(Cost of Wine + OWC + Non-Ground Shipping) Is it getting out of hand?

Should wineries start offering their wine with and without OWC? While they do make for nice presentation, and whiile I don’t intimately understand the economics (i.e. how much they cost), why can’t that cost savings be passed on the buyer if they don’t want to buy the wood? There is some wine that I do want in the OWC, but others where it doesn’t matter to me. At least give the buyer the option and then wineries might start to figure out how many people actually want the wood and ajust their OWC production from there.

Also, I know that many wineries don’t offer ground shipping as an option, and bascially require you to pay for 2 day on an OWC 3 pack which can cost north of $75 and adds $25 to the cost of each bottle. Frankly, anyone that is spending more than $100 on a bottle of wine is a big boy/big girl and should understand the risks associated with ground vs. air shipping and be allowed to figure out which option they want. Basically, if a winery gave me the option to take 3 bottles with no OWC and ground shipping in a styro, that could potentially save (let’s call it) $50 which for some of these 3 packs is about a 10% savings which is a real number.

I’m sort of building on my own thoughts, and some recent comments I’ve read here recently, and I’m curious what other think about OWC’s and the obvious assoicated additional costs in shipping the OWC. We know that Maybach offered their Mags with OWC and without, and from what I heard anecdotally, the non-owc sold out first. Could Maybach’s experiment become a trend?

The fact that I would have had to pay way to much for 2 day only shipping an OWC that I didn’t was the deciding factor in passing on some offers in the last month or two.

Anyhow, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! blahblah

(Note: editing my original title since I didn’t mean to call out Maybach on the shipping part, but rather compliment them on an offering that gave the customer the choice of buying with OWC or without on some of their magnums)

More than that, I like winery’s that offer in person pickup. I’d much rather drive to the winery(I live in Calif.) and put the wine in my car knowing it’s not going to get bounced around by some careless shipping company.

Spoke too soon - sorry about that, all . . .

+1

I completely agree. Expecially when they are nice enough not charge you for that privilige.

Alex - I have been buying Maybach direct from the winery since their inaugural vintage and every year, I simply email Chris and ask for a less expensive shipping option. Guess what? He ALWAYS agrees!!! One year, he even paid to ship it by air because he didn’t want to risk the weather AND wanted to please a customer. This winery has AMAZING customer service and I would say that if love the wine, next time, just ask for another shipping option.

BTW - if you think Maybach is expensive for shipping, have you seen what Schrader charges??? (and they also charge tax on the shipping as well)

You’re way off, Larry. This winery does the exact opposite. They prefer and encourage 2 day air but absolutely will do whatever they can to make their customers happy.

I wasn’t meaning to imply anything negative about Maybach. I actually meant to compliment them on the fact that they offered their Magnums with OWC and without. As for Schrader, they are certainly one of wineries that came to mind that offers only in wood and only 2 day shipping.

Cant one go to FedEx and make arrangements for pickup?

Okay - thanks for clarifying - and I see the other posts doing the same thing.

I’m going to delete that original post - and I will certainly reach out directly to the winery and apologize for my comments. They were based on the OP and I shouldn’t be so quick as to react in the way that I did. "

Cheers

Isn’t there also the issue of sustainable shipping/packaging practices? It always struck me as a bit odd when wineries that promote sustainable viticulture practices end up shipping the bottles in new wooden cases. With Napa, these cases seem to get heavier and more ornate every year. This is just my own observation (totally possible the wood is sourced via sustainable practices!) and I could be totally off the mark. Obviously there are a lot of sales/marketing decisions behind these decisions as well. I’d leave it to someone ITB to shed more light on this.

The worst. My most recent order had $340 in shipping charges and taxes. Outrageous.

FYI, tax on shipping is mandatory in some states. Do all winery’s charge it when applicable? Don’t know.

I’ll say it again: If people are still paying it, the price isn’t too expensive.

I’ll say it again: If people are still paying it, the price isn’t too expensive.

Sure but offering customers an option for shipping without a wooden case should reduce the shipping cost while increasing profit margins for the winery, no?

Two thoughts:

  1. Some wineries do offer the option of taking or not taking the wooden case. Maybach just did - the magnum in the case was $425, magnum alone without the case was $395.

  2. As far as shipping goes, the longer the parcel is in the shipper’s hands the better the chance for damage. I can understand a winery wanting to minimize damage by not sending their wine out on trucks to get jarred around for days across the continent instead of hours on a plane. Plus, there’s less risk of adverse temperatures.

Maybach and other wineries that offer that option should be (and are) commended for offering this option. Also I’m not talking about the type of shipping offered (2 day vs ground). I’m specifically talking about the weight of the shipment itself. Additional weight cost more to ship in the same period time so less package weight would save customers some money.

I imagine wineries would see a small bump in profit as they could charge the same amount for the wine but save on packaging costs.

I believe schrader comes 3 day now. Others like sqn and Marcassin 2 day only.

I want to give a shout out to Colgin for their most recent release. I’m not sure if this is the norm, but at least they gave the option buying the wood OWC or buying the bottles without the wood.

Maybe it’s not the wine they are selling?? [wow.gif]

Makes you wonder if some wineries are making a profit on the OWCs? Anyone ITB have any insight?