Over the past 15 years, the Internet has exploded and pretty much become a necessity in our everyday lives. We used to call people from our only phone in the house to catch up on recent events and news. Paper mail was used to send cards to wish people Happy Birthday or Merry Christmas. The library was an important public resource as we used to go there to reference a subject we were interested in.

Shopping was all done on foot by physically walking into stores and browsing products, trying clothes on to see if they fit, taking the goods to the register to purchase and generally paying with cash. While some of these things still remain part of our lives, the Internet has changed how we do day to day things dramatically. Could you now live without email for more than a week or two (and no, being on vacation doesn’t count!)?

The shopping side of our lives is slowly changing, such is the world of “comfort from our own homes” online shopping. The wine industry is no different in this world of online shopping, although it has been a little slower to catch on than a lot of other industries.

The main difference between the wine industry and most other industries is the sheer volume of product choice. Walk in to a bottle shop and about 50% or more of the floor space is taken up by wine, such is the product range. This adds a certain complexity to the online wine world.

With this in mind, there are many choices of different online wine stores. There are literally hundreds of stores offering an almost exclusive range of wine, and some at a very exclusive price. So what is the easiest ways to tell the better ones from the not so good ones?

Therein lies the ultimate question and one which could be asked of any industry on the internet. The most important thing with any online store is security. The most important part of any online store is what’s referred to as the digital certificate. This certificate encrypts (or digitally jumbles up) any information that is sent between the person buying and the store so that unsavory people cannot read the important information as its being sent across the internet.

How can I be sure a store has a digital certificate? At the time of purchase (especially when you are entering credit card details), the web site address should change from http:// to https://. If you get to any screen on the internet that is asking for credit card details and the web site address doesn’t start with https://, do not buy from that store. Don’t buy from a store that doesn’t have this type of security as its putting your personal information at risk. It’s not the store that can’t be trusted, its people on the net that target stores like this to “listen in on” and steal your information.

If you stick to that one golden rule in relation to security on the internet, you will be well on your way to enjoying your shopping experience with online wine stores without the worry of somebody “looking over your shoulder”.

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Food & Drink