I’m writing this because I’ve hit a bit of a wall with Rivers-Marie logistics and wanted to see if others are navigating similar experiences.
I want to be clear: I am a genuine fan of the wines and have even visited the winery in person. Because Rivers-Marie is not officially distributed in my country, I rely entirely on my allocation to enjoy these wines. It takes a significant amount of effort and cost to bring them here, but I do it because I truly appreciate the wines.
However, the recurring friction with shipping and communication has become difficult to manage. Because I am shipping internationally through a forwarding service, accurate paperwork for customs and tax compliance is a legal necessity, not just a personal preference.
To avoid the mix-ups I faced last year, I was very proactive this time:
- I intentionally set different ship dates for my Pinot and Chardonnay orders to avoid any mix-ups.
- A month before shipping began, I sent a follow-up email explaining exactly why these orders must remain separate for customs and asking for a reminder to be noted on my account.
- I received a confirmation that the dates were updated and the orders would indeed be kept separate.
- HOWEVER, Despite these clear precautions, both orders were just shipped together NOT ONLY on the same day, BUT ALSO randomly mixed across the two boxes, which means the contents no longer match my customs declaration list.
What’s even more confusing is that both my Pinot and Chardonnay orders were exactly one full case (12 bottles) each. Logically, it would have been more efficient and accurate to ship them as two distinct cases. Instead, they were combined into mixed boxes, and I am currently struggling to resolve the discrepancy flags with my forwarding service.
The communication has also been a struggle. In my experience, I rarely receive a response to an initial inquiry and usually have to send a follow-up reminder a few days (even a week) later to get any reply. While I understand this is a busy season, I haven’t encountered this level of difficulty in communication with other boutique producers.
I really value my allocation, but the “logistics vs. stress” balance is getting hard to justify when the same errors repeat despite such specific coordination. I’m curious to know:
Is it common for specific ship-date requests to be overlooked like this?
I’d appreciate any perspective on the best way to handle this. I just want to ensure these wines make it to my cellar without the constant logistical friction.