Cheers Virgin! (virginwines.com)

Member Name: indychick_uk

Product:	virginwines.com
Date:	12/11/01 (80 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great selection & Special Offers, Money back if you don't like it, Very efficient & easy to use site

Disadvantages: My case never seems to last very long, I think the wine evaporates....

If you like wine - you'll love this site. Virgin Wine have over 1700 bottles of wine on offer (apparantly) and these range from Australian whites for less than a fiver to premium champagnes for about £50.

The only drawback (if it is one) is that they only sell in full cases (ie 12 bottles) however, unlike other wine merchants, these can be mixed cases so you don't have to buy 12 bottles of the same wine (unless you want to of course).

The site looks very trendy and has the typical "Virgin" brand look. It's clear, uncluttered and easy to navigate with big tabs across the top of each screen to take you to "My Home Page", "Recommendations for Me", "Mixed Cases", "My Cellar""Wine Zone Magazine", "My Shopping Basket" and "Gifts". These personalised tabs make the whole site seem very friendly and as if it's there just for you.

There are several really good ideas on this site to help you select that perfect case of wine. The first is the "Wine Wizard", this works by asking, you a series of questions about the types of wines you like and dislike once done the system mixes you three different cases. The first is a "play it safe" case full of the types of wines you have indicated that you like, no surprises here. The second is a "try something a little different" a mixture of wines you already like and wines that are a little different to what you might have tried before but still in the same ballpark. The third case is a "wildcard" if you fancy trying things you would never have thought of drinking.

Once completed the wines that Virgin reckon you'll like, based on these answers, will be shown in "My Recommendations" each time you enter the site.

The Wine Wizard can be improved by use of another feature, the ratings section. Click on "My Cellar" and you'll find listed
all the wines you've ever ordered from them (that cn be quite scary actually) and, if you remember, you can go in and rate them and type some comments. This is great if you're like me and forever thinking, "this wine is fab, must remember it next time I'm buying a bottle". As long as you go type in your thoughts straight away you can build yourself a very good little wine reference page of your likes & dislikes.

In addition to the recommendations for your persoanl case, Virgin have a good range of ready-mixed cases for which they give a little description and an idea of the situation they may be suited for, recent cases include a "Christams Survival Kit" case and a "2001 Wines of the Year".

Alternatively you can just browse through the site randomly and pick out a case of wine for yourself.

Whatever you decide to buy, the ordering process is very simple and the steps in the process are shown along the left hand side of the screen so you can see where you are in the process and how many steps are left.

You can also order wine as a gift for someone and Virgin will deliver it to them with a personal message from you - very handy for Christmas (particularly if you'll be visiting the recipient over Christmas and so will get to taste the wine you bought!)

I was introduced to the site last year when I opened a Virgin One account and was given a voucher for a discount on a case of wine - it was the first of many I've bought. The service is very efficient and all the cases I've ordered have arrived within 3 days - even just before Christmas. They will leave the case outside your house or in a secure place of your choosing and guarantee that if it's nicked off your doorstep they will replace it foc. They also guarantee the wine and if you don't like it you don't pay.

This actually is true. I received a bottle in a case a few months back which, when I tast
ed it, was horrible. My hubby actually thought it was alright but to me it tasted synthetic. I e-mailed Virgin and said that it had eben recommended by the "Wine Wizard" but I didn't like it. Without any quibbles they immediately credited my account with the cost of that bottle.

An additional feature (for which you have to pay a small subscription) is their wine club. I joined this last year as I got a year's subscription free with my One Account but I'll definitely be renewing the subscription. As a member you get special offers, news about new wines and (most importantly) a 13th bottle free with every case ordered.

I'd recommend the site unreservedly to anyone who loves wine and anyone who wants to learn to love it.

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