U.S. alcohol shipping requirements The shipper must be a FedEx-approved alcohol shipper ; the recipient must be a business entity that holds appropriate alcohol licenses, and the shipment must otherwise comply with applicable laws. Shipments can move via FedEx Express, FedEx Ground FedEx Ground FedEx Ground is a low-cost shipping service that delivers to businesses and is faster to more locations than UPS Ground.
Contents
FedEx Ground Shipping
, or FedEx Home Delivery services.
Wine is a fun, classy and easy gift to send to family and friends as a holiday gift, birthday gift or other special occasion. Unfortunately, it is illegal in the US for non-licensed individuals to ship wine or other alcohol by any means (UPS, Fedex, or the mail).
- So how can you ship wine as a gift? Find A Company To Ship It For You The only way to ship wine in the US is with a licensed producer or retailer.
- Luckily, there are plenty of licensed wineries and retailers who you can purchase through, and they will ship the wine on your behalf.
- We are one of those, and offer a range of wines, wine gift baskets and holiday wine gift baskets that we can ship for you just about anywhere in the USA,
That being said, if you have a favorite winery or local winery that you would like to support, you can reach out to them and see if they are able to ship across state lines. Unfortunately, due to many complex and outdated alcohol shipping restrictions leftover from the days of Prohibition, most wineries cannot ship out of state or across state lines, as it is too expensive, complicated and laborious for most small wineries to afford to get licensed appropriately.
Luckily, in spite of being small, we here at Voluptuary & Lucid Wines have a good friend who is an alcohol compliance lawyer, so we have been able to get licensed in just about every state in the US! Some wine retailers and e-commerce sites are able to ship wine for you, but retailers also face severe restrictions in where they can ship.
Our favorite retailer is Reciprocity Wines, who works with small natural producers and is a great small company to support. Most of the major wine ecommerce sites, like Wine.com, wineaccess.com, and others can ship to some, but not all states. One issue you run into when ordering from these larger sites is that their selection is so large that it is hard to know if you are getting a truly good bottle made by a serious winemaker, or just a generic mass-produced wine.
Choose The Right Wine Wine can be a very intimidating subject, and people often struggle to choose what wine to buy. With over 1000 common varieties of wine and over 10,000 producers in California alone, no wonder it’s confusing! And then to account for taste, and perhaps you don’t know what kind of wine your friend or family member likes.
Well, we’re here to help! The first step is, to ask your friend what kind of wine they like. Ideally, to not give away that you’re getting them wine, but you know they like wine, you might ask them what wine they would suggest you buy for dinner or a special occasion.
- If they are a wine person, they will probably end up rambling about wine for awhile and accidentally reveal the type of wine they like! If you don’t want to ask, then another alternative is to play it safe.
- Most people like red wine blends such as our L.08 “Wanderlust” red blend, because they are smooth and balanced, so they are generally crowd-pleasers.
If you know that they are a more serious connoisseur, then you might want to buy them a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon such as our L.07 “Delirium” as Cabernets tend to be loved by the more serious drinkers. Lastly, if they are a more casual wine drinker, a white or rose wine such as our L.02 “Urban Flora” rose is a great option.
- If you still aren’t sure, the safest, easiest, simplest way to be certain they’ll like to wine you get them is to get them a variety pack of wines or a gift basket! You can do this by simply ordering a few bottles, or you can purchase a gift basket,
- These are excellent gifts and well received.
- The only downside of these options is, they can sometimes get a bit expensive.
For a cheaper option that still delivers lots of variety, you can purchase a mixed pack of mini wine bottles, such as our wine tasting packs, Make Sure The Wine Gets There Safely And On Time Nothing is worse then getting a package you are excited to receive, and finding that it is broken, or receiving it after when you needed it.
That’s why timely and safe arrival of your wine is so critical, especially for gifting. Professional wine shipping companies, wineries and retailers should package their wine in packaging that is specifically designed to protect wine during shipping. However there is quite a learning curve for many smaller wineries and newer shippers, and breakage is common with many suppliers.
