Please don't ship wine to arrive on a Friday

WINE TALK
21

I will always choose the “hold at location” option for either FedEx or UPS. That way I don’t have to worry about trying to time the driver or exact delivery. I’m also very fortunate that the FedEx location that holds deliveries is a print/copy store, so the wines are kept inside the store until I come get them. UPS isn’t that nice (its a regular old warehouse) but I can always go pick those up as soon as they’re ready to keep them from being out in the heat/cold too long.

22

Sorry to hear that, Don, as I got two cases from Rhys today. But I also got a message this evening from UPS on a shipment from another winery that went out on Tuesday that:

A late UPS trailer arrival has caused a delay. We’re adjusting plans to deliver your package as quickly as possible. / Delivery will be rescheduled.

For shipments from California to Atlanta, I prefer FedEx shipping on Monday because I get it on Friday. If it is going UPS, I would rather have it ship on Tuesday through Thursday so it is more likely to be moving throughout the trip and not sitting in a warehouse here from Saturday to Monday.

I always choose ground because I’ve never had a temperature problem with it and the increased cost of a faster form of delivery is generally significant.

23

It would really help if we could know the route our shipments takes from destination to us. Unfortunately, we always have that shipper black out period of a few days where you have no idea where your wine is at until it hits your town. Did go through Salt Lake (good) or Phoenix (bad)??? I’m in MN. If its going through a hot place like Las Vegas or Phoenix I don’t want it sitting around long there. Right now I could be shipping from CA but LA is too hot. Ideal temps in MN, sucks in LA. So I worry about the time spent in LA and possible time spent in in Vegas or other hot spot once transit starts.

24

I started having all my wine shipments sent to the local FedEx store. It’s a couple minutes down the road and I usually reroute them there anyway. It’s much more convenient and although conditions aren’t ideal for storage, it’s much better than sitting on a truck in a warehouse. The hours at the store allow me to pick up pretty much any time too.

25

My preference is delivered to FedEx first thing Monday, delivered on Friday. Realistically, I think we fuss more than necessary, unless the weather is quite extreme.

26

Nahhh, really? [snort.gif]

27

Are you sure? I have a niece who works for UPS and she assures me that, at least in California, none of the UPS warehouses are temperature controlled.

I’ve been to the one in Bakersfield and the warehouse area is open to the dock doors, and all the dock doors are left open. When it’s 100°F outside, it’s 100°F in the warehouse.

28

Wines that don’t make a Friday delivery either sit in the:

A. Warehouse
B. The inbound truck until leaded on a delivery truck late Sunday night
C. And, if they went out Friday and didn’t get delivered, they sit in the dark brown delivery truck over the weekend and cook … Or freeze.

DONT MESS WITH FRIDAY DELIVERIES.

29

I’ve left a note for my Fedex guy a couple of times — I just said something like, “Please leave box in front of my door if I don’t answer when you ring.”, and I signed my name. At least two or three times this has been successful for me; the FedEx guy simply removed the “contains alcohol … adult signature required” sticker on the box, and left it in front of my door. I’m sure this is against company policies to leave a box of alcohol at somebody’s door without a signature, but at least some drivers will do it anyways.

30

Im kind of tempted to start sending my wine to my sisters house in lafayette ca. Have her hold it for up to three years and make a drive out there and back.

Problem is that she is a wine snob. Not certain just what would be left.

31

If you’re worried about wine sitting on a truck or in a warehouse overnight or over the weekend, it isn’t shipping season. If you’re shipping at the right time and are that concerned about these things, you probably just shouldn’t have wine shipped to you. If you understand the vaguaries of shipping, particularly for ground shipping or anything coming from a fulfillment center (most wineries), then you know that these types of demands simply cannot be met.

32

When I worry, I just suck it up and request 2-day delivery. It is sucky expensive, but it is cheaper than cooked wine.

33

We’ve had several boxes sitting in Phoenix lately for three days. They arrived there early Saturday and sit until Monday night before they ship to NM. Shipped on a Thursday, also a Very Bad Idea. We could pay for expedited, but it still goes through Phoenix for at least a day.

Seems like the cost of shipping is really skyrocketlng. Some I don’t even know what we paid for shipping (LF, Tablas), but when you order on a web site it’s a shock. We don’t have an office, and just got quoted $44 for six bottles by Fedex ground. Yikes.

Maybe it’s time to start buying bottles at Costco again. Worked until we got hooked on tasty wine.

34

Me too.

35

I think I am going to change all my FEDEX deliveries to the local hub station which is about 1 mile from me. Friday I spent two hours waiting for a second attempt when all it did was go there anyway.

36

I’ve started having my FedEx shipments rerouted to the store, which is 1/2 mile from my house. I’ve got two deliveries scheduled for tomorrow from UPS and I was able to go online today and change them to hold for pickup. They’re open until 8:45 so I’ll be able to get them on my way home from work.

37

I’m obsessed with the details of shipping. IMO, shipping to ‘HOLD at FedEx Location’ is nearly always best for your wine.

  • First, your wine comes off the local delivery truck ASAP as its nearly always the first stop in your hood.
  • You can pick up anytime within 5 days.
  • Temp is fine inside FedEx Office/Kinkos as employees are there working, usually until 10-11pm.
  • I guarantee the temperature inside your vehicle, and the suspension system, is superior to a local FedEx delivery truck.
  • If set up that way from inception, you (and/or your winery) avoid the $4-9 ‘residential surcharge’ for FedEx traveling on residential streets
  • No missed delivery while you’re in the shower, walking the dog, etc. which literally puts your wine on that local truck for like 9 hours, and AGAIN the next day for re-attempt. (Obviously they have to break for lunch–where do they park?)
    I totally strongarm everyone to take deliveries this way unless:
    (1) short-trip (Western US) service to a business address I feel pretty sure gets delivered in AM
    (2) the 5-day delivery cross country where I’m SURE the customer is home on a Saturday to take delivery - doorman in a building, or the butler, ya know… This exception is because HOME DELIVERY (different service/truck than FedEx GROUND) delivers on a Saturday where GROUND services commercial addresses only (including the FedEx Office) with deliveries M-F only. For 5-day Ground cross country to commercial address we have no choice but to decide which weekend - on which end - we want a warehoused wine. If at your end (typically my preference since it’s often hot in Sacramento), at least we get a first AM Mon delivery to your local FedEx Office with no trundling about for 1-2 days on local truck attempting home delivery. Also, to dig deeper here, I watch the routes best I can (FedEx doesn’t always reveal the route and they’re variable depending on volume) and I feel pretty sure a cross-country by GROUND arrives early enough on Friday to get offloaded and INSIDE the warehouse–i.e., not left outside in a truck.
    Wineries want your wine to arrive in the best possible condition. And shipping is a killer cost for us - we rarely recover the cost of all the packaging material, the warehouse to store it in, the time to re-pack and drop it off, and of course the FedEx service fees.
    ALL THAT SAID, it is also my opinion that FedEx 3Day Express Saver can be a great option because FedEx will move it fast as possible, usually 1-2 days, it’s only a ‘guarantee’ of not-more-than 3 days.
38

Nice summary, Emily; thanks.