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Robert Beynat, the chief executive of Vinexpo, recently stated that the internet "is not a circuit for wine sales, the internet will always be marginal, and it will stay that way." How can one man be so wrong?
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Mike Supple: You're watching "Screw It" on SuppleWine TV. I'm your host Mike Supple.

Vinexpo is the world's largest wine trade show. This is an event for members of the wine and spirits industry. A couple of weeks ago Vinexpo was held in Bordeaux, France. Robert Beynat, the chief executive of Vinexpo made one of the most ridiculous statements about the internet that I've heard in a while. He said, and I quote, "It is not a circuit for wine sales, the internet will always be marginal and it will stay that way."

This is a clear example of exactly what's wrong with the wine industry today: its inability to recognize changes and inability to adapt to them. It's outrageous and absolutely ridiculous to say that the internet is not a circuit for wine sales. My generation in particular is all over the internet. I know I'm online every day. In fact, I can't live without it. When I move into a new apartment or new place I have my internet hooked up before I'm willing to move in. It's just a part of life. Everything is on there. And we are buying a lot of things online, including wine. In key markets around the world like the United States, the United Kingdom and France, wine internet sales are up about 30% year over year.

I've also spoken to several Chateau owners in Bordeaux and they are outright jealous of the fact that in the United States we have many successful wineries that are selling directly to the consumers using the internet and online wine clubs. This is something the rest of the world is aspiring to and the U.S. really is leading the charge, with us as the consumers.

Why is the internet so great for wine sales? When it comes down to it wine really is a social beverage. Wine is no longer the thing that you have to have as a symbol of pride and status. I don't invite my friends over and have them just stand around staring at the wines that I have, no. When they come over I have a bottle of white or bubbly already chilling. We hang out and just drink and relax. Maybe we'll talk about the wine or maybe we'll just enjoy it. It's simply part of being social. The internet is a major social device. It's all about information, interacting and sharing your ideas while hearing everybody else's ideas. That's where the internet and wine really come together.

The internet is a great source not only of information about wine - free, useful, worthwhile information like on SuppleWine.com - but it's also a perfect source for finding values in the wine industry. There are many retailers that have their wines listed online and there are many retailers that only sell wine online now - they don't even have brick and mortar shops anymore.

How are you supposed to find what works for you, find the best value and find wines near you? Fortunately there are also sites that put these all together and help you out. One I like a lot, WineZap.com, focuses on thousands of retailers in the United States. It shows the wines that they carry along with the prices. It's an easy search engine to find a specific wine around the country and find a shop near you or a shop that will ship it to you. Aside from WineZap there's another great one, Wine-Searcher.com. This is more of a global sales tool - you can search retailers around the world. WineZap is a free service whereas Wine-Searcher requires an annual subscription. These sites are definitely the best way to find value. If you are looking for a particular bottle of wine you don't want to just go to your local shop and pay $30 for it when somebody else three blocks away might have it for $20 or even $15 - you just never know, and that's why the internet is a great tool for this. That's why people are turning to the internet to buy their wines.

You also don't have to rely on one person's information. If you go into a shop looking for a bottle of wine you might not know anything about it. The guy behind the counter might know about it, might be able to tell you, or he might not. He might just make up info to make the sale. Online you have the ability to do your own research. You have fantastic sites out there telling you what you want to know. There are sites like SuppleWine that are dedicated just to the information and helping you learn about wines, and there are also a lot of retailers out there that are willing to provide lots of information online about the wines they carry. They quote other wine education sites and they also put up their own information and tasting notes to really help you, the consumer, figure out what it is that you're looking for.

So help drive another nail into the coffin of the old guard of the wine industry. Wine is about fun. We're here to have fun; you're here to enjoy it. Get out there and buy some wines online. Play around. Read about it, learn about it or just drink it. Do what you want and have fun with it, because that is what's forcing the change.