Benchmark Wine Group

To anyone reading this, I apologize for the length of my review in advance. I purchase A LOT of wine annually, with Benchmark being one of my largest suppliers. I have noticed some of the negative reviews, however my experiences have been nothing but positive. Over the years I have had a few bad bottles - mostly when I first began purchasing from them. When that occurred several years ago they did exactly what they said they would do and gave me a full credit when I sent the bottles back to them, no questions asked. No one wants to purchase a bad bottle, so I have become more careful about the vintages, the conditions, and the wineries themselves. I have found that the older the bottle the more risk there is regardless of where it comes from, and some wineries and type of wines seem to have more issues than others. That being said, when making an expensive purchase I have actually called Benchmark and asked that they take a look at the actual bottle for me, or even shoot me a picture of it and the cork if I think it could be a particularly risky purchase. A little due diligence goes a long way. For those of you who have not actually been to Benchmark's facility, let me tell you that it's huge and there are a lot of people there, so connecting with the right person or people can make a difference as well. Ken Finch is my salesperson, and he really does a great job - not pushy and doesn't bother me at all, however when I call or email him, he is very responsive. Doing most of my business with them online and through email, working with Stephanie Snowder has been my go-to person at Benchmark. Stephanie is a Client Relations Representative, and she is exceptional at making sure that all of my custom requests happen the way I need them to, which is truly appreciated. I am very particular - not only about the wines I buy, but the shipping company used as well as scheduling the exact dates I need the bottles shipped so they arrive on the exact date I need them, as well as managing the several locations that I request she ship to depending on time of year due to weather conditions and outside temperatures. Because of this, I have always considered myself a bit of a pain in the rear customer, and Stephanie is always happy to help and makes all of my interactions with Benchmark effortless. I highly recommend Benchmark and the people I work with. Regardless of who you work with, I would recommend getting to know the people there so they can properly assist you with your own unique purchases. I took the time to do so and have had nothing but an exceptional experience since.

I've ordered perhaps 30 different times (~ $130k) from Benchmark Wine Group since 2022, and have only had the most pleasant experience with them. The expertise they show in helping customers with their needs, and the quality of service provided by their logistics/shipping department have proven dependable through and through. Not only does BWG have great service, but their prices are very competitive, and the available inventory is difficult to match by any other retailer. Benchmark is truly my most-trusted source for wines.

Without a doubt the best wine store in the country. I do all of my purchasing online with them and they have been spectacular. They not only have one of the largest selections of wine in the county but also some of the best Prices. They have everything have everything for the budget buyer as well as the wine aficionado. The staff is extremely friendly and knowledgeable and respond very quickly to emails. A majority of the staffers are certified sommeliers and are able to give recommendations based on your preferences. I have personally dealt with sommelier Reeny. She has helped me put together my collection is a mixture of great value wines and stuff that I will hold onto for that special occasion. My knowledge of wine has been greatly improved by my conversations with her. She has never steered me wrong. Give benchmark a try, you will not be disappointed.

I have been using them for years and they are great to work with. Olivia, Kara and stephanie are all very helpful and very responsive.

I have purchased wine here since 2013. I noticed over time prices increased to mid range compared to other distributors. I always accepted the increase in price because I associated Benchmark with another level of quality. They sold me a corked bottle of 95 Lafitte. I purchased it in 2021 for approximately 975.00. I opened the bottle in February 2024 and it was corked. The sommelier at the restaurant also confirmed. Benchmark quoted their policy of returns applicable only to 6 months after purchase. There was also no offer for a discount on a future purchase of wine with them. I would recommend seeking wine purchases elsewhere. I have developed relationships with other distributors/smaller operators and they stand by their quality.

I've head great experience! Big selection, ordered wine arrived quickly & safely.

Ordered three bottles at an average price of $200 per bottle. Seven days later I haven't received so much as "we got your order, shipping soon" email. Now 9 days later I have yet to get a tracking number for shipping. Just terrible customer service. Will not order here again.

Friendly and helpful staff for an order pickup. This is not a retail store.

