The best Sydney bottle shops offering home delivery

The Oak Barrel has been in business since 1956, and once you check out the ridiculous collection of gear it's easy to see why. Almost all of it is available over the web, and they offer same-day shipping to the Sydney metro area if you order before 10am, so stock up on your minimal-intervention wines, craft beers, sake and rare whisky, and have it ready to drink by the end of the work day.

Organic, biodynamic and preservative-free wines from home and abroad are only the beginning at this long-standing suburban favourite, which houses more than 3,500 different products, including some pretty hard-to-get-your-hands-on stuff. Veno, their online store, is where you'll find it all. Just try to hold back on the wicked stockpile of grower Champagne. 

Wines on this classy CBD bottle-o's website are arranged in categories from 'Under $15' to 'Iconic', which should give you a pretty good idea of the extensive range on offer. There's plenty of beer and spirits available, too, as well as elegant glassware, gourmet snacks and even jigsaw puzzles and scented candles. The CBD Cellar has an online shop, Kent Street Cellars where you can browse online. Get carried away, and don't worry about getting stung on shipping – there's free delivery on all orders of $150 or more.

Sydney's first bricks-and-mortar shop devoted exclusively to natural wine spruiks a scrupulously curated collection of unfined, unfiltered and low or no sulphur juice from all over the world, as well as Aussie craft beers, small-batch spirits, sake, liqueurs and digestifs. You can also score monthly subscriptions or leave the deicision-making to them and order a mystery half-dozen on the website. Order up – you'll save 10 per cent on six or more bottles, and orders over $150 get free shipping.

This North Shore stalwart doubles as Australia's #1 online craft beer store. Hardcore beer nerds can sign up for a subscription or scroll through the thousand-strong (!) stash of lagers, ales, rich stouts, chocolatey porters, fruity sours, IPAs, NEIPAs and a whole lot more. You'll find lots from local legends, as well as brews from the likes of Belgium, the Czech Republic and even Jamaica and Vietnam. All orders are shipped within one business day.

The George is the Waterloo HQ for DRNKS, one of the country's first online natural wine purveyors. Technically the site came before the shop, but the bottom line is there are more than 400 labels to choose from, orders for more than $99 get free shipping and you save 10 per cent if you order six bottles. So, start with a fun, fizzy pet-nat before working your way through some cloudy orange wines and finish on a couple of classy chilled reds.

With eight locations across the city, Camperdown Cellars is one of the most consistent and dependable booze emporiums in town. In-store, all the bases are covered in every category, staff are both knowledgeable and helpful, and everything's well organised and neatly displayed. The website is much the same, with clear imagery and detailed tasting notes. They’ll drop it off on-time, cold and free of charge if you spend more than $150.

In order to be a good bottle shop these days, you've got to tick all the boxes. Petersham Liquormart's website does that and then some, with a knockout selection of goods you can't find anywhere else – think Portuguese and Brazilian beers, obscure Serbian and Macedonian spirits, ouzo, schnapps, aquavit, Port and imported soft drinks, as well as a serious backlog of vintage wines.

In addition to being a terrific bottle-o that specialises in Italian wine (but isn't afraid to borrow liberally from all over Europe as well as South America, the USA and even Lebanon), Amato's is a phenomenal food shop. Luckily for you, the artisanal pastas, tinned tomatoes, preserved anchovies, imported biscuits, extra virgin olive oils, balsamic vinegars and all the rest of it are available on the web.

One of Sydney's all-time great independent wine shops, Five Way Cellars is where you head when you're after something special and require the assistance of people who know their stuff. The shelves are stocked with quality goods from some of the world's most esteemed producers at every price point. Their website is very easy to navigate and offers incredibly extensive tasting notes, and you'll save 10 per cent if your order 12 bottles or more.

Don't be fooled by size of the Drink Hive. Everything's especially well chosen here, with an emphasis on small producers across Australia and the rest of the world farming with integrity and making wines with few or no additions. There's a solid range of boutique spirits available, too, so why not add some hemp gin to your online order in addition to a couple of bottles of hazy sem-sauv?

Nerd alert! If you're a whisky obsessive, stop reading this and head to World of Whisky's website straight away. These folks have more than 900 different expressions from all the Scottish regions, plus a whole heap from Ireland, Australia, Japan and even India, Israel and Taiwan. Most are single malts, but you'll find blends, too, as well as bourbon and rye. Look closely for several brands not currently available elsewhere in Australia and know that shipping is free if you spend more than $300.

This family-owned wine bar and bottle-o on Enmore Road lets you do a lot of the choosing. Opt for a trio of wines ($99) or one of two separate six packs ($129-$179). Browse the online store or give the team a call and they'll be happy to discuss your preferences over the phone and build a box based on your taste and budget. Bonus points for contact-free delivery.  

Merivale's cute and compact bottle shop in the bustling Ivy complex is a reliable place to pick up a nice bottle after work. Their online selection is substantially more limited, but you'll hit the jackpot if you're a bulk buyer. The website features so-called 'Somm-selected Wine Packs', which are pulled together by Merivale's band of wine experts (including two Master Sommeliers). Expect packs of three to 12 bottles, anywhere between $60 and $285, or sign up for a subscription.

Native Drops brought the natural wine phenomenon down to the shores of Bondi and the locals are all the better off for it. The website offers six-packs of carefully chosen wine from cult Aussie heroes like Gentle Folk, Sassafras, Meadowbank and Ravensworth, but if you give them a call, they'll be happy to talk through more bottles and send you a few.