The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has announced the launch of a new state-of-the-art online ordering system for restaurants and retailers ordering Virginia wine through the Virginia Winery Distribution Company (VWDC).

The VWDC, created by the 2007 Virginia General Assembly, provides Virginia wineries and farm wineries an alternative to using independent wine wholesalers. 

The new web-based system, Onlineorderdesk.com, allows Virginia farm wineries to list and describe their available wines and allows restaurants and retailers to place their orders quickly and efficiently via the interactive site. VWDC is the first wholesale distributor in the United States to utilize the benefits of Onlineorderdesk. 

“As Governor Bob McDonnell and I push to further promote Virginia’s burgeoning wine industry both here and abroad, I firmly believe the new system will result in significant sales increases for our wineries,” said Todd P. Haymore, Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry.

“The advantages of online ordering are myriad. Buyers can place orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They can research wines from more than 100 wineries, ask questions and place orders from their desks or laptops. It’s convenient one-stop shopping for them. The advantages for our wineries include less paperwork, a tracking system that shows which wines are selling in what outlets, greater exposure to the buying retailers and an overall improved efficiency.”

VWDC is a non-profit, non-stock corporation that provides wholesale wine distribution services for Virginia farm wineries. More than 100 wineries in the Commonwealth of Virginia are participating VWDC members.

For additional information on VWDC, visit www.vwdc.org.