I've been buying wine from Benchmark for the past few years. Admittedly, I don't purchase a ton from them - I've probably purchased 2-3 cases total over the past 5 years - and I'm local-ish, so I always pick up from their warehouse in Napa, so my experience may not be equivalent to many others. I've also yet to come across a flawed bottle so I haven't put their "provenance guarantee" to the test. Still, I've had nothing but pleasant experiences purchasing wine from BWG. Their pricing tends to be very competitive, if not the best in the area, and they've got a huge selection, including a lot of older vintages that are harder to find. I've interacted with their staff via email as well as in person and everyone has been pleasant to work with. That being said, I think there are some opportunities to make improvements. 1. When ordering for pick up, I believe there's a calendar for you to select a date. I often miss this so I wish they would just send an email that your order is ready for pickup. I placed an order recently, got busy with work, and totally forgot about it - which is 100% my fault - but I never received any notification from them beyond the order confirmation. 2. I wish there was an option to hold the wines and slowly build out a case (or two). More often than not, I am not in a hurry to pick up the wines and although we live somewhat close to their warehouse, it's not convenient to make multiple trips out during the weekday when I've got to work. Having this option would motivate me to purchase more wine from them more often to fill out that case and I would know the wines would be properly stored until such time as I did fill out the case and was ready to pick up. 3. It would be awesome if they offered free shipping on a case, even if that offer was limited to Northern California only. In conjunction with (2) above, I would be more inclined to spend more money having the convenience of UPS/FedEx dropping off the case to my home. 4. I wish they were open on Saturdays, even if limited hours. It'd be much more convenient for pick ups. Overall, I'm happy enough with BWG. If they have a wine I'm looking to acquire at a good price, I won't hesitate to order from them. With some improvements though, I would be more likely to come to them as my first option when purchasing wine rather than just on a case by case basis when they happen to have something I'm looking for.

The nicest, most upright wine group I've come across. They work with you not just for themselves. I trust them, which is important in buying and selling expensive wines. That is a rare quality these days in business. Problems the few people had with them (that almost all eventually were resolved to their satisfaction by Benchmark employees) are just that-- problems of a very small number of people. My interactions with them involving almost 300 bottles were all easy and smooth.

Terrible, awful website. Took many attempts to get through it to put in an order. The age verification screen requires you to go backwards by hitting an arrow, no way to direct enter. Had to hit the arrow 795 times to get to my age.

I wish I had read the Yelp reviews before ordering from them for the first time. I buy a lot of wine and use other merchants but I searched online for a Bordeaux that I have consumed many times in France and England and Benchmark had it. Anyway, still waiting for my delivery which should comfortably have arrived by now and hoping it's not sitting in a non-temp controlled Arizona warehouse or somewhere...

Wine were in excellent condition, price is right smooth transaction and pick up, will use it again

Their "provenance guarantee" is not actually a serviceable guarantee. I've been trying for over 5 weeks to return a flawed bottle, only because it's not the first flawed bottle I've received from them so I figure at some point I'd take them up on their "guarantee". They've repeatedly dropped the ball, losing emails, misplacing records, being too busy to return phone calls. Two weeks ago they finally sent me a return box but the return label was printed out with my address, not their address - the return address. I wish I had never even started a return, I have wasted so much time but now it is personal and I must see it through. At this point the wine is probably pure vinegar and so the cork taint they intend to confirm maybe not even be recognizable. The moral of the story is that no-one in management seems to have the power to exercise executive discretion and just credit the measly value to my account. Though it this point I probably won't buy more wine from them just on principle. Bummer because I have a had some great gems from them in the past few years. It seems to be corporate red tape bureaucracy run amok at the expense of their clients. Thankfully their is plenty of wine in the sea!

UPDATE - after being told multiple times that only one of the seven bad bottles would be refunded, my friend escalated to the customer service manager who immediately offered full value store credit or full refund for all defective bottles. While ultimately Benchmark did the right thing, it's a shame that it took multiple emails and calls to rectify their obvious mistake. However, I'm not changing the rating due to this fact and that they sold obviously bad product.

I take my wine (and its shipping!) incredibly seriously, and Benchmark did a very fine job. I bought 6 bottles (including a magnum) before the summertime, and they happily held the order for me during the summer months until the temperatures were safe to ship east. It was temperature-controlled from the point of origin until it reached my local carrier. There was good e-mail communication with the staff throughout, accommodating my request to adjust shipping dates, and the wines were packed extremely well for the journey, each one was individually bubble-wrapped inside the styrofoam shipper. I found some good deals and would happily shop again from this merchant. Recommended.

Good selection and prices. Terrible customer service, shipping, and communication. Don't buy nice stuff from them.

