As summer approaches and the temperature rises around the country, we find ourselves getting nervous with each package we ship out. We have put so much effort into sourcing, pre-tasting, and re-bottling our partner wineries’ hard work into a curated selection of six mini-bottles. It will be heart-breaking for the kit to be ruined in the process of shipping to our customers.
We have spent the past few weeks experimenting with different cold-pack shipping methods in an effort to preserve the integrity of each kit, while balancing the exorbitant shipping rates associated with increased packaging and faster shipping. Our solutions to summer shipping are presented below and we will have these options until Oct 31, 2020:
1) Ground shipping from Master the World is always included but what’s left of the summer months, we will offer a cold pack and silver reflective bubble wrap for any region that can take a ground shipment. These will include destinations that are a day’s ground travel from our winery. To estimate your zone/transit window, please see the Ground Transit Chart. The insulated cold pack will remain cold for 24 hours and while it will not stay frozen, it will help keep the package cool to the touch by the time it arrives. Please do not expect the bottles or cold packs to stay ice cold. Our goal is to have the wines at no higher than room temperature by the time the kit arrives.
2) Next Day Air ($25 for one kit, $35 for two kits) is pricey but we negotiated lower summer rates with UPS and will also subsidize a portion of the cost to create a more affordable option during the summer months. Next Day Air shipments either leave our winery by a refrigerated truck in the am or leave at the end of the day to the airport. These packages are expected to arrive by 12pm the next day.
3) Hold until you are ready for us to ground ship. Don’t want to miss out on our summer monthly kits (we have new wines every month!) but don’t like paying for shipping? (We get that!) We will hold your shipment for you. Send us an email at SOMM@MTWwines.com within 24 hours of placing your order and we will hold your shipment.
For WSET-Course students with Napa Valley Wine Academy, your summer shipping is pre-paid and your packages will go out Next Day Air unless it is within a day of ground shipping from our winery. We will ship all packages with cold packs that are intended to keep the wine at no higher than room temperature upon arrival.
Our shipping operations have only been up and running since March 2020 (through a pandemic no less!) so we appreciate your patience as we iron through our growing pains and navigate through the complexity of shipping wines within the US. We sincerely hope that with these shipping options, you will be better able to enjoy your kits without worrying about drinking over-heated wine!
IMPORTANT NOTES
A. The above transit times are not processing times. We will ship monthly orders in the scheduled week each month when weather permits. A la carte, webinar, and WSET wine kit orders can take up to 7 days to process before shipping. We appreciate your patience, especially during this pandemic period.
B. All of our wine packages require Adult Signature. In fact, we pay an additional fee to our carrier extra for each shipment to ensure that the carrier obtains the required Adult Signature. Please make sure someone above 21 years old is available to sign for the package at your address. The carrier will make 3 attempts to deliver the shipment and will then return the shipment to us. If you would like your shipment to be reshipped to you or your gift recipient, you will be charged a return shipment fee of $40. Once the shipment has left the winery, if you wish to change the destination address, the carrier does charge a fee of $18 that will be passed on to you.
C. During times of either extreme heat/extreme cold/wildfires, we reserve the right to delay shipments until conditions improve. Please be advised that Master the World Inc. is not responsible for wines damaged due to extreme weather conditions. Please check your weather forecast before selecting one of the three shipping options above.