I Just Ordered a Bottle of Wine While Sitting at My Computer

At long last the future of wine buying finally lands in the Great White North.

If you’re someone who’s into wine, you’re probably a frequent visitor to numerous American-based websites (Wine Access and Garagiste are my faves) and they’re great if you don’t mind paying a mere 118% duty on top of the the currency exchange difference. I mean who doesn’t want to pay an extra $30 on a $20 bottle of wine, right? That’s the dog’s breakfast you get served for caring about wine in one of the worst jurisdictions in North America to be an oenophile.But thankfully there are always a few brave souls who’ll push that rock up the hill, day after day, and a few of them have gotten together and launched New District, a brand new way for you to buy wine. Here’s how it works. Log on to newdistrict.ca, browse the  150+ wines on offer from a very well-edited selection of BC wineries, read the tasting notes, click on the bottles you like and then breeze through a very streamlined checkout process.  I actually went through the process today (full disclosure, I had $40 to blow any way I saw fit) and it was a snap. The only difficulty was choosing the wine—my short list included the Syrah from CC Jentsch, the Syrah from Nichol, a super rare Chasselas from Corcelettes, a Tempranillo from Stag’s Hollow. The commonality was that this was well regarded wine that’s normally pretty tough to get your hands on. The prices are good if you’re ordering from BC and excellent if you’re used to the Alberta mark-up on BC wine.The main shortcoming is that for now, if you’re in the mood for a Barolo, you’re out of luck. It’s just BC wine for the time being, but this is baby steps time. That the site exists is a major move forward and the user interface (I feel like a nerd for even typing that phrase) and the selection make this the most promising development in wine buying for a long while (and yes I’m including being able to buy wine at a single Save On Foods in White Rock). PS – I Bought Le Vieux Pin’s Cuvee Violette Syrah – a steal at $28.90.