Not when the final leg is on a truck without refer. I negates the whole process if the wine sits on a 90 deg truck for 5+ hours.
We offer Cold Chain (people can use it or choose to wait) in the summer and have used it for years.
It is shipped refrigerated to the nearest hub and goest for 10AM delivery in a normal truck. This works well for places that donât reach sky high temps by 10AM.
Of the thousand+ orders weâve sent cold chain, we have had very few issues (no more or less than regular shipping).
It is expensive and we have always subsidized a big chunk of the up-charge for our customers.
Where the system comes to a crashing halt is if someone is not there to sign for the package. It is best to send it to a business address, a Fedex Office location, or a Walgreens.
It is a reasonable solution if you want something sooner than later.
Odd. Fedex advertises that they can provide business who contract with them for cold chain shipping a hard by-time temp audit and temp-tracking throughout the shipping process. Hot wines in the back of a truck would seem to bust that.
Hey, we had a cold front here in Dallas! Dropped temps from 103 to 93!
You guys are definitely ready for shipment! 93 is the new 53.
MattâŚexactly right! The problem with Cold Chain is the last leg of the tripâŚthe delivery truck. If you live in a warm/hot cityâŚlike Miami, thatâs where the wine gets boiled. The dollars Iâve spent with Vine Vault are worth every penny. The fact that they are also a âmom and popâ operation is just icing on the cake for me.
Matt-Robert made specific mention that his wines arrived at 55F. So, thatâs worth it.
Iâve had wines arrive at acceptable temps and some delivered late in the day at 80deg or higher. One vendor told me that a day or two at 85 degrees would not hurt the wines.
Twice delivered to a Walgreens at 4:30PM. Itâs not foolproof and varies from case to case.
Matt, you are describing Cold ChainâŚno it is not fool proof. If the wine is delivered late in the day it can be harmed. On the other hand, Vine Vault is foolproof. They are their own shipper (they do not contract FedEx or UPS). Their refrigerated trucks haul the wine from the winery or fulfillment center and deliver it to your doorâŚcold!!
Chappellet always sends my Pritchard Hill bottles via fedex cold chain. Zero issues with it so far but its only coming down from norcal
I had agreed to Benchmarks offer to ship via cold chain when they offered their special deal, before I saw this thread. I just wanted to update everyone with the results. Supposedly every link in its route was temp controlled except the last leg which goes from the local hub to me. However they claim a guaranteed delivery before 10:30 AM. Sure enough at 10:03 AM the fedex guy knocks on my door with the package.
The 6 bottles of Champagne are in styro snugly and I immediately take a few out and check the temperature of the bottles. They are not cold but did feel slightly cool to the touch. I am happy, but next time I might wait, as a precaution. Am pretty sure the wines are perfect but will open one soon and report back.
bottles I got yesterday in S Cal (over 100) from Benchmark were cold to the touch, not just cool, but cold. No issues at all.
I do it with my daily drinkers and have not had a problem.
I have a case coming Cold Chain next week from Benchmark. It will be delivered to the Fed Ex store a mile from me before 10 AM.
This has worked well for me in hot Miami, as opposed to UPS, in the Big Brown Oven !