Wine Shipping Bummer...

WINE TALK
#1

I bought a case of Bordeaux from a west coast retailer. Specifically 7 bottles of 89 Cos d’Estournel and then I rounded out the case with some Pontet Canet. I gave explicit instructions to ship on Monday of next week to an address in Wisconsin. As part of the purchase, they told me that the wine came from a private cellar/seller and that there is no “warranty” on the wine for spoilage, tca, etc… I was fine taking that risk. But what did they do, the shipped it THIS week to Florida. By the time I got the tracking info it was too late to stop it… they finally reversed it by the time it had gotten to Florida. It spent the day in Orlando and then a day in Riviera Beach before being re-routed back to the store, which they received today. So that wine spent five days traversing the country and spent at least two in mid-80’s degree weather. Once I knew the wine was shipped, I told them I was going to refuse it and return it. I didn’t need to since they re-routed it and it arrived back at the store today and they issue a credit. So all is good there. But I feel badly for the wine, wine which I wanted and the price was reasonable. What do you think they are going to do with the bottles? Tell the consignor? Disclose the wine has been part of a frequent flyer program? I never saw the bottles, but the store said they came back “looking good”… seems like a bit of an ethical dilemma to me? As far as the store goes, despite the screw up on their part, they handled it well and took care of it, so I have no complaints. I did not ask them what they were going to do with the wine, just that I no longer had any interest in it. I am also not suggesting that they intend to do any unethical, I just think the situation creates a conflict between the store, the consignor and any potential future buyer. Wonder how they would/should handle that?

#2

Sorry to hear that. Do you know how it was packaged? Styro vs. cardboard? It does make a difference.

#3

Dan Hammer has offered to buy the wine if he can get the FF points that go with it. [stirthepothal.gif]

#4

I do not know, but my guess is Styro…

#5

I would guess that the store is going to sell it to somebody else without thinking twice.

That said, if it was packed in styro, and the temperature only got in the 80s, I think there’s a very good chance that the wine is still just fine. It might have lost a little in ageability, but it shouldn’t be really damaged.

#6

Clearly they know you’re a Palm Beach layabout…and where to find you…

#7

Scott,

I share your lament and I am glad that the store handled it properly. But if the wine is in styro, Orlando would not have caused it any problem. It has actually been fairly reasonable here this week ( http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/34786" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ), and the evenings and mornings have been very cool. And the real risk here is the time on the delivery truck, which does heat up. So, since it would have never seen the delivery truck, I would not be too concerned about that wine being resold.

And next time, just have the wine stop in Orlando and you can avoid that extra time in transit. [whistle.gif]

#8

It saw a truck…made it from orlando to riviera beach… while the risk is small, I didn’t bargain for it, so I am not taking it…

#9

Agreed that you should not take it as that heat risk was not something you factored in when making the purchase. But I suspect that the next purchaser will not be able to tell if it traveled in a hot climate. Hell, it might be Leve.

But, while not arguing the ultimate point with you or your decision to not want the wines, my experience is that the intercity trucks are not as bad as the delivery trucks. The delivery trucks have the plexiglass roofs and are out in the sun. The intercity trucks in FLA usually travel at night. At least on the tracking for the wines I buy and or ones that I watch for wines shipped out.