Woot® : One Day, One Deal™

Wine.Woot.com

What is Wine.Woot.com?

We were all pretty despondent when we couldn’t work out the logistics for massage.woot.com. We started to question the very idea of spinning off another new dot-woot. But then Woot offered our first Woot Cellars wine, Rinfrescante, and we were positively deluged with inquiries from friends and family pleading for more (of course the cheapskates wanted more). This was enough “market research” for us. We reactivated our wine-industry hookup and wine.woot.com was launched in beta in May 2006, serving as an advertising platform to connect consumers like you to wineries that want to sell their products directly to consumers.

Then we had to figure out if we’d completely lost our minds. It turns out wine and electronic gadgets really aren’t so different, commercially speaking. Both industries run on fast product cycles. Gadgeteers and oenophiles alike have strong opinions, so we let them sound off in our community forums. Because winemakers make marketing predictions far in advance of product release – just like electronics manufacturers – wine inventory is equally subject to overstock, excess, and end-of-life opportunities. And wineries, like pretty much every other kind of manufacturer, are always clamoring for attention outside of those crowded store shelves.

So every day, wine.woot.com will uncork a sweet new wine deal. (Or a wine-related one, be it wine accessories or fine finger-food fixins.) Like our uncouth, barely-civilized older stepbrother, woot.com, here you'll find amazing deals that put the rest of the Internet to shame. Shame on you, Internet!

New deals seven days a week, you said? I thought you only offered one deal per week.

When Wine.Woot launched, it only featured one deal per week. Then it offered three, then five. Now it's up to all seven. If you're still only checking the site on Mondays, you're depriving yourself of up to 86% of the available Wine.Woot pleasure. Don't you deserve better?

Wait, this is a joke, right? You Woot guys...

Look in our eyes. Do we look like we’re joking? We enjoy a good laugh as much as the next deal-a-day web site, but when it comes to wine, we’re serious. Deadly serious.

Will Woot.com go down the drain now that you guys’ll be putting all your time and money into this wine folly?

No, this bold new adventure will not harm the Woot.com experience one tiny bit. We serve as an advertising platform, the wineries make and sell the wine, and our platonic pals at Wine Country Connect do most of the remaining legwork. In the honorable Woot tradition, we strive to do as little as possible so that the puny fee we earn can be stretched ever further.

Has Woot jumped the shark?

No, we look terrible in a wetsuit. Nor have we skipped the buffalo, climbed the quail, leapt the baboon, sprung the salamander, or scaled the Atlantic herring. All reports to the contrary are scurrilous slanders spread by those who wish us harm.

Do I use my existing Woot account?

Yes, your Woot account transfers over to the wine.woot.com site as smooth as a ‘97 Napa Valley Cab. Or, if you’re not a wine person yet, a baby’s bottom. Whichever.

Can I really buy wine on the Internet?

Thanks to our esteemed Supreme Court, recent and dramatic changes in how wine can be sold and delivered in the U.S. allow wineries to market their wines directly to the online consumer. Lucky for us (and you), premium wineries have started to wake up to this newfangled World Wide Web thing and are motivated, dare we say thirsty, to reach a new audience. It all adds up to the best wine deals in the country, one vintage at a time.

We’re talking breakthrough stuff here, connecting wine producers to – er, connoisseurs like you in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. Call it disintermediation, call it cutting out the middleman, just don’t call us late for the wine tasting.

Is this one of those monthly-fee wine club deals?

No, this isn’t one of those monthly-fee wine club deals. We don’t lock you into buying a series of offerings from one producer or region. Buy once a week, or once a year, or once a millennium. Pick and choose whatever sparks your tongue, the way the Founding Fathers intended. The power is yours. Use it wisely, grasshopper.

I’m new to wine. I’m confused, intimidated, and frankly a little frightened. Can I trust that I'm being sold the good stuff?

If you’re just getting hip to the whole wine trip, you'll find a variety of premium, ultra-premium, and mega-super-premium wines from known wineries. Most of the time, anyway. On the rare occasion that the site features some off-brand rotgut, we’ll tell you. And we just might throw the odd wine accessory at you, if we’re feeling puckish - especially on Thursdays. Fear not, n00b – our wines will be great to cut your teeth on (not literally, unless something goes terribly, terribly wrong).

