An online retailer has shipped my cumulative 3 cases via Fedex, from Fairfield to Albuquerque. Shipped on Thursday, they arrived in Phoenix at 5 am this morning, where it looks like they will be weekending. Projected delivery is Tuesday. I attempted to get some information from FedEx, but the customer service rep could not tell me anything because the Phoenix facility is closed for the weekend.
The high today in Phoenix is going to be 88F, 85 tomorrow. Don’t know if it’s sitting outside on a pallet, in a truck, in a warehouse, if the warehouse is climate controlled (doubtful).
I’ve written the retailer and said I don’t think I want this wine. We just went through having five really nice bottles overheat in our cabin on a cruise and being almost completely taste free, so no more oxidized wine, thanks.
Thinking I’ve been paying insurance on these shipments, so what you do?
What are the nighttime temps in Phoenix? Here in Las Vegas, they’ll be in the 50’s. A warehouse tends to have a high thermal mass so if the nighttime temps are cool, the wine will probably be OK.
As an aside, because I’m in Las Vegas, I never go with ground shipment unless it goes out on a Monday. With 2nd day air, I’ll go with Monday or Tuesday.
Common sense seems to be a rare commodity these days. I had a customer in the store last week who bought a case of wine to be shipped home. He remarked that it was quite cool in the Bay Area so it would be fine to ship it right away. I very gently pointed out that he lives in Florida where the temperatures are still in the 80’s, so it might be best to wait for a while. His response: “Oh. Right”.
The facility is indoors, climate controlled so you’re wine is definitely not sitting outside on a pallet. I never understand where this vision of a transportation company comes from. Very likely you will be fine… Delivery day on the truck is really always our largest concern. That’s when the heat can kill us.
I’ve lived in the Phoenix area for 25 years and have come to share Eric’s opinion.
I watch nighttime lows much more than I do daytime highs at this time of year. The sun isn’t high and things just don’t heat up as much as they do in the late spring/summer/early fall.
I agree about the building having a lot of mass which will slow the temp swings. Otoh, I’d be really surprised of Fedex pays for AC nights/weekends. The AC in all the office buildings I’ve worked in have turned off nights and weekends. Phoenix might be different tho, donno.
I never worry about 80’s. Mid 90’s is the issue. Just like freezing, mid 30’s not an issue. And for freezing…it has to be real cold for a very long time
I am a temperature fanatic; 30 cities built into my iPhone 5-day forecast. Joe is right, daytime high is short-lived this time of year. Darn sun is down at 5pm. High of 88 is not like July where it’s 88 for six hours 3-9. It’s an hour maybe 3-4. NOT enough to damage wine in a quality shipping box, inside a warehouse. That said, I saved all my shipping until Monday… Thursday and Friday were pretty warm in NoCal for the pickup. FOR SURE, I would (always) route the wine to HOLD for you at your LOCAL FEDEX OFFICE --minimize the time on the local delivery truck. In my experience, the local FedEx Office is usually an AM stop.