Wine Enthusiast

Full review
If you're ever wondering what to buy for the wine lover in your family, a great website to check out is The Wine Enthusiast Online Store

About the Wine Enthusiast
My first experience with The Wine Enthusiast store was through their mail order catalogs but I quickly discovered their online storefront as well. The company was founded in 1979 as a direct mail order business only. Nine years later in 1988, the self-named Wine Enthusiast magazine was launched. The Wine Enthusiast store's only showroom is in Elmsford, New York. The rest of their sales are conducted via direct mail order or via the web.

About the Website
The website at http://www.wineenthusiast.com is easy to navigate and loads quickly. Like so many storefronts, the main departments load on the left-hand side of the page. You can choose from stemware, wine racks, accessories, gifts, and a number of other sections. There is a new service/site being promoted from the Wine Enthusiast store, it's called Wine Express at www.winexpress.com. It complements the Wine Enthusiast site and allows customers to also order wines and join wine clubs.

The company places their customer support phone number right at the top of their web page, visible on every link. I like online companies that make themselves directly accessible to their customers. Shopping cart and customer service links are also resident at the top of the screen and remain there, only one click away, throughout the entire shopping and ordering process.

The Wine Enthusiast also participates with BizRate's online merchant rating service. Over 10,000 customers have rated The Wine Enthusiast with BizRate since 2001 and they remain in "Good" standing with the rating company.

Ordering from The Wine Enthusiast
Ordering from the site is straightforward and simple. As you browse through the products you can add an item to your cart, add it to your gift registry, or send a link to it to a friend. Once you've added everything you want to your card, you check out by either accessing your current Wine Enthusiast account or creating a new account with them. By creating an account you can track your order and maintain your wish list.

I placed an order for the 22" x 22" cork bulletin board that Wine Enthusiast sells. I purchased the item here because I have not been able to find it anywhere else. After checking out and providing payment information, I was quickly sent an order confirmation via e-mail from the company. The next morning I received a shipment confirmation e-mail that included my UPS tracking number.

Delivery and Product Quality
My item was delivered within two days via UPS. It was packed well and the shipping receipt was easy to dig out of the paper packing (which was easily reused to ship out another gift). The cork board arrived in terrific condition all ready to wrap.

Shipping Rates
Shipping rates are determined by the cost of the order and the shipping method. Standard ground delivery starts at $6.95 for orders under $25 and goes up from there. The Wine Enthusiast's shipping rates aren't great. In fact, the cost of shipping is one of their few flaws. Full shipping rates are available at:

http://www.wineenthusiast.com//checkout/ShippingMethod/shipping_popupStandard.htm

Summary
The Wine Enthusiast does not have the best prices and they really ding you on shipping. However, they do have the widest selection of wine accessories that I have found from one company. I ordered with The Wine Enthusiast this time because I couldn't find the product elsewhere. If I had other store choices for this product, I would have likely shopped around and looked for a lower price with a different store. Still, my experience using The Wine Enthusiast online store was flawless and I would recommend them to others.

Contact Information
The Wine Enthusiast
P.O. Box 39
Pleasantville, NY
10570-0039

Fax: 1-800-833-8466
Phone: 1-800-356-8466
E-mail: custserv@wineenthusiast.net