Two weeks and still waiting to ship, they blame weather (BS) Multiple Unanswered emails $55 fedex charge to ship 2 bottles Avoid them. Not worth the hassle

Terrible shipping. I paid an exorbitant fee for standard overnight shipping as this was a special gift for a birthday. It took 2 days before the label was printed at FedEx, another 6 days before FedEx received the shipment for delivery and then another 2 days before delivery is expected. What a con. Paid for overnight (optimistically expecting 2-3 days) and it has so far taken 10 days (assuming it arrives tomorrow). Won't bother using these guys again.

I ordered 6 bottle of Chateau Haut-Brion 2018 in June 2022. I was told to expect the shipping on a particular day in June which was the start of cool period. I paid extra for temperature controlled transportation to the east coast with the understanding that the last short leg would not be temperature controlled. The bottle were NOT sent on the day promised (it turns out the wooden box was sent on that day but not the wine). As a result my wine arrived on a searingly hot 90 degree day. I immediately took the temperature of the bottles and they were above 80 degrees. RUINED. I called the company but they provided no real help. So basically I get to spend thousands of dollars on what is now vinegar because of their sales people getting the wrong date. I apparently have no recourse. I spend about $20k a year on wine, but I will not be using Benchmark again.

Tried to order an expensive bottle of wine there. Credit card charge went through just fine but they contacted me claiming my billing address was wrong (it was not) and asked for a photo ID with a *billing* address on it, which is moronic because I certainly don't have an ID that shows it (my ID has an address where I live, not the billing address, which is different). Never had such a weird request before, so I declined because it looked very fishy to me.

This place will sell you wine that they are well aware is no good and spoiled. Stay away and buy somewhere else. Shipping is No good. Product quality and Customer service is non existent.

Slow response from staff and great inflexibility on even small courtesy items. Acquaintances have found that expensive vintage wines that were spoiled are not returnable, even days after purchase. Find another dealer at the same price and save yourself the hassle.

Great Service! I heard of them thru Cellar Tracker as I was looking to sell my wine collection of about 90 bottles. They were very easy to work with and gave me a fair price for my wine.

*I do realize that I put a Napa based vintner on my list of best Vintners in NYC, but with service and shipping this good, I would say they count as one of the best vintners in NYC regardless of being in Napa. Benchmark gets an update: 1. I drank another bottle from my first purchase, and it was spectacular. They live up to their claims of selling properly cellar-ed wines of solid provenance that are shipped to you with care. I'll say it again because it can not be said enough: They live up to their claims of selling properly cellar-ed wines of solid provenance that are shipped to you with care. 2. The customer service is just absurdly good. I am going to be honest and let you know I am a complete pain after placing an order. I change it, ask questions about it, and send a dozen emails. I can't help myself. Mindy and Alexis are fantastic and meet every need you could have as a customer, trust me, I emailed them no less than a dozen times over my last order. 3. They kill it with the shipping. Bad weather along the way? They wait until a shipping window is available that allows your wine to arrive in the condition it left the cellar. Can't wait? I couldn't when it looked like there may not be a shipping window until after August! They just shipped me two magnums from Napa to NYC using FedEx's cold chain wine shipping for $24. Yeah - for $24 - my wine was shipped from Napa to NYC in temperature controlled trucks. Too bad there aren't six stars to give.

Good selection & people are nice when speaking with them, have made several purchase over the years. I recently bought some wine at their Bin Sale. Every bottle that I've opened so far was bad. I contacted customer service and they refused to refund my money or replace any of the wine stating that Bin Sale wine is not backed up at all by them. I'm sure its in the fine print somewhere, but I have never notice it. I made the mistake of assuming that because they are a larger retailer that they would stand behind the wine that they sell. They don't. Won't be buying from them again.

I bought many expensive wines becomes I thought they bought wines from winery or reliable sources. But they buy a lot of wines from collectors although their company is in Napa. There are no evidence their wines were not fake, and their sources are reliable. I had many wines spoiled or strange taste. Especially, their Italian and French wines were awful. Barolo tasted like Chile wine, and Musigny GC was spoiled. They sent me a torn label wine, although there was no indication on their website.

Helpful staff, great selection, and great prices. I had needed to buy a bottle of Cayuse and Quilceda Creek for my parents and they were great in helping me. Highly recommend.

