The vines are very young, this is a new label without a track record and it is relatively costly. It was intriguing enough, however, that I dipped my toe in for a three-pack.
You said it. I was all set to pull the trigger then saw the $41 shipping charge for three bottles. Ouch. That’s now a $68 bottle of wine…
I’m curious, but may have to pass.
If they are not shipping until October, why not offer a ground option?
James
I think not having Ground as an option is a mistake. I think we all wanted to get on board with this wine and project, but when you have to weigh your options with pricing etc, it makes it a whole lot harder to push the button and say YES
[quote="J a m e s VineyardIf they are not shipping until October, why not offer a ground option?
James[/quote]
And, for that matter, why aren’t they waiting and shipping in November rather than October…the shipping may be a deal breaker for me.
Why can’t the wine be shipped in mid-to-late November by GROUND!!! There is no risk to the wine and you would think it easy to do. New project, pretty pricey and they dropped the ball completely on paying attention to shipping costs. I haven’t decided what to do - anyone send them an email yet to check on ground?
I have now emailed Twice. Nothing yet.
I’ll pass with this shipping travesty. I sent a magnum to MA last month FedEx 2nd Day air and it was under $10. My guess is that a third bottle equivalent of weight does not translate to over thirty bucks. Just a round about way of making some extra coin.
I don’t know about Justin, but yes, the winemaker and assistant (I went to school with Kevin, the former asst. wm) both left a few months ago. If Justin is now consulting, it has not been for long. I have not tried the wines, but I have heard good things about them.
I should add that these types of projects are ones that I love to support, but it just becomes very difficult to jump into an unknown like this when in my opinion they have pushed the price point and seemingly don’t care about controlling shipping costs. With shipping and sales tax this is pushing $70 per bottle for their first vintage…Saxum at $75 with a lot of track record (let alone a lot of other interesting wines at or below $70 from all over the world - can you say 2007 CdPs!!!) makes almost $70 for Epoch a huge leap of faith that a “new project” will grow into a “great winery”. I used to take a lot of fliers on new projects through the late 90s and through 2002/2003 because of winemakers involved or vineyards involved, but ended up 4 out of 5 times being left pretty indifferent once I got to try the wines.
Of course, starting a new winery is an expensive activity, but given the economy and competition at all price points, particularly in the $65-75 price point, a new winery needs to give people a reason to feel good about jumping in and not make it a tough decision or a “I know I shouldn’t but I’ll give it a try since it is only a 3-pack and so how much could I lose on this one”…I think you have to build excitement and by pricing too strongly at the beginning you are just setting yourself up for disappointment by customers who need to try it and like it to the higher price point (and are likely to try it way to young because they need to figure out whether to keep buying by the time of the next release). Quite frankly, it is a tough model that can only survive if the wines get high scores…and while they have gotten pretty decent scores, just do a search of Parker reviews of 2007 CA syrahs and grenaches to see how many 91-95pt wines there are and how many will cost under $70 delivered - just don’t think 90-94pt scores gives anyone pricing protection anymore…maybe I’m in the minority on this and since they don’t have a lot of wine it will easily sell out, but who knows…
While I did place my order, I too am disappointed with the $10+/bottle shipping and have sent another e-mail telling them to please ship ground at the reduced rate.
Full Disclosure: The Armstrongs are college friends (SMU) from way back and are two great people dedicated to making great wine. It says a lot to me that they have Justin making their wines, so it is certainly worth the price of this admission.
This kind of shipping pricing irritates me to the point of not ordering a lot of the time. Psychologically, I could deal with it better if they increased the price, but offered free or cut rate shipping. When I see what all the retailers charge for shipping (usually about their cost) and compare it to stuff like this, it makes me want to scream!
Winemakers, take note: Figure out your pricing better so you only charge a reasonable amount for shipping. We (consumers) know we are being gouged and that feeling makes us look to other wines. It’s not that hard of a marketing concept. Or, even better, offer discounted or free shipping on larger purchases. If I’m seriously considering a purchase, that hook always gets me to bump up my order to qualify.
Chris
I don’t understand this logic, JUSTIN’S OWN WINE from his OWN VINEYARDS is just about the same price as Epoch and Justin did not make the 07.
Agreed…with at least four of us here in Dallas that would like to order, offer an incintive if we bundle our shipping together.
I’m pretty sure Justin has been consulting with them since the beginning. He mentioned the project on eBob in a thread about Saxum a couple years ago.
-Al
I’m a fan of the wines… tasting notes at:
http://www.therhonereport.com/searchWine.php?keyword=epoch
Word.
Just saw the shipping. Jesus H. Christ!
I sent them an email asking for a ground option. We’ll see.
Need to see if we can consolidate shipments as well.
Update on shippping:
“We hear you! 
In response to your requests, we have added FedEx Ground and FedEx Express Saver (delivery by the end of the 3rd business day) shipping options for all states we are able to ship to at this time. We were initially concerned about your wine spending too much time in the shipping truck, but if y’all aren’t worried, we are fine with that choice! If you placed an order before we added these two new shipping options, we will be contacting you directly via email to see if you want to change your shipping method. We are still planning to ship all orders beginning in October, weather permitting, and again, will not charge you until we ship.”
Well, that’s a dramatic improvement! Thanks for listening, guys!
Now, I’m back to having a hard decision…
Chris
Oder placed and shipping was cut in HALF.
Excellent response!
That was a quick response - glad to see they were on the ball.
The change may just about push me off the fence…
Now, I would just wish they would wait to ship until November - can’t seem to understand the rush to get it out in October…it is nice they wait to charge until they ship but I’d be happy to be charged in October and shipped to in November.