How do I know whether to buy a certain wine? Who can I trust in the forums?

Dave Studdert is a wine expert you may see in the forums (username winedavid39). He is one of the co-founders of Wine Country Connect, the company that facilitates the winery offering their wines through wine.woot.com (also providing fulfillment logistics support and acting as a liaison between us and the winery). He also invites the winemakers to join in the discussion of each sale, which they usually do. (Occasionally they even write a piece for our blog.) And the most insightful posts in each discussion are highlighted in the first post of the thread, under the heading Quality Posts. Just hang around the threads for a while, and you'll get a feel for who's full of wine wisdom and who's just full of it.

What if I get bad wine or a damaged shipment?

First of all, if you think the wine tastes bad, wait a few minutes and try another sip. It may need to “open up” (wine term) or your palate might be “wack” (colloquial term). It’s amazing how much food alters the flavor of wine: eat a vinaigrette-soaked salad first and even a ‘68 Rothschild will taste like Windex. But after you have appropriately cleansed the palate region (not with soap or anything – eat some bread, cheese or chocolate) and the stuff still tastes lousy, contact us and we’ll communicate with the winery about sending you a replacement. And of course, you can skip the palate-cleansing stuff and just get ahold of us to ping the Winery for a replacement if the bottle is broken.

If I like the wine - or I missed one I want - can I buy more later?

As the gorilla told the bartender, “Not at these prices.” It's possible the winery might have some more to offer you at full price, but you're on your own there.

Who is Wine Country Connect?

Wine Country Connect is a posse straight outta Sonoma, California, and are experts when it comes to the nectar of the gods of which we speak. They’ve been at this a while and gots the inside connects, if you catch our drift. They also really know a bargain when they see one. WCC identifies and sources high-value wines in their ‘hood (and a sprinkling from Oregon, Washington, and beyond), and then works with the winery to facilitate them offering their wines through wine.woot.com (also providing fulfillment logistics support and acting as a liaison between us and the winery).

Is my user information shared with the winery?

Ultimately, yes. Since the winery is the seller of the wine, they (and Wine Country Connect) need this information to complete the sale and fulfill your order. We can’t imagine any problems arising from this, but if being on record somewhere as a wine-drinker bothers you, you may want to think twice about ordering.

What states can you ship to?

"We" ain't shipping jack. Wine.Woot is an advertising platform that connects consumers like you to wineries that want to sell their products directly to consumers. The wineries do the actual selling and shipping, and each winery operates under its own peculiar web of permits and statutes. So each Wine.Woot deal is posted with its own specific list of approved states. Be sure to check that list for details. If your state’s not on the list, no wine for you!

How long is shipment going to take?

You should get your wine in 2-3 weeks, often sooner. We know the wait is kind of a drag. But it’s still gonna taste good (maybe even better), and since we leave it to the wineries to get the wine to you, you can count on their experience to send their wine using their expert methodologies.

I’m under the age of 21 – can I order wine?

You know the old adage “there are no stupid questions”? Congratulatons, you’ve just proven it wrong. You have to be 21 or older to order, buy, or receive wine. No exceptions.

What if I’m not around to sign for the shipment?

If no one is home, the shipper (UPS and FEDEX) will generally attempt to deliver the package two more times, and leave a notification after the third attempt with a number for you to call to arrange delivery options. If none of that works, we’ll step in and contact you to resolve the sitchee-ation. We highly recommend using a business address when ordering, to ensure that a person aged 21 or over will be present to sign for this package (assuming you live in a state that allows a receptionist or receiving clerk to sign for it if you’re not available to receive it personally from the carrier, and the business isn’t staffed by teenagers).

What if I am visibly intoxicated when the package arrives?

You will not be allowed to receive it. Seriously. That’s the rule, fool. You’ve been advised.

Can I send wine as a gift?

Yes, as long as you and the person signing for and receiving the package are 21 years of age or older.

Fine Print (if not fine prose)

Winery is the seller of record. All state and federal laws are adhered to in the marketing of this wine.