For all the glamour surrounding the Wine business, there are a horde of problems especially when it comes to shipping wine.

Packaging

Wine is liquid. And wine bottles are made of fragile glass. Wine can spill and leave stains that can just stay on the surface for eternity. All this gives rise to a huge degree of complexity when it comes to packaging wine. It has to be packaged in such a way that the bottle is safe until it reaches the destination. Wine is an elite product and has to be packaged in such a way that it looks aesthetically appealing. Packaging can be a huge ordeal when it comes to wine.

Adult signature required

The law is very clear here. Let’s say the shipment reaches the destination and finds that an underage boy opens the door to sign for the shipment. However much you are convinced that the boy truly intends giving the package, unopened to his parents, the delivery person cannot and should not deliver the wine to an underage person. This is quite tough because most adults are not home during delivery hours. And people do not generally route wine bottle to their office addresses.  

Temperature fluctuations

Wine is something that needs to be stored at a specific temperature range. Sweltering summer heat can destroy wines. Several wineries ship only during certain months of a year in order to avoid spoilage due to temperature fluctuations. Those who do ship wine throughout the year need to make sure that their wine is carefully shipped in containers that are temperature controlled.

Legal restrictions

There are several rules to follow when it comes to shipping wine. And when the wine is shipped across states, one needs to follow the rules and comply with regulations of both states (and states in transit). Rules range from aggregate volume limits, age, address and product compliance. So, before trying to ship wine across, one needs to study the legalities comprehensively.

It’s expensive

Shipping wine is not similar to shipping a book. It is an expensive deal because of the fragility and the legal tangles involved. It is estimated that about 20 per cent of what a customer pays for wine goes towards shipping. So, a major part of the revenue from the customer goes to shipping. For this reason, wine sellers online dread the prospect of shipping returns, replacement requests and any such mishaps because it can work out to be horribly expensive for them. Similarly, shipping partners who ship wine also have the same considerations. Wine is prone to spilling, spoiling and breaking.