Wine on the Way.com "in the House"

Or as Gigi would say, "... in the ___ house."

Adam and Gigi Chilvers are proprietors of www.wineontheway.com, a one-of-a-kind business in metro-Orlando-area wine retailing. Wine on the Way.com is a virtual business with 100% of its orders coming in either online or via telephone. The Wine on the Way business proposition is simple and easily explained. They sell 90+point wines that are delivered to customers by Fed Ex, if they are out of the area, or by Wine on the Way personnel if local. The wines they offer are primarily of domestic and South American origin and run the gamut in price from the low double digits to cult-acquisition digits (Most of the high-end domestic wines that I hold in my cellar have been sourced from Wine on the Way. In the interest of full disclosure it should be noted that Adam and Gigi are social friends of the author.).

Lack of brick and mortar facilities, and reduced inventory carrying costs, puts Wine on the Way at a competitive advantage vis a vis more traditional rivals and customers reap the benefits of those advantages. The company invariably has some breathtaking deals which are not advertised broadly on its website but is made available to members of its mailing list.

The company's web marketing revolves around top placement on winesearcher.com for specific wines as well as seeking high placement on national search engines for the business as a whole. The local marketing effort is much more direct. It consists of outfitting Gigi with killer sunglasses, putting her in a Smart car emblazoned with the Wine on the way logo and colorful wine bottles, and having her drive around town nibbling seductively on her fingernails. The lucky (targeted) customer also gets his/her wine delivered by Gigi.

It is very easy to do business with Wine on the Way. The website has one-click inventory display and ordering is a breeze. The technologically challenged has nothing to fear here. If you click on the category called Cabernet Sauvignon, you are able to scroll through all available Cabs. The number of labels offered is tightly focused on quality wines that they perceive will be of value to the customer. Adam and Gigi bring a welcome passion and focus to the business of virtual wine retailing.