San Diego · Since 2009
We taste 5,000 wines a year. Four in a hundred make it here.
Big Hammer Wines is the short list: 90+ rated, bought direct from the source, priced close to wholesale.
01What we believe
There has never been a better time to love wine. There has also never been more of it.
Finding wine is easy now. Knowing what’s worth drinking is the hard part — and it’s the part we do.
There has never been a better time to love wine.
Not because there’s more of it—but because it’s better, more diverse, and more accessible than ever before.
Modern winemaking, global connectivity, and smarter logistics have opened a marketplace unlike anything that’s existed in U.S. wine history. The options are endless. The real challenge now isn’t finding wine—it’s knowing what’s worth drinking. Life is short, right?
That’s where we come in.
We exist to explore the wines of the world and the people behind them—to wander the backroads of great wine regions, taste relentlessly, and separate the memorable from the merely available. Wine, for us, isn’t about labels or luxury for its own sake. It’s about discovery, pleasure, and connection.
Great wine belongs everywhere: at a candlelit dinner on the Italian coast, at a milestone birthday, at a wedding or anniversary—or next to a great burger at a tailgate. The best bottles don’t demand ceremony. They elevate the moment you’re already in.
When we find wines that genuinely move us—wines that brighten a day or spark a conversation—we share them. Because wine was never meant to be hoarded. It was meant to be poured.
Delivering that joy to our clients—bottle by bottle, moment by moment—is the most satisfying part of what we do.
Watch the film3:31
02The founder
Greg Martellotto
Founder · Winemaker · Certified Italian Wine Ambassador
Greg has made wine since 2005 — in Napa, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, Italy and Mexico — and has bought it in most of the world’s great regions. He tastes more than 400 wines a month. Ninety-six in a hundred never reach this site.
That filter is the company. Everything we sell is downstream of it.
BigHammerWines.com is a San Diego–based online wine retailer built for people who want to drink better—without paying for unnecessary markups.
Our model means fewer middlemen and better value in every bottle. Quite simply: more wine for your money, and better wine at that.
Our founder is a trained winemaker, with a practiced palate for identifying both flaws and greatness—skills developed through years of hands-on production and professional tasting. That expertise guides everything we do, from sourcing to selection.
Since 2009, BigHammer has become a trusted destination for wine lovers across the U.S. Our mission hasn’t changed: deliver wines that delight, surprise, and earn a permanent spot at your table.
03In the field
We meet the winemakers, taste at the source, and follow the wines from vineyard to bottle.
How every wine gets here
04BHW Films
The BHW film0:38
More from BHW Films.
One-take wine pitches, a guide to luxury wines, and a new video every week — all in the library.
05How we buy
Four rules. No exceptions.
01
Taste first.
Nothing is bought untasted. Of the 5,000 wines we taste a year, roughly 200 make it here.
02
90+ or nothing.
Independent critics, verified scores. We never pay for a rating or a review.
03
Direct from the source.
We buy by the pallet, straight from producers and importers. Prices land so close to wholesale that suppliers ask us to keep them off Google and Wine-Searcher.
04
No private labels.
No house brands, no white labels, no invented retail prices. Every bottle is the real thing at a real price.
06By the numbers
1.7M+
Bottles sold
25+
Years in the trade
2,700+
Five-star reviews
100%
Satisfaction guaranteed
07The guarantee
Real people. A real place. A real promise.
We stand behind every bottle we sell. If you’re not delighted with your purchase, let us know—and we’ll make it right. No hand-wringing. No hoops.
We take pride in true white-glove service. Every inquiry is handled thoughtfully by a real human, and we respond within 24 hours.
You can reach us anytime by email, or call us at 707-302-4664 during business hours
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM PST.
Your trust matters to us. We intend to earn it—every time you open a bottle.
Your friend in the wine business.
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Every wine tasted, 90+ rated, priced close to wholesale.
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Greg’s picks, delivered on your schedule, at club pricing.
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A wine, a pairing, a cellar plan — ask, and get a straight answer.