winegrape Glossary". It also has
book reviews with a link to purchase them through
Amazon.com, a wine course (series of articles on
tasting), printable rating forms to conduct your own
tastings, wine reviews, events, news, and an option
to get a wine tip e-mailed to you daily. The grape
glossary is without question the most thorough
available and even includes clones and hybrids. It
also has the best section on wine and food pairing.
The wine tip of the day is always short and useful,
reviewing a wine, recommending another web site to
check out, food pairing tips, etc..
www.wine-pages.com
Tom Cannavan, a wine
educator at the University of Glasgow in Scotland,
provides good overviews of all major wine regions in
the world. His site also has information on food
pairing, news, a vintage chart, wine reviews, book
reviews, and links to many wine web sites.
www.winespectator.com
M. Shankin
Communications in New York produces Wine Spectator
Magazine in an on-line and hard copy format. Their
web site contains wine news, the largest and fastest
wine review database, a vintage chart, winery
profiles indexed by country and region, California
regional wine maps, annual restaurant wine list
awards, and information on wine tasting, buying, food
pairing, wine producing countries, grape varietals,
and a glossary of wine terms.
www.winetoday.com
This on-line wine
magazine, owned by the New York Times, contains
profiles of 1,100 wineries worldwide, news, events,
and wine reviews by region, in alphabetical order, by
grape varietal, or via a fast search engine. The news
and reviews are the strength of this site.
Wine Ratings & Reviews
www.aboutwines.com
This site is run by
Seagram Chateau & Estates. The information about
the wines in their portfolio includes wine fact
sheets, wine reviews from top publications, and
producer profiles.
www.bar-do-binho.com (The Port Guide)
This site is run by a wine shop
in the town of Sintra, Portugal that specializes in
fortified Port wine. The site gives an overview of
the region, grapes, styles, and a glossary of terms.
The best part is detailed profiles of sixteen Port
houses and detailed vintage reports and tasting notes
for each producer going all the way back to 1900.
www.bbr.co.uk (Berry Brothers & Rudd)
This fine wine shop in the U.K.
specializes in French wines and Port. Their site
contains reviews all of the wines they carry in the
"Product Search" section of their site.
www.marksquires.com
This wine lover's page
has wine reviews that are well written and listed by
date tasted and sub-divided by region, but there is
no search engine.
www.restaurantreport.com
This on-line magazine
is geared specifically toward restaurateurs, but is
not exclusively about wine. It contains articles on
menu design, cost control, service, all types of food
and beverage, and a section listing their "Top
100 Hospitality Sites". The wine section by
Phillip Silverstone has wine news and reviews (no
search engine) and links to other wine web sites.
www.smartwine.com
This on-line magazine
has news geared toward wineries and winemakers, links
to over 1,900 wineries worldwide, worldwide regional
wine web sites, and on-line publications. They also
have a wine review search by country, region, winery,
grape varietal, rating, vintage, price, and taste
characteristics.
www.tastings.com
This site is run by
the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago. The wine
reviews are the best feature and utilize a fast
search engine.
www.wineanorak.com
Jamie Goode's
London-based on-line magazine has wine news, wine
reviews categorized by region (no search engine),
wine book reviews, and links to other wine web-sites.
www.wine-lovers-page.com
Robin Garr, a U.S.
wine writer, has one of the biggest and best wine web
sites. It contains wine reviews (by directory or
search engine) and an option to get a wine tip of the
day e-mailed to you. The wine tip of the day is
always short and useful, recommending another web
site to check out, food pairing tips, etc..
www.wine-pages.com
Tom Cannavan, a wine
educator at the University of Glasgow in Scotland,
provides good overviews of all major wine regions in
the world. His site also has information on food
pairing, news, a vintage chart, wine reviews (no
search engine), book reviews, and links to many wine
web sites.
www.winesandvines.com
California's oldest
hard copy wine industry magazine, of the same name,
runs this web site. It focuses primarily on
California wine and has news, events, links to wine
associations and 100+ wineries. Each month they
present reviews of about one dozen California wines.
