Wine.com Announces Top 100 List

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - 12/5/2007

Wine.com, the nation's #1 online wine retailer, has announced the Wine.com 100, the industry's first top 100 list based entirely on customer preferences. The ranking reflects the top 2% of wines sold nationally on Wine.com during 2007, based on unit volume. See www.wine.com/100 for the complete list.

"We wanted our first-ever top 100 list to be unique," said Rich Bergsund, Wine.com CEO. "Many publications rank wines based on the opinions of their wine critics. We wanted our customers to be the judge, voting with their wallets to determine the Wine.com 100."

Both professional ratings and customer reviews played a role in the best-seller list. Eighty-four wines are rated 90 points or higher by industry periodicals, such as Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (18), Wine & Spirits (18), Wine Enthusiast (15) and Wine Spectator (8). In addition, 91 wines have customer reviews on the Wine.com website. Seventy-five wines are priced at $20 or below.

"When a wine has the combination of strong customer reviews, a 90 point score from an independent source and a reasonable price, you can be pretty confident it's a good bottle," said Bergsund. "Our customers have figured this out, and the Wine.com 100 is a reflection of this."

Red wine represents 75% of the top 100, led by Cabernet Sauvignon (18), red wine blends (17), Syrah (10), Malbec (5), Pinot Noir (5) and Merlot (5). Of the 17 white wines, Chardonnay (6) and Sauvignon Blanc (5) were the front runners.

In contrast with most U.S. wine retailers, where on average 25% of wine sold is imported, the Wine.com 100 contains 60 imported wines. While California is the leading region with 29 wines, eight other countries are represented, led by Australia (18), Spain (12), Chile (7), France (6), Italy (6), and Argentina (6).

"Our customers are more comfortable trying imports when they hear good things from others in the Wine.com community and they see a good historical ratings pedigree," said Mike Osborn, Wine.com founder. "But brands also matter, with big names such as Silver Oak, Caymus, Veuve Clicquot, Jordan, Rombauer, Grgich Hills and Conundrum making the list."

Like many year-end rankings, market availability can be a challenge. "Customers liked these wines so much, half of them are sold out and gone forever," said Osborn. "But we do have limited quantities of the other half, and in many cases we've bought into the next vintage. We're excited to offer our customers convenient access to these great wines."