Selling wine online is worth it for most UK wineries, but not always for the reason people expect. Your online shop is less about finding strangers and more about keeping the people who've already visited, tasted and liked your wine. It lets them reorder, join your club and book your next event without making the trip.

This article covers what an online shop does for a winery, how it fits with the cellar door and the club, and what you need to get started. For the wider picture of selling direct, see what is DTC wine?

Online works best alongside the cellar door

In the 2026 SVB direct-to-consumer report, internet and web sales made up just 6% of US wineries' direct revenue. The club and the tasting room did most of the work.

That doesn't make online unimportant. It means most people buy online from wineries they already know. Someone who visits in the summer and loved the sparkling wine wants to order a case at Christmas. Without a shop, that sale goes to a supermarket or doesn't happen at all.

The benefits of selling wine online

Visitors become repeat customers

Most cellar door visitors live too far away to pop back. An online shop turns a one-off visit into an ongoing relationship: they can reorder whenever they like, and you can remind them when a new vintage arrives.

Better margins than the trade

When you sell to a distributor or retailer, each of them takes a share of the price. Selling online, you set the retail price and keep the difference, less shipping, packaging and payment fees. Price with those costs in mind, and try not to rely on discounts to drive sales.

You own the customer data

A retailer won't tell you who bought your wine. Your own shop does: who bought what, how often, and whether they also visit or belong to the club. That's how you invite the right people to a tasting, offer members a release first, or notice when a regular goes quiet.

A home for your wine club

Members need somewhere to sign up, update their details and manage their shipments. When the club runs on the same system as the shop, members can skip a shipment or add a few extra bottles themselves, and every order lands on the same customer record. See how to start a wine club and our guide to wine club software.

Sell what the trade won't take

Small-batch cuvées, library vintages, magnums and mixed cases rarely suit a retailer's shelf. Online, they're often the most popular things you sell.

Sell tickets as well as bottles

Tastings, tours and dinners can be sold through the same checkout as your wine, with priority or member pricing for club members.

Open around the clock

Your cellar door keeps opening hours. Your shop doesn't. People often decide to buy wine in the evening or at the weekend, and a shop means you don't miss that moment.

What you need to sell wine online in the UK

  • A premises licence. In England and Wales, selling alcohol online needs a premises licence covering where the wine is sold and dispatched from. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems.
  • Age verification. Check age at checkout, and use a courier that checks on delivery.
  • Shipping that protects your margin. Use packaging made for bottles and a courier that carries alcohol, and decide whether to charge for delivery or build it into your prices.
  • A shop that fits your website. You don't need to rebuild your website to sell from it. You can add a shop to the website you already have.

Our guide to DTC wine goes into licensing, duty and shipping in more detail.

One system, not a patchwork

The mistake many wineries make is adding an online shop as yet another separate tool. The shop runs on one platform, the club on a plugin, the till on something else, and the same customer ends up as three different records.

Selling online works best when the shop, the club and your events share one customer record. That's what Marzipan is built for, on a flat monthly fee with no cut of your sales.

Common questions

Is it worth selling wine online for a small winery?

Usually, yes. Even a small shop lets visitors reorder and gives your club a home. Most of the sales come from people who already know your wine, so you don't need a big marketing budget to make it pay.

Do I need a licence to sell wine online in the UK?

Yes. In England and Wales, selling alcohol online counts as selling alcohol, so you need a premises licence covering where the wine is sold and dispatched from. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems.

Do I need a new website to sell wine online?

No. You can add products, a cart and a checkout to the website you already have.

Photo by John Murzaku on Unsplash