Best Places to Buy Wine Online in Singapore: Fast Delivery & Great Deals
In Singapore, most of the cost of a bottle of wine is locked in before the wine even reaches a retailer’s website.
The many costs of doing business are also locked into the final price of each bottle of wine before you add it to your “cart” of online purchases. In other words, the cost of the bottle, its delivery, the minimum spend, and GST are already included in the final retail price of each wine bottle.
This article on how to buy wine online in Singapore is practical.
Why The Same Bottle Costs More Here
Singapore charges excise duty on wine at S$88 per litre of alcohol, then 9% GST on the wine’s value plus that duty.
A typical 750ml bottle at 13% alcohol already carries about S$8.58 in duty before GST. That is a floor. A S$18 supermarket bottle and a S$80 mid-range bottle both pay duty on the alcohol in the bottle. The cheaper the wine, the larger the share of your payment that goes to tax.
What this means in practice is that hunting for the lowest overseas website price is often a dead end. If the wine comes from abroad, duty and GST are still due, and you may have to collect the parcel after a check-up.
The good thing is that local shops have already paid those costs. You are comparing landed, tax-inclusive prices — which is the only comparison that matters.
The Usual Ways People Overpay for Wine in Singapore
Most overpaying is not about buying the “wrong” wine. It is about buying in the wrong quantity, or from the wrong shop.
- Delivery fee: A S$12–S$20 delivery fee on a single S$32 bottle is expensive. But if you order six bottles of similar value, you will barely feel the delivery fee.
- Minimum spend for free delivery: A sale, such as 15% off, often comes with a minimum spend for free delivery. Miss that threshold, and the discount can disappear.
- Same-day deliveries: Same-day or two-hour delivery is useful on a Friday at 6 pm. It is a poor use of money to know you will open the bottle on Saturday.
- Buying from a shop that does not match the bottle: Everyday wine from a fine-wine specialist can cost more than it needs to. A cellar bottle from a general liquor site may be cheaper, but you risk getting a bottle without proper storage.
- Ignoring heat: Some wines spend time in a warm van or lobby. A slightly lower price is not a saving if the bottle has been cooked.
When Online Is Worth It – And When A Shop Is Better
Online is generally better when you are buying several bottles, already know what you want, and do not need them the same day. Delivery is usually one to four days.
A physical shop is often better when you need one or two bottles tonight, want to check the label, vintage, or fill level, or are already near a wine chain, supermarket aisle, or bottle shop. In some cases, you might want to buy something expensive enough to inspect first.
Besides, it’s often cheaper to walk into a store for a single bottle instead of paying an express fee for your last-minute dinner.
Top Online Wine Shops in Singapore
There is no single shop that is cheapest for every bottle. Use the shop that matches the order: everyday wine, a mixed six, same-day, or something that needs proper storage.
CornerStone Wines is the stronger fit when you want a wider fine-wine list, Bordeaux, older vintages, or climate-controlled storage rather than a last-minute supermarket bottle. They have a Singapore warehouse and retail space at Sims Close, and they deliver locally. Free delivery usually starts at a higher basket — about S$300 (S$500 for outskirt addresses) — so this is not the place to send one cheap bottle. Check the current threshold at checkout.
For more everyday buying, these are the usual comparisons:
- Wine Connection — many physical shops plus delivery. Useful if you might walk in and skip the fee. Faster delivery often starts around S$120.
- Benchmark Wines — online specialist for restocking. Free delivery is typically around S$149; express costs extra.
- Paneco — large liquor range if you are mixing wine with spirits. Standard next-day is often the easy option; same-day is a paid upgrade.
- BoundbyWine — more useful if you want less common regions, not just the usual supermarket labels.
How To Compare Two Wine Sites In 2 Minutes
Before you fall in love with a bottle, check five numbers:
- Price of the bottle (GST-inclusive)
- Delivery fee at your cart total
- Free-delivery minimum
- Speed (same-day / next-day / 2–4 days)
- How it will travel (temperature-controlled or not)
Heat is part of the price
A Singapore “room temperature” of around 25–28°C is generally too warm for wine. Leave a bottle in a hot corridor or in the back of a van, and it can go downhill quickly, whatever the label says.
For everyday wines you will drink within a week, next-day delivery is usually fine. For older wines, sparkling wines, or a gift, check whether the shop uses temperature-controlled transport. In most cases, it is better to collect those bottles yourself.
Buy in a quantity that makes the fee disappear
A regular wine drinker only needs a short list of preferred bottles — three or four is enough. Reordering from that list saves the time spent comparing every new offer across different sites.
A mixed case is often better value than a single bottle from a special offer.
Should you buy from an overseas site?
Usually no, unless you already understand the paperwork.
Duty and GST still apply on wine sent in by post. Using a foreign retailer’s checkout does not mean you avoid them. You will wait longer, and in most cases you will have to collect the parcel in person.
If you are bringing wine back from a trip, the rules are different. Duty and GST are still payable on anything above the allowance. If you have been away for 48 hours or more and are not arriving from Malaysia, you can bring in up to 2 litres of wine duty-free.
Final Thoughts
Buying wine online in Singapore is not about finding the cheapest online wine shop. It is about matching the right wines to the right channel. Duty and GST are already included in the price of wines sold online. What remains is whether you will pay extra for delivery, whether you will pay for speed you do not need, and whether the wines will arrive in good condition.
If you need a single bottle for immediate consumption, buy from a local shop first. When you are restocking the few wines you already like, buy them online and have them delivered to your home once the basket reaches the shop’s free-delivery threshold.
That is all the planning you need. In the end, try not to order one bottle at a time.
FAQs
A “S$25 wine” online still costs S$25 here… even when it’s cheaper overseas!
How is duty calculated for wine? Duty is charged based on the alcohol content in the wine and then there is GST to be added on top. So in reality, the ‘price’ of the wine including duty and GST is what we refer to as the ‘landed price’ or ‘real price’ of the wine.
Can I get wine the same day?
For those who drink wine too infrequently to need storage, same-day delivery is offered by several wine shops and retailers for a fee (or even before a cut-off time). However, as for buying one bottle of wine, it’s so much easier to do this by going to a wine shop to buy one bottle of wine rather than ordering online.
Do I need a wine fridge?
For wines that are consumed within days, storage in a cool, dark place is fine. A wine fridge is not required. In fact, a kitchen counter next to a window is probably not the best place to store wines.
What if I only drink wine once a month?
So, buy 2 lots of 2 bottles (if you live near a wine shop and are running other errands) — that way you get to go to the wine shop without paying a separate delivery fee for each bottle of wine.
Buying wine in Singapore is all about planning ahead. Yes, there is tax on wine, but the delivery charge on an online purchase of wine will disappear however, as you are not ordering online too frequently (i.e. buying one bottle at a time too frequently) this will be a saving for you.