Their Annual Buyer's Guide can also be ordered
through the web site.
www.winespectator.com
M. Shankin
Communications in New York produces Wine Spectator
Magazine in an on-line and hard copy format. Their
web site contains wine news, the largest and fastest
wine review database, a vintage chart, winery
profiles indexed by country and region, California
regional wine maps, annual restaurant wine list
awards, and information on wine tasting, buying, food
pairing, wine producing countries, grape varietals,
and a glossary of wine terms.
www.winetoday.com
This on-line wine
magazine, owned by the New York Times, contains
profiles of 1,100 wineries worldwide, news, events,
and wine reviews by region, in alphabetical order, by
grape varietal, or via a fast search engine. The news
and reviews are the strength of this site.
Wine News
www.bbr.co.uk (Berry Brothers & Rudd)
This fine wine shop in the U.K.
specializes in French wines and Port. Their web site
contains news and world harvest reports for 1998 and
1999.
www.marksquires.com
This wine lover's page
has good basic wine information, news, and events. It
also has his reviews of wine books with a link to
purchase them through Amazon.com.
www.restaurantreport.com
This on-line magazine
is geared specifically toward restaurateurs, but is
not exclusively about wine. It contains articles on
menu design, cost control, service, all types of food
and beverage, and a section listing their "Top
100 Hospitality Sites". The wine section by
Phillip Silverstone has wine news and reviews (no
search engine) and links to other wine web sites.
www.smartwine.com
This on-line magazine
has news geared toward wineries and winemakers, links
to over 1,900 wineries worldwide, worldwide regional
wine web sites, and on-line publications.
www.tastings.com
This site is run by
the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago. It has
news, a wine dictionary, book reviews, an on-line or
hard copy magazine, 1,500 winery listings with over
400 links, and wine reviews.
www.wineanorak.com
Jamie Goode's
London-based on-line magazine has wine news, wine
reviews categorized by region, wine book reviews, and
links to other wine web sites.
www.wineenthusiast.com
This on-line, or hard
copy, magazine contains a vintage chart, news,
events, and links to some wineries. It's main role is
as a supplier of all sorts of wine accessories
including wine cabinets, custom cellars, wine racks,
corkscrews, Riedel glassware and decanters.
www.wineinstitute.org
The Wine Institute in
San Francisco provides statistical information and
news to the California wine industry and lobbies the
government on the industry's behalf. Their web site
contains information on current wine laws, proposed
legislation, wine industry statistics, a brief
history of the California wine industry, news,
events, a California harvest report, links to
California winery associations, universities,
magazines, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, &
Firearms (B.A.T.F.), and other wine related web
sites.
www.wine-lovers-page.com
Robin Garr, a U.S.
wine writer has one of the biggest and the best wine
web sites. It contains news, events, great general
information, book and wine reviews, and an option to
get a wine tip e-mailed to you daily.
www.wine-pages.com
Tom Cannavan, a wine
educator at the University of Glasgow in Scotland,
provides good overviews of all major wine regions in
the world. His site also has information on food
pairing, news, a vintage chart, wine reviews, book
reviews, and links to many wine web sites.
www.winesandvines.com
California's oldest
hard copy wine industry magazine, of the same name,
runs this web site. It focuses primarily on
California wine and has news, events, links to wine
associations and 100+ wineries. Their Annual Buyer's
Guide can also be ordered through the web site.
www.winespectator.com
M. Shankin
Communications in New York produces Wine Spectator
Magazine in an on-line and hard copy format. Their
web site contains wine news, the largest and fastest
wine review database, a vintage chart, winery
profiles indexed by country and region, California
regional wine maps, annual restaurant wine list
awards, and information on wine tasting, buying, food
pairing, wine producing countries, grape varietals,
and a glossary of wine terms.
www.winetoday.com
This on-line wine
magazine, owned by the New York Times, contains
profiles of 1,100 wineries worldwide, news, events,
and wine reviews by region, in alphabetical order, by
grape varietal, or via a fast search engine. The news
and reviews are the strength of this site.
Staff Training
www.aboutwines.com
This site is run by
Seagram Chateau & Estates. Perhaps the best
feature of their site is a section called "Ask
Evan". In this section there is a series of
articles on service, wine program tips, FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions), and "Tasting
101" written by Evan Goldstein, Master
Sommelier.
www.eldtrain.com.au (Eldred Training Ltd.)
