Buying wine through an online retailer is becoming an increasingly popular option -- especially for those looking for a hard-to-find wine or who may live far from a wine store.

Following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that New York and Michigan laws banning purchases from out-of-state wineries were discriminatory, many states are passing laws allowing interstate direct-to-consumer wine purchases. According to ACNielsen, more than $8 billion was spent on wine in 2005 and in a 2003 staff report, the Federal Trade Commission cited private estimates stating 5 percent to 10 percent of wine sales could be from the online market "within a few years."

We set out to test ordering wine online by choosing five online wine stores around the country to deliver six standard-size bottles to a home in New York. We chose three types of wine -- Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Chianti -- and made our final store and label selections at random.

Despite receiving one broken bottle (out of a total 33 bottles shipped) and making some concessions on the vintage of the wine we wanted, we found ordering wine online to be relatively painless. Finding a wine store that delivers to your state may be the most complicated part. Wine laws still remain murky when it comes to shipping, and it is important to check with retailers to verify if they can legally deliver to your state.

The Web site of Raeder's Wines & Liquors (Raederswine.com) offered handy search tools and some good staff recommendations, but the shipping process left us frustrated. Our initial order for six bottles cost $48.94 before shipping, but for the wine to be delivered, there was a $75 minimum order, not including shipping. We added an additional bottle of each variety to push us over the threshold. We received an e-mail saying the Chianti we chose wasn't available, and after a couple of emails and phone calls, we settled on a different label.

One bottle was broken during shipping. The bottles were upright and held in place by cardboard dividers. After reporting the broken bottle to Raeder's, we were told to contact the shipper, United Parcel Service, to file a claim for a replacement bottle. A UPS agent guided us through a tedious claim process that included keeping the broken bottle and packaging for five days in case an agent was sent out to inspect the bottle. The agent never came. The replacement bottle arrived in five days.

The Wine Specialist (winespecialist.com), which sometimes provided tastings' notes on its Web site, took the longest to deliver. Three days after ordering, we received an e-mail saying our wine was out of stock, but a new vintage would be sent instead. The shipment arrived in good shape a week after placing the initial order.

The Web site of Wine.com was easy to navigate by doing a keyword search. The home page offered the option to shop by price or by employees' favorite picks. Our wine arrived two days after placing the order with the San Francisco-based company. We noticed on the postage label that the wine had been shipped from Garden City, N.Y.

Sam's Wines & Spirits in Chicago had an easy-to-navigate Web site that gave us the option of buying a selection by the bottle or per case of 12. During checkout, we chose FedEx for shipping, but of the many options, including UPS, none listed the price before confirmation.

We browsed the "free shipping" items before beginning our search on Finewinehouse.com in Upland, Calif. While shopping, a pop-up menu alerted us that one of our Chardonnays was not in stock. We completed our order, and asked to be contacted about substitutions. We were contacted by phone the same day about a vintage substitution.

(1) Wine laws vary by state and all retail stores may not legally be able to ship to your city and state. More information on wine-shipping laws is available online at wineinstitute.org/programs/shipwine.

STORE(1)/ORDER PRICE: Wine.com; San Francisco; $92
SHIPPING/COST: UPS standard; $13
WEIGHT/ARRIVAL TIME: 19 lbs; two days
PACKAGING/CONDITION: Egg crates; no damage
COMMENTS: Refunds are available, minus the shipping cost and a 25 percent restocking fee for returned bottles.

STORE(1)/ORDER PRICE: Raederswine.com; Albertson, N.Y.; $113
SHIPPING/COST: UPS ground; $27
WEIGHT/ARRIVAL TIME: 27 lbs; three days
PACKAGING/CONDITION: Cardboard; one broken bottle
COMMENTS: Three-month return policy; there's a restocking fee of 15 percent for returned bottles.

STORE(1)/ORDER PRICE: Winespecialist.com; Washington, D.C.; $103
SHIPPING/COST: FedEx ground; $25
WEIGHT/ARRIVAL TIME: 20 lbs; seven days
PACKAGING/CONDITION: Styrofoam; no damage
COMMENTS: No return policy; decisions are made on a case by case basis.

STORE(1)/ORDER PRICE: Samswine.com; Chicago; $82
SHIPPING/COST: FedEx ground; $20
WEIGHT/ARRIVAL TIME: 20 lbs; three days
PACKAGING/CONDITION: Styrofoam; no damage
COMMENTS: The site didn't email a full description of wines we selected. Some bottles have a 10 percent restocking fee.

STORE(1)/ORDER PRICE: Finewinehouse.com; Upland, Calif.; $71
SHIPPING/COST: FedEx ground; $23
WEIGHT/ARRIVAL TIME: 18 lbs; five days
PACKAGING/CONDITION: Styrofoam; no damage
COMMENTS: The site recorded our IP address. Full refund but shipping charges are not refundable.