While I generally expect some bad experiences from ecommerce, I am amazed by the negative experiences attributed to Benchmark described by some reviewers. I have dealt with Benchmark for several years and my experiences have been 100% positive. Everyone has been personable and informative. I have had no unexplained delays. Wine condition has been excellent (not really the merchant's responsibility anyway) and outstanding selection is accompanied by reasonable(or better) pricing. Shipping people have been pleasant and forthcoming. One of my two or three favored sources for high end wine. Elliott Rothman Santa Monica, CA

Having bought several times over the years from Benchmark Wine , I am happy to report that Benchmark Wine has always come through with interesting wines at great prices. For examples, they recently offered Pavie 1983 at $60, Remoissenet Clos de la Roche 2002 at $60, Perrot Minot Mazoyeres Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2000 at $80. Prices were so good that I ended up getting a mixed case of the good stuff! :D One concern about buying older wines on the post-release market is provenance, i.e., how/where the wines have been stored. And having bought several bottles from Benchmark Wine in the past, I am happy to report that I haven't had any badly stored/shipped bottles. And since they are located in Napa, they usually get first dibs on local collectors' cellars. And Benchmark ships to Silicon Valley addresses using FedEx Ground so the customers pay lower shipping prices and still get the wines the next day. Benchmark also holds your wines over the hot months as needed.

This an objective review from someone who buys a lot of wine. Start off with the good: they have a great selection of wine at fairly good price. They are not always the best, but they are competitive and the bottles are always stored well. Now to the bad: The customer service and shipping teams are aloof. I wanted to continue buying wine from them, but on a number of occasions I ordered wine, they gave me a delivery date and then failed to deliver on time (even after a long lead time). The last time they guaranteed a delivery date in order to have wine for business dinner and it never showed up. When I called, Vanessa from their shipping area was ambivalent on my situation and offered nothing to make it up to me. Moreover they have taken over a week to refund for wine that never showed up. With so many good places to order wine from, there is no reason to use them. Put another way: Wine Selection, they are a Pahlmeyer. Customer Service, they are Bulgarian Boxed Cabernet.

Good selection and prices. Half to re enter my information EVERY time I order wine. They retain none of my information. Could not order again today.

I had the pleasure of attending a dinner last weekend with wine catered by Benchmark. The wines were delicious and several of the pairings were inspired.

DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING ONLINE FROM THEM. "overnight delivery" become 3 day delivery, don't use GSO either!!!!! companies like these cannot grow bigger by some reasons. I called them asked why its delay, they told me they don't know, all they know is "weather/accident", does it sound like a lie? ask them for a shipping refund, customer service told me they cannot get it because she spoke few GSO representative , they all got same answer about the delay reason..... I am wondering, do you know everyone from GSO is using same system? Do you think you ask more than one person from their company, they will give you different answers?

1/19/15 Perhaps my experience is atypical, but I'm not a fan. I bought 4 bottles 10 days ago using a first-time 10% discount, and asked then asked them to hold the wine and ship today. This AM, I sent an e-mail stating I wanted to add to my order, and apply the 10% discount, and received an e-mail response that same would not be an issue. I then called, and was refused the additional discount for various reasons (the order was from 10 days ago, they'd need to do a new order number and couldn't apply it in their system, the customer service rep. who said it wouldn't be a problem somehow didn't understand that my e-mail from this AM before they opened related to a "prior" order). Basically, they just wanted to say "No;" end of story. So, I asked to cancel my order, and was told they'd charge me 5%. When I asked why, I was told because that's what the credit card companies charge them, which is a blatant lie. When I suggested same, I was then told it was because they had to put it back in inventory and take it out of the box. Their website makes no mention of this charge whatsoever. I buy a lot of wine, both at retail, and on lists, and if this is how they treat the rest of their customers, it's a surprise they've been around this long. They have fair prices on many wines, but I'm a long-term buyer, and would rather deal with pros. Try K&L, JJ Buckley, or another big-name - they usually get big names for a reason. There's also a reason why you might never had heard of Benchmark. Update 2/5/15: I took the time to explain the situation in a fairly lengthy, non-personal or argumentative e-mail to the Vice President of Operations. Apparently she was traveling out of the country when I sent it (but did not have an out of office reply on). Around 9 or so days later, when I did not hear back, I e-mailed her again. She apologized for the delay and said she'd get back to me by close of business the next day. That was over a week ago with no response. Clearly the lack of customer service starts with management and trickles down at Benchmark. Update 3/315 - Benchmark has either updated their website to include the 5% cancellation fee, or I missed it originally. Either way, the comment about the 5% cancellation fee not being on their website is no longer applicable.

Have ordered from them several times in the past for in stock items without any problems. Recently ordered some pre-arrival items that wouldn't arrive for 3-6 months. 2 days later I received multiple offers on the same wines for 10-15% less. I called to cancel the order and they were firm on the 5% cancellation charge. Are they in the "right". Probably. But it's annoying from a customer standpoint since it's pre-arrival and other retailers are better on the customer service front when dealing with pre-arrival cancellations. Based on this I do not plan on purchasing pre-arrivals from them in the future due to their less than competitive pricing.

