New Summer Shipping Options
11What happens to my wine in the Summer?
It’s summer and wine takes longer to arrive safely to you, any way you slice it.
At the conclusion of each offer, all wines are retrieved directly from the winery and brought to the WCC temperature-controlled Sonoma Warehouse. From there, here are the summer shipping options:
Standard Summer Shipping:
(included in offer price)
West Coast
Wine packages will be sent from the WCC warehouse (Sonoma, CA) to recipients on the west coast. See map for states that apply. Packages will not be shipped on Thursday or Friday to ensure no weekend exposure. Transit times will never exceed two days.
All Other States
Wine packages will ship out each Thursday using refrigerated trucks that deliver to strategically located carrier hubs in the Midwest and east coast. When dropped at the hub, your tracking number will become active and your wine will be delivered to you within 1-2 days.
All packages are shipped via foam inserts during the summer months.
Please keep in mind, you will receive a tracking number, but it won’t be active until it is scanned at your nearest hub.
Service upgrade:
Update from WineDavid49 30 Aug 2019
IMPORTANT: we had to raise the upgraded summer shipping prices effective with this offer. Case upgrade now $40.00. turns out that’s even a bargain! please be sure to factor in if you upgrade.
(additional $10 for small parcels and $40 (was $15) for cases)
After wine is retrieved from the winery and packaged, the wines are shipped via 2-day transit out of Wine Country Connect’s Sonoma warehouse on the soonest available Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Packages will not ship on Thursday or Friday to ensure no weekend exposure.
All packages will be shipped via foam inserts with added freeze pack protection.
Here is an example of (conservative) estimated delivery times:
West Coast:
(CA, AZ, ID, NV, OR, WA)
Please note that the west coast will shipping times will not change with upgraded shipping.
| Offer Date | Standard Summer Shipping - Estimated Delivery | Expedited Summer Shipping - Estimated Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Monday Offers (example: June 10) | 9-10 days from order date (June 19-20) | 9-10 days from order date - (June 19-20) |
| Wednesday Offers (ex: June 12) | 8-9 days from order date (June 20-21) | 8-9 days from order date (June 20-21) |
| Friday Offers (ex: June 14) | 12-13 days from order date (June 26-27) | 12-13 days from order date (June 26-27) |
All Other States
| Offer Date | Standard Summer Shipping - Estimated Delivery | Expedited Summer Shipping - Estimated Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Monday Offers (example: June 10) | 15-16 days from order date (June 25-26) | 9-10 days from order date - (June 19-20) |
| Wednesday Offers (ex: June 12) | 13-14 days from order date (June 25-26) | 8-9 days from order date (June 20-21) |
| Friday Offers (ex: June 14) | 20-21 days from order date (July 2-3) | 12-13 days from order date (June 26-27) |
- 20 comments, 54 replies
- Comment
I am filled with joy. This is serious, not a joke. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was planning to not buy more wine until September. Now you may proceed to impoverish me, sir. :-}
Details, details…
What are the details?
@rjquillin more details coming.
@rjquillin Details are in the top post now.
@Thumperchick Nicely done/edited!
Interesting there’s no difference for the west coast.
Also, I’m wondering if the GSO select wine service might not be a good option for those in CA/NV/AZ. I think it’s cheaper all around and that’s a large part of their business.
@klezman Yep. My first question to wineries when ordering is ‘Can you do GSO?’ Yeah, it’s probably in the back of a truck from winery to distribution center during the day, but it gets to my local warehouse by 10am the next morning. i really like that.
Ugh. Still going to be hotter than hell out. At an up-charge no less. I’m never in a hurry for wine. But that’s me. I’ll wait til October. Thank you very much for wanting to charge me more $$ though. Hold option would be ideal.
@kaolis Even a hold with storage fees…
@kaolis Same here. Dallas has been hitting upper 90 and 100’s. I think the extra $/expedited shipping will NOT help. This has already come up with the North Texas/Dallas/DFW casemates and most are in agreement. We will wait until it starts getting back in the 70 - 80s range. That will be late October though…
@hey_zeus @kaolis missing out i tell ya.
@kaolis @Winedavid49 LOL… I knew you would be chiming in @Winedavid49! Darn you Red Barron!!! Alright. I’ll text the DFW folks/casemates and gauge their responses. We usually get together at an unnamed wine shop for wine tastings. I might have to arm wrestle some of them though…
@Winedavid49 to clarify the options can you detail the specific strategic locations the standard summer shipping orders are sent to?
And for the upgrade charge it is true 2 day shipping from ship to delivery that includes an ice pack, two ice packs?
@kaolis Missouri and New York for regular summer shipping. For upgraded service, two 12 oz freeze packs (one per 6 pack foam insert). and it is true two day. normally 1 pack for 6 pack and less.
