Arghhh...shipping into the heat wave

WINE TALK
21

My spring shipments will have mostly all arrived by tomorrow to the DC area. I’m down with an offline in the northern VA area.

22

You will be fine. The evenings are not that warm. You are drinking them in the next year. Dont worry about it.

23

It does seem like we segued straight from winter to summer without an intermediate shipping season (aka “Spring”). I still have a case I need to ship from California. Anyone know the forecasts next week? Safe to go ground?

24

I would not be averse to this, after the wines have had time to rest a bit (yes, another superstitution!). Have not connected enough with the DC community.

I knew I was overreacting when I posted this, and was counting on y’all to calm me down. Plus I know everyone always likes a good shipping / temperature thread. Thanks!

25

Depends on how it is shipped. Really nice heavy duty styro shipper and your wine may have a shot. If it’s just in a compressed recycled paper shipper in a box, you might be boned. My opinion is clearly the minority, but living in Texas has changed my opinion about just how “resilient” wine is. I had a sixer shipped from Archery Summit a few years back. Temps hit 79-80 in Texas. Non-styro shipper. Big runs on all corks. I’ve also had to just turn around and send stuff back for seepage with temps pushing 84 or so. Sitting in a non-refrigerated metal truck baking in the sun increases the ambient temp around the wine higher and higher. It might just be 81 or 84, but it might be 92 or 93 in a truck bed. As always, YMMV.

26

Don’t listen to these guys. They are trying to make you feel better. You are screwed. They’ll all evaporate by the time they get to you.

Actually, I think you will be fine too, but I couldn’t let a WB thread appear without some crank arguing against the grain.

27

With such a seemingly narrow shipping window, well over half of my Berserkerday purchases from California are all on their way to Cleveland simultaneously, all scheduled to arrive in the next week. With all that arriving at once, I’m far more concerned about my wife finding out than the heat hitsfan

28

Don’t worry, John did quite a good job of that right before you. Nothing like personal examples of ruined wines to get people worrying again!

29

I think you’re fine. I just had a case show up half an hour ago that was shipped UPS ground last Friday from CA to northern VA, and nothing looks out of sorts. No pushed corks or seepage or anything. I have 8 more cases showing up in the next 2 weeks, all coming from CA, and I’m not too worried. It’s warmed up a bit, but nothing in the forecast is near yesterday at this point, and usually it seems the wineries I’m ordering from pay more attention to the forecast than I do anyway! I’m never really upset with a weather hold…

30

Oh, you’ll feel the heat. Let us know how you hold up.

31

As a producer for a couple of years now, shipping temperatures are a really tricky thing. It’s too cold, it’s too hot, it’s cold here or on the way but warm or maybe warm somewhere en route or at the destination, someone isn’t there for signature so the wine gets another night in a warehouse…there are endless variable. Then you wonder if someone’s going to post that you screwed up and didn’t look at the weather.

As a consumer, I wouldn’t be worried about current conditions much at all. As a producer…I’m just waiting for the first (and second, etc.) time someone posts that I’m an idiot because we shipped at the wrong time. It’s inevitable, even if you do everything in your power to handle things perfectly. If anyone ever gets damaged wine, of course we’d replace it. I’d love to hear any stories of anyone on WB getting wine this week or next from anywhere that gets damaged. My sense is even with the early spring/summer weather, we’re all fine.

32

Who are you, Bob Wood??

33

Fixed.

34

[rofl.gif] Beat me to it.

35

+1