Ordering wine online is not something you do if your only method of gratification is instant. Even expedited shipping won't satisfy under those circumstances. That's because, in order to ensure the product retains its integrity, wineries are very careful about when they ship. The last thing they -- and you -- want is the wine sitting in a hot truck somewhere over the weekend. So, depending on when you order the wine (Thursday, for example), and how far you are from the winery (across country, say), your order may not be shipped for a few days (in that case, probably the following Monday).
Wine shipments require the signature of an adult 21 years or older and therefore cannot be left on your front porch. Nor do you want them left on the front porch, unless you live in some schwanky neighborhood where your front porch is temperature-controlled. Businesses' open hours and shippers' delivery times sync nicely, reducing the risk that you'll miss a shipment.
During times of extreme hot or cold, wineries likely will opt to hold your shipment until temperatures are more cooperative. When you purchase wines during these times, your credit card still will be charged at the time of sale. That's because the wineries hold back that inventory as earmarked for you.
We charge a flat-rate based on $12 for the first bottle from a winery and $2 for every additional bottle purchased from the same winery. So, for example, if you ordered 2 bottles from Winery A, and 3 bottles from Winery B, your shipping total would be $30 ($14 for shipping from Winery A and $16 for shipping from Winery B). It might sound complicated, but it's necessary, because your order may be coming from multiple origination points. Unlike traditional wine retailers, we don't buy wine at wholesale rates and then sell them at retail, and we don't hold inventory. Athough we charge the wineries a fee to promote their wines, 100% of wine sales goes to the respective wineries. Therefore, we don't have huge margins from which to offset shipping. In most cases, however, our shipping charges will be less than the winery's. And they're certainly less expensive than a trip to wine country!