@Winedavid49 NY being Rensselaer, same as last year?
@InFrom @Winedavid49 my Onesta GB arrived at Rensselaer tonight and will be delivered tomorrow, happy to see the same program as last year, worked well for me in WNY.
I just received notification that my Amavi Cellars syrah shipped today to SoCal from WA to arrive on Thursday. Weather.com tells me that high temperatures along the I5 will range from the 90’s into the 100’s on Wednesday. I guess I am going to have to pop one, bottle shock or no, to see if they survived. Barring the coincidence of a wine I want to buy with an unusual and extended cooler summer weather pattern, I will opt to wait for the seasons to change before I buy. (PS: whether or not you believe in bottle shock is not the point of this message.)
Did not arrive on Thursday. . .
@davirom OUCH!!!
@WineDavid Maybe this is a stupid question, but I have wondered about this for years ordering wine from Woot, and reading the ongoing discussion regarding summer shipping. The question…if I go to a local wine retailer, and buy a bottle of wine in August, was that wine shipped from the winery in CA, to a distributor in Ohio, and then to a retailer…in the middle of summer, and always in refrigerated trucks? Or is it shipped mostly in trucks without refrigeration?
@mrn1 GREAT ?
It’s nice to see an effort…but living in AZ I’m feeling more like I’m better off waiting on further purchases. $10-$15 effectively just for an ice pack seems kind of excessive since there’s no difference in delivery time to AZ…and my experience with other perishable items shipped to AZ says just an ice pack (even in foam) doesn’t do much. I had a family member send us Chocolates in April a few years ago - shipped from CA, 2 days in transit, packed in foam with an ice pack…arrived as a molten solid chunk measuring 80f when I stuck a thermometer in it. And that was early spring before things got hot.
Our last order in May arrived after just 2 days of travel and was held at FedEx for pickup. Yet the bottles were very warm to the touch when I opened it. (It didn’t help that FedEx chose to send it from Coachella to PHX then back to us here in Yuma (we’re closer to Coachella than we are PHX, would have been quicker to just route it straight here.) Though I suspect the bigger problem was it arrived here in town at 6AM but then was held at the non-temperature controlled depot until 4PM when it finally made it to the temperature controlled FedEx retail location.
So I’m torn. I’m half tempted to just order something that’s a good deal and I’m not in love with to see if the ice pack actually does any good so I’d know if it’s worth it if something great shows up in the next few months. But…it’s also summer which means AC doubles our electric bill so I try to minimize additional spending
SCOTT HARVEY and next 3 offers
Due to 4th of July landing smack dab in the middle of the week and in an abundance of caution, please add an additional week for deliveries on both normal summer shipping transit times.
For instance: if you select a Scott Harvey offer, Reefer consol trucks are not running the normal 6/27 departure. So east coast will consol the following Thursday on the 7/5 truck for delivery the following week.
West coast and expedited will not be impacted and will run normally for Scott Harvey.
will answer questions here on shipping. 4th of July is mucking everyone up on deliveries.
@Winedavid49 No, insisting on shipping during the summer is mucking it up
I guess I am still a little confused. I would prefer just to use standard shipping. Based on the description you have provided, and as I live in the “All Other States” area (CO), it sounds like standard shipping should get my wines to me safe and sound…albeit a little bit longer than normal. Is that an accurate statement?
@MSUGOGRN Yes.
@MSUGOGRN @Winedavid49 So standard shipping it is. A bit longer to wait for the shipment but shipping time should be almost the same…
Just got my case of Scott Harvey Zinfandels. Ice packs were completely thawed, but bottles seemed to be slightly below room temperature. One ice pack exploded, other was fine. Not sure if I’ll be using the premium shipping again, but with it being in the 90s here all weekend, probably not a bad purchase this time, considering the Scott Harvey wine is a bit more expensive than some of the other offerings (white wine) lately.
Have any SoCal 'mates gone with the ice shipping? Curious how cool it keeps it.
@radiolysis
This would certainly be the week you’d want them.
@rjquillin yep. My hope is the Noceto box waits a bit to ship. I have nothing in transit until that goes.
@rjquillin ha! Noceto case went out yesterday. Crossing fingers for no leakers.
I got my case of Meeker wine yesterday. I tried the enhanced shipping for the 2nd time, the gel packs were still slightly cool, wine was about 72F. I live & work in a rural area 40 or more miles from a Fedex or Walgreens location. Interesting note, the enhanced shipping is Fedex 2 day which would not let me re direct to my location of choice so I just let it go to my office. I was given a choice of 3 locations which were farther away and south of me rather than the closer ones to the north which I prefer. That may vary reqionally but here in WNY that’s how it worked for me.