Sometimes you would think that delivery drivers are punting the packages instead of delivering them! Here at Voluptuary & Lucid Wines, we are an e-commerce centered winery, and our years of experience shipping wine has allowed us to perfect the process.
Our breakage and late delivery rates are approaching zero, and are industry-leading. Getting your package there on time and in perfect condition is critical to us, and we will make it so. As if that all weren’t enough to consider, weather can be a major issue. If a shipper tries to ship wine when it’s too cold: the wine will freeze and bottle explode.
Try to ship wine when it’s too hot, and the wine will expand through thermal expansion, push out the cork, and spill wine everywhere! Even if the wine survives these conditions, it will be damaged in taste. Experienced shippers such as ourselves handle this for you, watching nation-wide weather patterns and shipping rapidly on the appropriate days to avoid any issues, and to ensure that the wine arrives in perfect condition.
- If you want to ship wine, the take home message is that it’s complicated, but definitely possible with the right partner! Here at Voluptuary & Lucid Wine we are glad to offer an easy way to send wine just about anywhere in the US.
- Whether you would like to send a bottle of wine, a wine gift basket, or a wine & food pairing, we have you covered.
Whether it is for a birthday, anniversary, wedding gift, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, congratulations, thank you gift, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or any other holiday wine gift occasion, we have you covered!
Can I send a bottle of gin by post?
The answer is yes, you definitely can! No matter the occasion or recipient, a bottle of Gin is the perfect gift to send.
Can you send a Bottle of alcohol in the post?
Liquids over 1 litre Items must be securely closed and placed in a leak-proof inner liner, such as a sealed polythene bag and in a leak-proof outer. Mark as ‘FRAGILE’ when sending glass bottles.
How much does it cost to send a bottle of wine?
How Much to Ship a Bottle of Wine? – 
The prices of shipping wine can vary from the courier, state, and amount of wine you will ship. Most ranges from $10 to $100, depending on how much the package will weigh. Bottles with less than three pounds can be shipped for less than $15. Most of these estimations will vary when shipping outside of the country.
International Shipping costs more than local ones. It will also base on your courier and the type of service you want. A shared truck or LTL is the most common option if you are looking for a way to transfer individual wine bottles. It’s a less pricy way to transport the wine as the truck also contains other parcels.
However, if you want to transfer big bulks of wines, a dedicated truck or pallet shipping is the way. It offers more security to your bottles and has the least risk. With that said, it’s also pricier compared to shared trucks. If you live in Europe, some couriers have a designated van for this delivery.
Can I ship a 12 pack of beer?
UPS only accepts packages containing beer from shippers who are licensed under applicable law and who have been approved for and entered into a contract with UPS for the transportation of beer. Shippers must possess a valid retailer or brewery license in their home states, and where applicable obtain a license or permit in the destination state.
Note : UPS provides service for other alcoholic beverages (wine and spirits) on a contract basis only. For shipments containing wine or spirits, shippers must enter into an approved UPS agreement for the transportation of wine or spirits as applicable, must be licensed and authorized under applicable law to ship wine or spirits.
UPS accepts shipments of wine or spirits only among and between selected states. For more information on shipping spirits or wine visit How To Ship Wine and How To Ship Spirits pages. All beer shippers must enter into a UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers.
- If you’re interested in becoming an approved beer shipper, schedule a free, 15-minute consultation with a UPS expert.
- Book a session today,
- All beer shippers must provide any required state licenses to UPS.
- State license must be submitted to [email protected] The ability to ship beer depends upon the nature of the shipper’s license to sell beer, and the laws of the destination states.
UPS permits the following types of beer shipments: Licensed to Licensed
Shipments of beer from licensed shippers may be shipped to licensed consignees, where permitted by applicable law. For example a licensed brewery may ship to a licensed distributor, or a licensed distributor may ship to a licensed retailer, so long as the shipments are made in accordance with applicable law. “Licensed to Licensed” shipments cannot be made to consumers.