I have ordered many times from Benchmark and have extremely satisfied with the experience. From the selection of wines I am looking to source to the reasonable to very good pricing on the "find and buy" side I am extremely happy. Even better than the broad selection of wines is the customer service is spot on (great for me.) I will continue to source/buy wines from Benchmark.

I just bought a sweet magnum of zin for under $50! Score!!! Benchmark has an outrageous selection of wine ranging from date night pricing to bottles only wine aficionados would know and be able to afford. Benchmark's shipping department is always SO helpful; always willing to hold on to a few bottles I've purchased in order to ship out half or full cases at a later date (all to save ME money!). The staff is uber professional and very knowledgeable about their wines, which to me is helpful considering I am not a devout wine fan and don't know too much outside of California Cabs. If you're looking for a rare bottle, or just looking to hit their Bin Sale (which SHOULD NOT BE MISSED - Ahhhh-mazing deals!), Benchmark is reliable and has great wines.

I have used BMG to purchase a couple of bottles of wine as gifts and they have been nothing but outstanding. They are knowledgable, have extensive and interesting inventory and provide great customer service. They ship immediately and the bottles arrived less than 24 hours after they were ordered. I would highly recommend them

I am a certified sommelier and have purchased many beautiful, affordable bottles of wine for many years from Benchmark Wine. Their service is excellent and I always enjoy visiting with the staff to learn what they are hearing in the marketplace. BWG is my 'private cellar' for aging fine wines and they are also a fine source for area restaurants. I will continue to purchase wine from BWG and recommend to my colleagues and friends. a votre sante!

I've used Benchmark several times in the last few years to find some of my favorite back vintages of wine. Their website is easy to use and the customer service has been excellent. I like how they send me inventory updates when they get in new collections. I recommend them highly.

This place gets zero stars. If negative stars were available, they would get a negative star rating from me. I have been purchasing wine with Benchmark for over 5 years. Stefan Blicker used to work at Benchmark and about 3 years ago, he left Benchmark to open his own company in Napa called Blicker Pierce Wine, www.bpwine.com. I prefer to shop with Blicker Pierce Wine any day over Benchmark. Benchmark's customer service is way below what is expected, especially in this economy. They do not deliver order confirmations to you after you place an order, so you have no idea whether the wine you ordered was actually available after you place your order. I changed my email address about 3 years ago, and they simply do not have the ability to update their records to include my current email and delete the former. I requested that certain wines I ordered be shipped to me. I waited and waited for the wines to arrive - they never did. So I called Benchmark again to find out what happened. My wines were never shipped to me. Not only did they not ship my wines (which I already paid for) to me, they did not apologize for their mistake, and despite my second request to have my wine shipped to me, they still have not shipped my wines to me. WTF? As you can tell, my experience with them has been extremely and unbelievably frustrating. The lesson here is please save yourselves from unnecessary frustration and subpar customer service. Go with Blicker Pierce Wine, their customer service is stellar, their wines are better priced with a better selection, and their shipping is only $9 a case, anywhere in the United States. I know I sound like I work at Blicker Pierce Wine, but honestly I don't. I'm a wine collector that has shopped with Benchmark for over 5 years, and shopped with Blicker Pierce since they opened. I also shop with many other companies and have been collecting/buying wine for over 10 years. I know what the wine market is like and there are many other places that are far better than Benchmark to shop at, with a broader wine selection, better pricing and much better customer service. If you want customer service that is way below the standard in the wine market, then go to Benchmark Wine Group.

Staff are very professional and very knowledgeable about their wines. They have good selections, great prices, great customer service and fast shipping. I highly recommend this company.

www.benchmarkwine.com is probably one of the most unprofessional wine merchants I have ever come across! If I was able to give them 0 stars I would. How can you run an online business and not being able to use your foreign credit card?! I have never in my life had any problem with any credit card on any of the 6 continents I have travelled to, but with www.benchmarkwine.com I first of all had to wait 5 business days to get my Master card Gold approved(!). Then I was told that it was declined for some reason they didn't say, and after that www.benchmarkwine.com offered me a bank transfer option that would cost med 11% of my total cost due to bank fees on to of total price. Look somewhere else, if you want service and a business that doesn't see you as a criminal no matter what credit card you give them!