With regular summer shipping, Fedex ground (which I’ll probably use from now on), the order goes by refrigerated truck to Rensselaer NY, arrives at night and is trucked right back to Buffalo, I usually redirect to a Fedex location 40 miles away from me and it gets there by 9am.
Either way I’m pretty satisfied with the summer shipping options.
@Winedavid49
Upgraded shipping no longer available?
Correct. We’ll delay or upgrade any hotspots.
@Winedavid49
Ok, thanks for the reply
@Winedavid49
Is regular summer shipping still in effect, ie: styrofoam & refrigerated trucks to Rensselaer NY?
@catcoland I can answer that – maybe. This is what I’m seeing on a shipment that’s arriving tomorrow:
Monday , 7/01/201911:59 pm
SAINT LOUIS, MO
Left FedEx origin facility
5:57 pm
SAINT LOUIS, MO
Arrived at FedEx location
12:00 am
SAINT LOUIS, MO
Picked up
Tuesday , 6/25/20198:12 pm
Shipment information sent to FedEx
In summers past I wouldn’t see FedEx info until it came off the reefer truck in Rensselaer, so I don’t know what this portends for us in NYS. @Winedavid49, can you shed any light? Is this a new route to the East this summer?
@InFrom @Winedavid49
I received 2 cases last week for which I didn’t get notice till they hit Rensselaer NY, same as last year and I was able to redirect them to my preferred Fedex location just south of Buffalo. They traveled overnight from Rensselaer and were at the Fedex store by 9:30am, I hope that route continues for us in WNY till fall!
@catcoland @Winedavid49 If in fact NYC cases are now going through St Louis instead of rensselaer, that would suck! But I’ll see what it says tomorrow and post again. And we’ll feel the bottles when they arrive.
@catcoland @InFrom @Winedavid49
We used to get ours shipped reefer to Grove City, OH then got downgraded to St. Louis. That’s why I pony up the extra $15 for 2-day.
@catcoland @chipgreen @Winedavid49 I just don’t see how it’s a good plan to have it sit in a hot place like St. Louis for a full 24 hours, before departing for its destination.
@Winedavid49
When does Summer Shipping begin this year, 2019?
summer shipping options start with the June 10th offer.
[update 30 Aug 2019]
IMPORTANT: we had to raise the upgraded summer shipping prices effective with this offer. Case upgrade now $40.00. turns out that’s even a bargain! please be sure to factor in if you upgrade.
Are we no longer able to hold at location with standard summer shipping? I have a delivery scheduled for tomorrow via FedEx Home Delivery and do not have the option to reroute it. I’ve never had this issue before.
@kookie00 Same issue here
@kookie00 @suzanne17 I can’t speak to summer shipping, but i did have an experience recently where the emailed FedEx link had dashes in the tracking number. The FedEx page was able to track and show me status, but the HAL option was missing.
When i typed the number in without the dashes it allowed me to HAL. Very odd indeed.
@radiolysis @suzanne17 Mine does not have dashes. From what I can tell, the service changed from ground to home delivery, which doesn’t allow HAL. I’ve had to spend the day at home waiting on this rather than going to the office, so this is a dealbreaker for me.
@kookie00 @radiolysis No dashes here either but appreciate you trying to help. I’ll definitely remember to try that if I get a dashed tracking number. I guess I’ll ship directly to my local FedEx office from now on if I can’t be home. Still have 1 more order that I shipped to my home address that I’m trying to get shipped to FedEx instead.
@kookie00 i’m looking into this. sorry for the hassle.
@kookie00 @suzanne17 Interesting. I’ve certainly had FedEx Home Delivery items held at the store. I wonder if the FedEx site is just having trouble lately. I hope David is able to sort it all out for next time!
And to top it off. The driver just stopped by and drove off (he didn’t get out of the truck). Ugh.
@kookie00 @radiolysis @suzanne17 looks like it may have been a temporary Fedex glitch. keeping an eye out.
@kookie00 The worst!!
@kookie00 @radiolysis @suzanne17 @Winedavid49 I’ve had numerous times when I’ve been unable to redirect a shipment in the last 6 months, all seemed to be Fedex glitches that resolved themselves over time, especially when I kept trying for a day or two. I did have to give up on a few summer shipping orders with only 1 day notice to redirect, fortunately they go to my office.
@Winedavid49 Thanks for looking into this!
Winedavid49 said 12 minutes ago:
IMPORTANT: we had to raise the upgraded summer shipping prices effective with this offer. Case upgrade now $40.00. turns out that’s even a bargain! please be sure to factor in if you upgrade.
