(WSJ) - Americans may be shopping for their Chardonnay increasingly online, but the bricks-and-mortar wine shop still has its place, say professionals in the field.

That is because selling wine often means demystifying wine, and it is a process that can be best served by face-to-face interaction with the consumer, said Lorena Ascencios, wine buyer for Astor Wines and Spirits, a prominent retailer in New York.

“Wine is not your ordinary commodity,” said Ms. Ascencios on Tuesday at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival. “It’s not like you’re buying a box of Cheerios.”