Online shopping up and running

I've had a website for my wine importing business for more than a year, but with the addition of a retail liquor licence in April, I cracked the whip on a friend to set up online shopping on that site.

The idea isn't to undercut the retailers who support my producers, but to offer consumers the wines that aren't being offered anywhere else, such as very small allocations, bin ends, and very rare wines that might not otherwise find a home at a full retail price.

The store is up and running now, although improvements will continue to be made. I've finished adjusting prices and adding reviews to the product descriptions, and my friend has taken bottle shots and hopes to upload them this weekend.

Ideally I would like orders in straight dozens because then I don't need to handle the wine, reducing the cost of time and the chance of breakages. But in reality orders can be one bottle of each wine up to a minimum order of six bottles of champagne or 12 bottles of wine.

This gives people the opportunity to mix and match, try all sorts of new styles and producers, or share a sampler pack with friends.

I will probably tweak discounts from time to time and offer special trial packs, but for now you can enter the word "dozen" at the checkout stage to receive a 10% discount on the total order. Remember, many of these items are already at a lower price than retail, so the savings are substantial.

Payment is via direct deposit, so you place your order, await email confirmation and an invoice, pay the account and then wait for the mailman with your delivery. Postage rates are very reasonable to the eastern metropolitan areas but a little steeper to SA and WA. Order four dozen or more and we will waive the fee altogether. Insurance is available at $2.80 per $100 value.

Meanwhile, Terra Wines has made a great start to distribution in WA and Eurocentric wines will soon start to grace the wine lists of several restaurants and wine bars, as well as the shelves of adventurous retailers.

I will soon be hitting the road to Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide to try to improve the takeup rate in those areas. Whether I make it to Europe in time for the German riesling auctions -- where the best wines of the 2008 vintage will be shown and sold -- depends on whether I see a sudden influx of orders and payments.

I'd certainly like to be there to try the cream of the crop, to finalise orders from the big Eurocentric team in Germany, to visit a new Champagne producer, catch up with the latest from Burgundy and to meet one of the leaders from the resurgent Beaujolais wine scene.