@rjquillin
YIKES! I don’t order in the summer without it. Now I just won’t order in the summer.
I love Twisted Oak. I was about to order the case option (because I’m insane), but do I love it $200+ (and then some)?
Dammit, August is just around the corner, and every single day will be near 100 F. Damn, damn, damn.
Hey @Winedavid49, I just checked the tracking and see that my package is arriving today (standard summer shipping). This is the fourth one this summer season where I haven’t gotten a FedEx notification of any kind, it just shows up on the delivery truck one fine morning. I saw another post or two about this issue recently, so I know it’s not just me. This is different from prior years, where we would hear from FedEx when they took possession. (And yes, I checked my Spam folder.) Did FedEx change their process? Is this going to be the situation for the rest of the summer?
Editing to add, HEY!!! I see it went via Rensellaer instead of St. Louis, that’s marvelous!
@InFrom Two esses, one ell, I’ll try to remember how to spell that.
@InFrom This happened to me today with my hard cider order. What if I had not been home? I’ve played “paper chase” with FedEx before and it’s not fun.
Of course there was another problem with my order, which I will not go into now. Still trying to de-pressurize from the screw up and am waiting to see how it will be resolved.
@barnabee @InFrom @WineDavid49 Are you guys talking about a notification that casemates generates? You can sign up for FedEx delivery manager which will notify you of your FedEx shipments. I’ve never had any problems with that.
@barnabee @kaolis @Winedavid49 That is helpful, thanks. But, given that I’ve gotten a notice from Casemates on prior orders, summer or otherwise, it seems unusual not to be getting them this summer.
@InFrom @kaolis @Winedavid49 I agree with @InFrom. It’s Casemates’ responsibility that we receive a “timely” notice that our orders have been shipped. Yesterday, I got an hour’s notice from Casemates that my order was on the truck and out for delivery.
Come on, it’s not our responsibility to have to go from shipping service to shipping service, hunting for our tracking info.
@barnabee @InFrom @kaolis @Winedavid49 I did get an email notice of shipping from casemates for the Graybehl Grenache yesterday at 2:15pm, but it had been delivered to the Fedex store at 10am. I was able to redirect it, I’d already added the shipment to Fedex delivery manager last week by using the track by reference function with the order code, otherwise delivery manager doesn’t autmoatically add the shipments for me. I agree I almost always have gotten a shipping notice from casemates when Fedex receives the package from the reefer truck at a hub.
@barnabee @catcoland @kaolis @Winedavid49 I just searched my emails – the last time I got a notification that a shipment was coming was at the end of May. I have not received a notification for any of the orders I placed in June or July, including the Graybehl. (Which is delicious. I’m sipping it right now.)
@barnabee @InFrom @Winedavid49 @catcolandNot saying that casemates should not be sending notifications, just offering a reliable, perhaps more reliable, way of getting notifications. And I never have to add anything to my FedEx delivery manager, FedEx does it automatically to any shipment to my address on file.
@barnabee @InFrom @kaolis @Winedavid49
I also get notified by FedEx, via text, as soon as a package is en-route. I don’t even check my emails for that information but Casemates should certainly be sending shipping notices, in a timely manner.
I recall wine.woot having the exact same logistics issues that Casemates has. Inconsistent shipping notices, inconsistent lab rat notices and frequently incorrect ship-to states lists. While the frequency of incorrect ship-to lists appears to have gone down some, it may just seem that way because I quit paying so much attention to it.
@chipgreen @InFrom @kaolis @Winedavid49
I’m in the Dark Ages, I don’t text. So, I guess that’s my fault?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@barnabee @chipgreen @InFrom @Winedavid49 My Mom doesn’t text either, so no worries. But then again she’s 94…
kidddding…
@kaolis Admittedly, I am one of the “senior” citizens around here. But don’t worry about hurting my feelings, I will probably have forgotten what you said by tomorrow.
@barnabee Hey, if my ma is 94 trust me, I’m senior right with you 'fraid to say.
…what were we talking about anyway???
@barnabee @kaolis
Speak up, Sonny!
@Winedavid49, I figured I’d mention this here (as well as on the meh thread, where @Barney’s rage was being expressed about the lack of ice packs in her cider shipment).
For the cider offer, shipped to my job in 11367, I got the “Delivered” email at 10:39 AM yesterday, about four hours before I got the “Shipped” email, at 2:29PM.
FWIW, I did not opt for the ice packs and the boxes sat in an air conditioned basement at work overnight before I got to them about 1PM today. When I opened one box (to show someone what the stuff was), I did notice that the bottle was ever so slightly cooler than the room.
I did see the explanation about them (Michigan) drop-shipping these orders and not following instructions.