Wine Club Shipments to Arizona

Here in Arizona, it is possible to regularly receive direct shipments from both in-state and out-of-state wineries. Over the past 10 years or so, changes in state laws have made it easier for wine club members to receive these shipments without involving a liquor distributor.

However, the law creates differences in the way each winery can ship directly to Arizona consumers. Generally, the best approach is to have the winery address this issue before placing an order with them. They should be able to clearly describe their policy regarding shipping to your Arizona address and should also keep you updated should the situation change from year-to-year, as it often does.

Here are a few generalities that are “almost always true”, regarding wine club shipments to Arizona addresses:

1. You must be 21 or older to receive a shipment and must be present to sign for it.
2. If you order wine while visiting a winery in person, they can ship here.
3. If the winery does NOT have a distributor in Arizona, they can ship here.
4. If you order from an Arizona winery, they can ship to your residence.
5. You should delay shipments when the daily temperature is over 85 degrees, heat damages wine.
6. Some wineries have special arrangements with Arizona shipping services to assure refrigeration.

Club memberships are an excellent way to keep receiving your favorite wine selections.  Most vintners have a basic club shipment to which you can add more bottles as needed.  It is a great way to expand your horizons because many wineries make their low volume bottling lots exclusively available to wine club members.

V. Sattui is one winery that ONLY direct-ships to consumers’ addresses.  You can also setup arrangements with boutique wine shops that run regular shipments into Arizona in accordance with their license.  For example, the St. Helena Wine Center uses their privately owned refrigerated shipping service to send wine to Arizona.

Once you setup an account, you can order on the web anytime from most of these companies and they will ship promptly.  Just be sure to have someone available to sign for it on the day it arrives.  UPS and FedEx have excellent tracking systems to keep you updated on the shipment’s progress.

Article by Tom Peiffer, Phoenix Wine Shopping Examiner at Examiner.com

View more of Tom’s articles on Examiner.com by visiting his writer’s page.