Oh the trials and tribulations of receiving wine! We often say to each other here in the office, “Wine should not be this hard to receive.” And yet, it can be. That’s where we come in. We want to make it easier for you. 

Here’s the logic: alcohol requires an adult signature upon delivery. UPS and FedEx will not leave a package of wine as they are held liable. We ship primarily with UPS as we have found their customer service reliable, and the company is very data driven, providing helpful information and increasing efficiencies. We also ship via FedEx when patrons request and by air to Alaska and Hawaii.

Over the decades, we have been lucky to work with wonderful people at UPS. Oscar is our current package driver, who comes to the winery daily to pick up and deliver packages. He arrives with a smile on his face and has a contagious enthusiasm for life. He’s a wealth of knowledge about UPS and has his finger on the pulse since he is on the frontline. We also work closely with our UPS rep Chris who helps us to ensure that we are doing the best we can to get packages to our patrons efficiently and with few damages.

As wine shipments have increased (like all shipments to our homes), UPS and FedEx have had to adapt and become more systematic. At times this is helpful and at other moments, it can be challenging and frustrating.

Here are a few tips based on our 41 years of experience.

Tip #1: Keep your email address up to date with us. UPS and FedEx now email patrons with an email address (or two) in our system any time we ship a package to you. That way you can keep an eye on the package to know when it is expected to be delivered. Send us your email address so we can update your records.

Tip #2: Let us know in advance if there’s a specific day you’d like to receive the wine. We have a good sense of the transit time from us to you. We typically ship on Mondays, but we can ship any day to accommodate your plans.

Tip #3: Don’t panic. If UPS misses you the first day, all is not lost. UPS will make three delivery attempts on three consecutive business days, each time leaving a note on the door alerting the recipient that they’ve made an attempt.

Tip #4: Consider enrolling in UPS My Choice Premium. If you have trouble receiving packages, UPS My Choice Premium offers some great flexibility and advantages, particularly if you prefer to pick up your wine at a UPS Store or would like UPS to try a neighbor or would like to have a package delivered within a smaller time frame. Here are the details:

Enroll in UPS My Choice here.

If you enroll in UPS My Choice Premium and want the wine delivered to your preferred UPS Access Point, we ship the wine to your home address. Once UPS notifies you via email that a shipment is coming, you instruct UPS to rerouted it to your Access Point.

We have also heard from patrons that UPS My Choice can be finicky with shipping names. If you want us to change anything on your packages to reflect your UPS My Choice account, please let us know. 

Tip #5: Think of other places where you could ship your wine. If you have trouble receiving it at home, you might want to ship it to work, a neighbor or a UPS Access Point/Store. (Something to consider: UPS Stores are franchises. Each store charges different rates for picking up packages there. Often that fee is $5-10 per day the package is held. This is why UPS My Choice Premium is a good option for those who prefer to pick up at a UPS Store.)

Tip #6: If you are in our Annual Tasting Program, watch for emails ahead of the shipment and adjust the shipping dates or location if needed. Let us know right away. We can easily change shipping dates and locations on Annual Tasting Program packages or any shipments as long as we have about a week’s notice.

Tip #7: Be proactive. Let us know of any changes before a shipment is sent. We can reroute a package mid-shipment; however, UPS charges us $25 to $60 to make the change, so we have to pass the charge onto our patrons. If a package is returned to us because a patron was not home, we send a new package of wine at no cost for the wine to the patron, but we do ask that patrons pay the full cost of shipping ($20-$150, depending on bottle quantity). With all our normal shipments, we pay 50% or more of what UPS charges us to ship a package. And our annual bill from UPS is our single largest expense to the business.

Tip #8: We’re here to help you! You don’t need to call the UPS Customer Service team. If you have problems with UPS, call us (707-433-4606). We’ll take care of you.

We hope these tips are helpful. We are always here to help you and as we like to say, it really shouldn’t be difficult to receive wine; we just need to find the best way to get Hafner wine to you.