Even with assurances of “cold chain” shipping, ice packs, etc, there’s just no guaranteeing the “chain of custody.” Those boxes could get transferred from one refrigerated truck to another, only after sitting in a sweltering warehouse overnight. I always specifically ask for no shipping in the warm months (and I live less than 2 hours from Napa/Sonoma/SF). If I have any question at all about whether or not weather holds will be used (small producer, new producer, or just someone from whom I’ve not purchased), I just don’t even buy the wine until the weather is good enough to ship.
I respectfully disagree with you, shipping across the country in a refrigerated truck, repacking the bottles with an ice pack , and delivering them cold to a UPS/FedEx center near the final destination, has worked very well for our customers, and we’ve never lost a shipment to heat, only to cold!
Obviously, it wont solve the most extreme heat issues or a multiple day delivery attempt, in extreme heat, but overall it works, and it’s especially useful if someone MUST have their wine in July/August…
I agree with you, Eric. I think there is a lot of misconception about how the temperature control service works, even though it is true that the ‘last mile’ is done in normal livery. Fed Ex Cold Truck is delivered the following day by 10am or noon, depending on distance, Temperature Control transits in a proprietary truck to that company’s regional hub (which is temp controlled too). Boxes are opened and ice packs inserted immediately before handing off to the common carrier. If they can’t assure delivery within that business week they hold over the weekend, again in the temp control warehouse before releasing the next week.
If you were buying these wines from a auction or third party and this was the provenance they provided to you would you still be willing to pay full price?
Email from the winery :
XXXX (the shipping company ) has kept a close eye on the weather and decided that it was ok to ship. We have our temps set relatively low for wines to ship across country. If you have issues please let me know.
Just not sitting right with me . Do we think this is a “lie” from the winery? Or the truth? I will ask if there were any measures taken to keep the shipment cool.
Had a couple in today asking if we would ship their wine to Florida. They said the winery refused to ship it ground and anything else was cost prohibitive. (more than the wine cost and it was only four bottles) Obviously this winery is doing their own shipping an not using a fulfillment center or 3rd party shipper. They bought a Wine Check and will fill it before they leave for home.
You asked to hold for fall. They didn’t.
What are the chances that returned shipments are sold onto some other sucker?
And that’s what I would tell them. “I asked you to hold for fall and you didn’t. Temperatures now are clearly too high to ship by any reasonable definition. The wine will be heat damaged if shipped now and I will not accept it.” If they wanted it sent back I’d write “Heat Damaged” in Sharpie across the labels. If they really think they’re fine they can pour them in their tasting room.
This is the reason we bought no wine on our Napa/Sonoma trip last month (other than the wines we consumed on the trip).
This.
99%
Agree. This. Not handled well by the winery.
I always provide clear written instructions when I buy wines in the summer that are going to be shipped to me: the seller should hold until September or October and contact me in the fall about whether there is a window for shipping. If they won’t do it, I won’t buy. If it is not honored, I tell them to make it right. I’m trying to remember if I have ever had a problem. Not in the summer IIRC.
Early last year, a well known store in LA shipped by ground right after the sale was finalized without contacting me first. This was during a late January cold snap out East. I had provided express instructions not to ship and there was an indication on the invoice my wines were being stored for the winter for free. I didn’t find out until the box arrived a week later as they didn’t provide a shipping notice, which they were also supposed to do under their own express policies. There it turned out ok, so I let it go. I will never buy from that retailer again, even when I’m in LA.
Situation above is a little different considering it’s a small and (from what I gather) young winery. Still. Not acceptable.
In these types of situations, if a seller won’t meet an initial commitment that I insist on, I get my credit card company involved. As a practical matter, that ALWAYS resolves the situation in my favor.
It does not sound that the winery is trying to fool anyone or trick anyone here. Perhaps they’re falling back on the third party a bit, but ultimately, it is their product and their responsibilities.
The last line says it all and I would certainly let them know that you would prefer that the wines be returned to them and shipped at a later date as you had requested.
As I mentioned, it’s simply maybe that they are trying to check a lot of things off of their to do boxes before Harvest kicks in. I know I have a tendency to let some of these things slip through the cracks when things get a little crazy, so I can understand that.
How did you find out that the wines for shipping? Did the winery contact you, or the third party, or did you get notice from UPS? If it was either one or two, they have done things better than a lot of other wineries that I know 
Keep us posted . . .
I had a similar issue with a very popular winery on this board. I ordered a few wines in their spring allocation and instructed them to hold until weather appropriate, as I live in Fort Lauderdale. They shipped the wines a month later in April, when temperatures were at a steady mid-80s for at least a week prior, and continued to be at that temperature upon arrival and days afterwards. The bottles were somewhat warm to the touch. When I emailed them the response was that shipping to Florida is difficult to judge and that the wines should be okay. That rationale, of course, is ridiculous. A simple check of the forecast upon shipping would’ve revealed that the temps were way too high. The response also indicated that if there’s any issue upon opening, to let them know. That was a better response. I’ve subsequently opened a bottle of semillon and it was perfectly fine. I have two bottles of syrah that I plan on holding for a few years, so we’ll see.
This was from a very reputable winery, so even though the action of shipping was ridiculous and part of the response wasn’t great, I’m satisfied. I have little doubt that they’ll correct the issue if the other bottles taste off upon opening, now that there’s email correspondence to support my initial concern.
The challenge, of course, is defining an ‘off’ bottle down the line. And this is where it can get tricky.
My best advice is to keep a paper trail and notes the bottles in some way so you don’t forget about the potential issues.
That said, hopefully you will enjoy these immensely
I got the email from UPS My Choice . No notification from winery or shipping companies .
To me, that’s the ‘issue’. You had given the winery clear instructions; they had most likely given these to the 3rd party shipper.; 3rd party shipper decided that they saw a window to make it happen; they should have gotten your approval. Period.
Cheers.
Definitely! I remain hopeful. At least the first bottle passed the test and was excellent.
Seems to me that they did hold until weather appropriate . They felt it was appropriate . Perhaps your instructions weren’t specific enough .