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The fact is, there are several ways to get information about wine. One of the more reliable is to get on the subscription lists of several magazines and wine journals, and hunt through them looking for wines that look good to you. But do you really have the time to read through the thousands of reviews each year? So many of them are for wines that aren’t rated high enough to warrant a purchase, and many more are produced in such small lots that you’re chances of actually finding a bottle to purchase are slim.

The Wine PocketList is different.

We’re focused only on highly rated wines that have a recommended retail price of $30 a bottle and less. We try to include only those wines that have a production run of 1000 cases or more, so at least bottles make it to retail. And we gather this information from the top wine journals and periodicals in the United States and Canada, as well as through reviews from our advisory board tasting panel.

We don’t take advertising or sponsorships from any wineries or other wine industry participants. So we make our money by consistently providing unbiased, comprehensive data on the best wines and the best wine values to our subscribers.

Convinced? Subscribe now.
Not Convinced? Read on…

Online Wine Database: Our online database contains listings of thousands of current reviews for highly rated wines. Each month, we add hundreds of new wines that fit the critera, all of which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Search and save only the wines you want – Compile a list of A+ Chardonnays for Under $20, or All Merlots, or Widely Available Oregon Pinot Noirs. Whatever your interest, you can specify and organize your lists by varietal, composite grade, country, price and availability, and build the best wine list for you.

Your own “Virtual Cellar”: Once you’ve searched the database for wines that fit your criteria, you can save these lists in your Virtual Cellar. Name each search (like “Buy-by-the-Case Cabernet” or “Bargain Bordeaux”) and save it for future reference. You can save as many lists as you want, all built according to your personal taste.

Personalized shopping lists: At any time, you can print your own shopping lists from your Virtual Cellar, straight from your search results. Formatted to print easily, and sorted by your preference, your shopping list makes it simple to make wine purchase decisions in stores, at restaurants or online.

Where we get our information: The Wine PocketList compiles its scores from wines reviewed, rated and published in the following publications, as well as exclusive tastings and recommendations from our advisory board.

– Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine
– International Wine Cellar
– Wine Access
– Wine Advocate
– Wine and Spirits
– Wine Enthusiast
– Wine News
– Wine Spectator

Every day, every month, every quarter, we scour these publications and update our database with every wine—$30 and under—that’s been reviewed. Then we weight, grade and store the information, until any given wine achieves a score high enough to become part of the Wine PocketList.

Our existing subscribers and the media: Have a look at the quotes down the right hand side of this page, or check out the full text of articles written about the Wine PocketList.

Our history: Founded in 1994, the Wine PocketList is the brainchild of John L. Vankat, PhD, professor and avid wine enthusiast. After years of poring over wine publications for favorably reviewed wines and compiling wine prices and lists of anything well reviewed by multiple publications (especially at a good price), he had so many friends asking for copies of his wine lists that John launched a business.

After years of refinement, the Wine PocketList went from print to digital in late 2002 to give our subscribers the added benefits of a robust database with search and sort criteria.

As we described in answer to question #1, we believe that the Wine PocketList provides a better value than any other alternative. If you think otherwise, we’d love to hear from you. Of course, we also know you can get tons of free information by searching the Web. But how can you tell the good from the bad? And if you can, how do you compare what you find, store what you’ve learned, and actually use it to consistently find great wines? In short, the information we publish isn’t available in this form anywhere else, for any price, on the Web or off.

An individual, annual online subscription costs $49. We also offer a three month trial version for $14.95 in case you’d like to try it for a shorter period.
Of course, you’ll be the ultimate judge of what constitutes good value. But we think it’s a great deal. If you were to subscribe to all the periodicals and newsletters we review, you’d spend hundreds of dollars and countless hours and still fall far short of the knowledge we offer with a simple click of your mouse.
If you’d like to get your wine ratings in a book format, you can buy our annual book, the Wine PocketList 2004 Wine Buying Guide for $13.99.

Absolutely. Our “30 day no questions asked, full refund cheerfully returned” policy guarantees your investment, while the Wine PocketList ensures your enjoyment. For years our subscribers have written to us with stories of how the Wine PocketList has helped them build up their wine cellars with amazing finds, increased their knowledge of wine, and saved the money they used to spend on mediocre or overpriced bottles. So, we’re confident that you’re going to enjoy using the Wine PocketList.

Ok. Then consider the following, which are free:
Free Monthly Newsletter: Sign up for VinConnections, and you’ll get 20 great wines rated in your mailbox every month. Click Here to Subscribe »
Free Search: Try a few trial searches on us. See if you come up with the wines that you expect. You may be surprised. Click Here to Search for Wines »
Free Book Excerpt: Look inside the Wine PocketList 2004 Wine Buying Guide and see if our book is more suitable for you. Click Here to Learn More About Our Book »