A World Of Wine Discovery

If you're a food and wine enthusiast, exploring the world of artisan wines can be highly rewarding. Many small, award winning wine producers are not widely distributed. Their hand crafted wines are available only to the lucky few who live in, or vacation in wine country. But the emergence of the internet opens up a whole new vista for wine lovers, and these special wines are now available to anyone who lives in a state that allows consumers to receive direct shipments of wine.

If you're not sure where to begin, a web or eBay search for "limited production wine" or "artisan wine" will bring up a wealth of information about small wineries. Choose an appellation and winery that interests you, and branch out from there.

Tips to remember when purchasing wines via the internet:

• Feel free to ask the seller questions about the wine.
• Check that the seller can ship to your state.
• If the weather is very warm, and you're concerned that your wine may be damaged while sitting in a hot delivery truck, ask the seller if they can hold your wine until the temperature stabilizes.
• Note the appellation where the wine is grown and begin to explore more wines from that region. You're likely to find many other gems.
• Keep detailed notes about your wine adventures: where and when you made your purchase, the vineyard, the appellation, the vintage and your impressions of the wine.
• Remember that a good wine is a wine you enjoy, a great wine is a wine you love. 
• Most importantly, have fun discovering the diverse world of artisan wines.