Direct to Consumer
Breweries and Retailers must hold all required licenses or permits; verified that the purchaser is of legal age to purchase Beer; and lists the purchaser as the consignee.
Interstate Brewery Shipments
Certain states allow shipments of beer directly to consumers when purchased from licensed out-of-state breweries. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Interstate Brewery Shipment States.
Intrastate Brewery Shipment
Some states allow Beer purchased from licensed Breweries within the state to be shipped to consumers located in the same state. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Intrastate Brewery Shipment States.
Interstate Retailer Shipments
Certain states allow shipments of beer directly to consumers from licensed out-of-state retailers. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Interstate Retailer Shipment States.
Intrastate Retailer Shipment
Some states allow beer purchased from licensed Retailers within the state to be shipped directly to consumers in the same state. Refer to Beer Addendum A of the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers for allowed Intrastate Retailer States.
Requirements for licensed entities to ship beer through UPS: Contractual Service Only
All shippers who wish to ship beer must enter into the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers. UPS DOES NOT ACCEPT SHIPMENTS OF BEER FROM SHIPPERS WHO HAVE NOT ENTERED INTO ONE OF THESE AGREEMENTS.
Shipping Solution Requirements
The shipper must process the beer shipment with a UPS Compatible Shipping solution such as WorldShip or any approved third-party vendor system.
Packaging Requirements
All shipments must meet UPS packaging requirements for beer. UPS will accept inner packaging of molded Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam, folded corrugated tray, or molded fiber tray with dividers. Each packaging component secures the bottles into the center of the shipping container away from the side walls of the shipper. Sturdy outer corrugated containers are required.
Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required
All beer shipments must be made using the UPS Delivery Confirmation Adult Signature Required service, requiring the signature of an adult 21 years of age or older upon delivery.
Beer Shipping Label Requirement
All packages containing beer must be labeled by the shipper with a special alcoholic beverages shipping label in addition to any other labeling that may be required by the origin or destination state.
Approved beer shippers may use the UPS Hold for Pickup (HFPU) service for consumers who would prefer to pickup their beer shipments from a UPS Customer Center location. When picking up the package, the recipient is required to present a government-issued photo ID, such as driver’s license, passport, military ID, permanent resident card, or alien registration card to verify that the recipient is 21 years of age or older.
- If the recipient fails or refuses to present proper identification (or is not 21 years of age or older), the beer shipment is considered undeliverable and returned to the shipper.
- Approved beer shippers may use the Ship to a UPS Access Point® location service in conjunction with Adult Signature Required (ASR) for consumers who prefer to pick up shipments from UPS Access Point locations.
To ship beer to a UPS Access Point location:
Shippers must use a UPS Locator tool and the “Accepts Restricted Articles” filter to select an approved destination UPS Access Point location Shippers must also use approved UPS Access Point “Contains Alcohol Beverage Adult Signature Required” labels for beer shipments sent to UPS Access Point locations Beer shipments can be redirected to UPS Access Point locations with the ability to accept restricted good
Addendum A to the UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers identifies the approved Interstate Brewery States, Intrastate Brewery States, Interstate Retailer States, and Intrastate Retailer States. The Beer Contract Addendum A is effective as of the “revised” date noted on the Addendum, and applies to all shippers who have entered into a UPS Agreement for Approved Beer Shippers.
Can I ship a bottle of alcohol to a friend in Canada?
You can only ship intoxicating beverages in Canada if you’re a Parcel Services contract customer or Solutions for Small Business (SfSB) cardholder.
Can I ship liquids via FedEx?
Can I ship perfume? – Yes, in limited amounts, and only within the U.S. Be sure to pack it using the steps outlined above using a sturdy outer package and follow these guidelines:
Individual glass containers can’t exceed 8 fluid ounces. Individual plastic containers can’t exceed 16 fluid ounces. Shipments can’t exceed 192 ounces and can’t be packaged in white FedEx packaging. For larger quantities or business shipping, contact the Dangerous Goods hotline.
