LCBO Launches eCommerce: Buy Wine Online

Many said it would never happen, but in a couple of weeks, the LCBO will be launching their eCommerce site and people in Ontario will be able to buy their wine online.

(Wait a minute. You mean we’re finally going to be able to shop for wine as conveniently as we shop for a pair of pants? Yes! But did you know that you already CAN order wine online in Ontario? Whaaat.)

As industry folks in the know, your kwäf wine team has been sniffing out the best wine deals for flash wine sales and wine clubs with convenient home delivery since 2013. Now that the LCBO is diving into ecommerce with the new shopLCBO.com, we thought we’d take a peek at what the LCBO site will offer. Here's our top 6 of what you can look forward to:

1. Wine Deals - there will be a weekly flash wine sale. These will be paid placements for wineries, not necessarily a curated selection of the best wines. But, a deal is a deal, right?
2. Home Delivery - yes, seems obvious, but it's not to the LCBO. They think that 80% of you will want to have your wine orders shipped to your local LCBO and pickup from there. Home wine delivery will set you back $12 (non-refundable) and could take up to 4 weeks, depending on what you've ordered. If you do opt to pick up in store, that could still take up to 7 weeks!
3. Wine Selection - to start you will essentially just be able to order wine products that are available in the LCBO stores. But they will have a few online exclusive wines to buy.
4. Vintages Wine Release - the LCBO will offer residual stock from their Vintages Release program.  So, you'll get the leftovers of the stuff that doesn't sell in stores.
5. Mobile Enabled - The LCBO is touting this as an 'interactive customer experience.' Read, the site is intended to work for mobile wine buying.
6. Minimum $50 Order - That's right - you must order a minimum of $50 of product.

So there you have it. The pool of wine available for purchase online is about to get a bit deeper and we're here to help you keep your head above the water—and with a glass of the best wine in hand.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to indicate correct delivery pricing and timing, as well as minimum order value.