Art of The Deal

Maybe a bit of a Random Question! What is your secret to getting deals on great wine?

Basically, are there any hacks you know of!
Looking for new ideas:)

  • nate

You’re going to want to check out the wine deals threads of which there are many ongoing. Probably a quarter of the 20 most recent threads relate to deals!

Be born a long time ago.
Know somebody ITB.
Learn the difference between “cheap”, and a great deal.
Know our own tastes. A great deal is useless to you if you don’t like the wine.
Accept that 99% of “great deals” are just a bit below market price.
Decide if great deals are more important than great drinking experiences.
If you don’t know somebody ITB, at least find a mentor who is willing to take the time to understand your tastes. (Come to think of it, that will probably be someone ITB unless you are extremely lucky.)

There are no can’t miss deals. You can always walk away. There will be other wines. IMO most wine deals from merchants, no matter how eye-popping the headline discount, are pretty mediocre. There’s usually a reason why the wine has sat without buyers

Conversely, always be mentally ready for opportunities that present themselves. I have a preset list of wines where if they show up in a certain price range I buy straight away. Priming oneself in this manner can be a pretty helpful exercise

Wine Searcher can help you benchmark but it can be misleading. Having relationships and connections is most important. The market is very efficient due to the internet.

Well said.

I think trying to get a fair deal for wine you want to have is the goal I pursue now. For specific tactics, I check the Costco thread, WTSO thread, Envoyer, and the Wine Access / best coupons threads. Also (unfortunately) get far too many emails. However, sifting through the emails, there are fair / good deals to be had when I see a wine I want to get at a price that seems fair.

Use the $50 off $150 coupons where it makes sense to get a great deal, some that I target are:

2018 Geyserville for $45-$50 at wine.com with a $50 off $150; ~ $30 / bottle shipped.

Bollinger for $60 = $40 / bottle, shipped

Happy hunting!

Here is an interesting one restaurants and the higher end the better typically underprice riesling. Somms love it and I don’t think it sells much so it just sits there. I had the 5 course lunch in the Salon at Per Se just so I could enjoy the view and drink Keller G-Max at half retail. I am not cheap and the only reason I did the 5 course is I don’t particularly love the food at Per Se.

Develop relationships with sources, and remember that relationships go both ways. Treat them well. Be understanding and patient. Be willing to take some lesser bottlings from highly allocated producers in order to get the “gems” - often those lesser items will make you very happy. Listen to their recommendations. Don’t haggle with them over a couple bucks here or there. Don’t take advantage. It will pay off over time.

Maybe I don’t appreciate wine enough or I am too new to the “passion” but is a few hundred off a $900 bottle a wine a good deal?

+1

Umm…Berserker Day

+1

You can get good deals at the auctions but as someone above mentioned you need to walk away if the price goes over your “good deal” price. I keep an eye on wines I’m interested in and set a limit of ~25% below WSP low price, including auction fees. I don’t put a bid in if it’s higher and I only put the bid in once, right as the auction is closing. If someone’s put in a higher price and gets the wine, so be it. Otherwise I sometimes get the wine at my deal price or lower. I’ll usually set a reminder for 5-10 minutes before the auction closes so I can get logged in on my computer or phone.

Good tip! Didn’t realize the pricing was so good

Spend time on Winebid and be willing to buy not so prominent makers from great regions and great vintages. We have had some spectacular, aged gems for $10-$30.

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I m not native English speaking, so not sure what the meaning of “deal” is exactly … a business with a certain advantage?

If you would like to have a 900 € bottle, and find it - in good condition - for 600, I think it might be a deal.
When it s cooked or oxidized it wasn t a good deal …

Great advice. And concentrate your purchases amongst a few sources who sell the type of wines you most want.

There are no can’t miss deals. You can always walk away. There will be other wines. IMO most wine deals from merchants, no matter how eye-popping the headline discount, are pretty mediocre.

Can’t say I agree. $7.00 2007 Prum wines was an easy how many cases do you have left? 2004 Andrea Oberto Barolo Vigneto Albarella for $14.00 a bottle. Back up the truck.

It depends on where you live. For some reason Minneapolis has some of the best closeout/ move them out wine deals in the country.

The first step to getting a good deal is identifying a good deal. To do this you need to know where the market is and where it’s likely to go.

Good deals present themselves everywhere: allocation lists, auctions, retailers, commerce corner / personal trades, restaurants - you just have to be aware.

Places where I’ve found deals:

  1. I am on a couple lists where I get below market pricing on a couple labels. I got on there through a combination of waiting and cultivating relationships

  2. I regularly scour auctions for good pricing. This can take a lot of time but it’s fun and works out something like 1 in 25 lots I bid on hit (I typically bid well south of best pricing)

  3. I work closely with a few retailers who get allocation of wine I like and, through buying a good amount, I get better pricing and access.

  4. I’ve had good luck on commerce corner. Not every offer is a super deal but many are.

  5. Some restaurants, like Robert mentioned, sell wine at great prices.

I would guess, first, have a prepared mind. Next, search a lot. Then, when you find an excelllent deal on great wine–which should happen rarely–go big. But before you do the latter, ask yourself why this deal exists in the first place. There should be a good answer to that question, otherwise, it may be fool’s gold.

There are other ways too like developing relationships with people who have cellars…it’s probably best to develop your own approach to match your skills and any edge you can bring to the game.