This web site is run by a
restaurant consulting company in Australia. They
provide on-site consulting for beverage cost control,
purchasing control, and other areas. They also sell
books on wine, beverage management, food and beverage
sales, service, marketing, purchasing, profit
enhancement, training videos and workbooks, and a
staff wine training video with emphasis on Australian
wine. Their site also has links to other wine web
sites.
On-Going Education &
Certification
www.courtofmastersommeliers.org
This is an on-line
brochure for the Court of Master Sommeliers. They are
the most recognized organization for restaurant wine
professionals. Their site gives an overview of the
organization and gives the European exam dates.
www.masters-of-wine.org
This is an on-line
brochure for the Institute of the Masters of Wine.
They are the most recognized organization for the
retail wine trade.
www.wine.gurus.com
This is an on-line
brochure for the Society of Wine Educators. They hold
an annual conference with numerous workshops and also
have certification exams.
www.universityextension.ucdavis.edu/winemaking
This is an on-line
brochure for the University of California at Davis'
winemaking extension courses.
www.wset.co.uk
This is an on-line
brochure for the Wine, Spirit & Education Trust.
Their courses and exams are considered to be the best
preparation for the exams with the Institute of the
Masters of Wine.
Wine List Design
www.aboutwines.com
This site is run by
Seagram Chateau & Estates. Perhaps the best
feature of their site is a section called "Ask
Evan". In this section there is a series of
articles on service, wine program tips, FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions), and "Tasting
101" written by Evan Goldstein, Master
Sommelier.
www.restaurantreport.com
This on-line magazine
is geared specifically toward restaurateurs, but is
not exclusively about wine. It contains articles on
menu design, cost control, service, all types of food
and beverage, and a section listing their "Top
100 Hospitality Sites". The wine section by
Phillip Silverstone has wine news and reviews (no
search engine) and links to other wine web sites.
www.winespectator.com
M. Shankin
Communications in New York produces Wine Spectator
Magazine in an on-line and hard copy format. Their
annual wine list awards can be helpful in designing
or improving your own restaurant's wine list.
Merchandising / Promoting
www.aboutwines.com
This site is run by
Seagram Chateau & Estates. Perhaps the best
feature of their site is a section called "Ask
Evan". In this section there is a series of
articles on service, wine program tips, FAQs
(Frequently Asked Questions), and "Tasting
101" written by Evan Goldstein, Master
Sommelier.
www.eldtrain.com.au (Eldred Training Ltd.)
This web site is run by a
restaurant consulting company in Australia. They
provide on-site consulting for beverage cost control,
purchasing control, and other areas. They also sell
books on wine, beverage management, food and beverage
sales, service, marketing, purchasing, profit
enhancement, training videos and workbooks, and a
staff wine training video with emphasis on Australian
wine. Their site also has links to other wine web
sites.
Accessories
www.eldtrain.com.au (Eldred Training Ltd.)
This web site is run by a
restaurant consulting company in Australia. They
provide on-site consulting for beverage cost control,
purchasing control, and other areas. They also sell
books on wine, beverage management, food and beverage
sales, service, marketing, purchasing, profit
enhancement, training videos and workbooks, and a
staff wine training video with emphasis on Australian
wine. Their site also has links to other wine web
sites.
www.wineenthusiast.com
This web site is a
good source of all sorts of wine accessories
including wine cabinets, custom cellars, wine racks,
corkscrews, Riedel glassware and decanters. Retail
prices are listed, but wholesale pricing is
available. There is also an on-line or hard copy
magazine that contains a vintage chart, news, events,
and links to some wineries.
www.wineglassesltd.com
This shop in San
Anselmo, California only sells glassware. They have
great prices and selection of Riedel (Austria),
Schott Zwiesel (Germany), Spiegelau (Germany), Luigi
Bormioli (Italy), Durand (France) and West Virginia
(U.S.). The low prices listed are retail, but
wholesale pricing is available.
home . . .
services . . . clients . . . links
& events
. . . press . . . about
us . . . contact us
