At an amazing Canada Day celebration with my friends and colleagues this past summer, I was introduced to a luscious Shiraz and promptly made the mistake of recommending it to everyone at the gathering (the particular brand and year, I cannot divulge, for reasons you will discover below). They all loved it, as it tasted great and was perfectly paired with the lamb and steak on offer.

The next weekend, eager to repeat the experience with my new favourite vino, I headed to my local liquor store. I rocked up to the vintages section, but noticed a foreboding gap where my wine should have been. When the clerk told me they were sold out, I could hardly believe my ears. I had been purchasing wine for over three years and not once was my preferred bottle not on offer. I was just beginning to wonder how this could be happening, when the cashier explained that since the national holiday, the wine I sought had been going like gangbusters.

A loyal customer of this chain establishment, I hit the subway and took a trip north to one of the biggest outlets in the city. They had to have it – I was certain. As I sat on the subway, I anticipated stocking up at my next destination. I wouldn’t be caught empty handed again! But to my great distress, I discovered the second store was sold out as well. How unfair! I had tried to spread the Shiraz-love far and wide, and all I got was the short end of the stick.

Dejected, I purchased six Bud Light Limes (the marketing blitz won me over!) and I headed home to sulk and polish off my second-rate alternatives. As I chucked the last can into the recycling bin, I narrowly missed my laptop computer. Google happened to be open on the browser. It was divine intervention: I realized the internet was my solution. I started searching for my favourite wine and came across a few different online wine retailers: Hemispheres Wine Guild (hemisphereswine.ca), Opimian (opim.ca) and B&W Wines (bwwines.com).

I’ve now experimented with a few different orders. All in all, purchasing wine on the internet has made my life much less stressful and I get my wines delivered straight to my door. I just log on, put in my order, and within a few days, it arrives.

Not only do these web sites carry the wines I love, but they’ve educated me as a wine consumer, and opened my eyes (and palate) to many wines not available at my highly regulated local retailer. And not to worry, I haven’t completely abandoned my liquor store, either. It’s still great for spirits and liqueurs, and of course, to purchase my new favourite lime-flavoured light beer. •