About Us
Welcome to K&L Wine Merchants! Since 1976 we've been proud to offer the world's finest wines, great service and competitive prices. We offer thousands of wines on this site with inventory updates happening in real time. In addition we operate three retail stores, in San Francisco, Redwood City and Hollywood, California. For several decades we've been publishing a free monthly newsletter.
"From soup to nuts, this (KLWines.com) is the best wine Web site in the U.S. Visiting it is like dropping into an outstanding wine store with plenty of time on your hands to browse. Inventory is real-time -- the site shows how many bottles are available at which location -- and there is plenty of commentary, both from the store's staff and critics, about each wine. There are pictures of bottles everywhere. The site is easy to navigate but not cluttered. Delivery is painless." Wall Street Journal (2009)
Our Philosophy
It's very simple. We find the world's best wines and offer them at the best prices around. We offer outstanding wines from across the globe including:
- Western United States... California, Oregon, and Washington (we're located in Northern California)
- France... Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Champagne, Sauternes and more!
- One of the USA's most comprehensive collections of fantastic Italian wines.
- Germany and Austria's finest releases.
- The very best wines from Spain, Argentina and Chile.
- A large selection of labels from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
- We also specialize in old and rare wines.
- In total there are over a dozen different buyers on staff, dedicated to finding the very best from around the globe.
Why You're Better Off Shopping With Us
Our selection and prices are superior. Our staff is outstanding. We offer highly rated wines from around the world. Additionally, we seek out little known wines from hot new wineries and find super values for our customers. Because we are located in Northern California in close proximity to many of the famous properties, we've established many relationships with these wineries and can buy in quantities that allow us to offer our wines at prices that are often below the wholesale cost of other stores.
Our buyers travel to Europe several times each year to buy direct from the producers or negociants for the producers. The advantage of this direct buying is twofold: First, we can taste the wines at the property and negotiate with the seller on the spot, often finding wines that are not available on the US market. Second, we can get the wines to you, our value-conscious customers, at the best prices available. There are no middlemen such as European exporters, American importers, and American wholesalers, taking a percentage profit while passing it on through the channels of distribution. You reap the benefits of direct buying by getting outstanding, handpicked, best-value wines at below-market prices. We can't recommend these direct buys enough.
We also specialize in old and rare wines. K&L Wine Merchants continuously buys wines that have been properly stored. There are some amazing buys to be found in this niche of the wine market and we recommend that you check them out! Other great options for wine lovers include our wine-of-the-month clubs, where our expert buyers generate amazing values through buying in bulk.
The Bottom Line
Regardless of your wine needs, you've come to the right site. You can feel confident in our experience and judgment when deciding on which products to choose. Our tasting panel tries thousands of wines each year and can recommend excellent wines to fit your needs and your budget. Our inventory includes hundreds of legendary wines that have been highly touted, but we pride ourselves in offering outstanding choices before the press writes them up.
Background
K&L was founded in Millbrae, California in 1976 by Todd Zucker and Clyde Beffa Jr. Currently we operate stores in San Francisco, Redwood City, and Hollywood CA. K&L has always remained a family business (Clyde and Todd are married to Kay and Linda).