How We Ship

Certain states require we use a third-party shipping service, and we may also use this method for summer shipping. These orders are dispatched each Thursday via temperature-controlled Ground shipping. You will receive a shipping confirmation email from our partners WeShip Express and CellarSwift (help@cellarswift.com, donotreply@weshipexpress.com) once your order has left our warehouse. Tracking will be uploaded to your account the following Monday. Packages travel on a temperature-controlled truck to the closest "area hub" to your delivery address before being passed to the final-mile carrier. Tracking will not show any activity until scanned at your state’s hub. This is when your ice-pack will be inserted (if you have chosen to add this option). Once scanned, your tracking link will start to show activity and provide you with an accurate ETA. Delivery is then made within a day or two (occasionally three) depending on your distance from the area hub. Please note that regional hub shipping takes roughly 1-3 weeks to arrive. Please also note that final-mile trucks (e.g. FedEx, UPS) are not refrigerated, which is why we suggest the ice-pack option, which are placed into the boxes just before packages are loaded onto the final-mile trucks.

Please note that we can only ship to ABC stores for packages heading to Alabama. Find your local ABC here.

As long as you buy the free-shipping minimum of a wine (or checkout with 6+ bottles of any wine), you'll see $18 magically vanish from your shipping charge! For most of the contiguous U.S. (sorry Alaska & Hawaii!), that means Ground shipping is on us! If you upgrade your shipping to 2-Day or Overnight (and still meet our minimum) you'll see a $18 discount on the shipping charge.

There is a mandatory 27¢ shipping fee added to packages going to Colorado and a 50¢ shipping fee added to packages going to Minnesota, covering their respective Retail Delivery Fees.

Nope and here's why: First Bottle is all about "lean and mean" to keep prices as low as possible, and that means getting all orders out as fast as possible to your hot little hands. We ALWAYS give free shipping on 6+ bottle purchases. However, if you do order 3 bottles and want to ship those without free shipping, we offer some of the LOWEST shipping rates in the USA... compare us to some of our competitors and you'll see it's true! So, it's pretty much a win-win whether you buy 2, 4 or 6+ bottles!

Yes. We offer FedEx Overnight and 2-Day Air at reduced costs to most states. Wine is heavy and expediting a package tends to be expensive, but we will always quote you the lowest price we can secure.

We can hold your package for up to two weeks during the regular shipping season, and via a "weather hold" during the summer season. If you'd like a specific ship date, please add that in the shipping notes box.

During extreme weather your package may have a longer shipping time, and we may hold back shipments to states experiencing extreme weather in order to proactively protect your purchase.

Choosing the "weather hold" option during the summer months is always your best bet. This is for your benefit and the integrity of your wine! Heat is wine's worst enemy. The "weather hold" option will keep your wine in our temp-controlled warehouse until the weather cools (typically our hold runs from May to October). We will email you in advance of your wine departing the warehouse.

But if you need that bottle now (trust me, we understand), your next best option is to utilize an ice pack. You'll see this an add-on option in the checkout. Keep in mind, inclement weather can cause popped corks, leakage, and major damage to the wine itself. Even a fully frozen ice pack will thaw out within a couple of days of transit in high temps, so keep that in mind when choosing your shipping/hold method on the checkout page. We have a variety of additional expedited shipping options as well.

Our ice-packs are built to absorb heat, so in high-temperatures it may arrive to you warm and melted. This is completely normal — it means it has done its job!

Local pick-up decreases CO2 emissions by ~48%, your wines will be protected from extreme heat and cold, and you can secure your package on your own time!

Our check-out automatically finds pick-up locations nearby your shipping address. Choose from the list of option or click "Map it or change" to find alternatives in your state.

Shipping out of state? You'll need to change your shipping address to an out-of-state location in order to see pick-up points in that state; feel free to "make up" an address to prompt the system to show real local pick-up addresses in that state. Not all states are eligible for local pick-up.

Orders must be picked up within 7 days of arrival at the pickup location; our system will send several reminder notifications. Please bring a government-issued photo ID. If you’re picking up the package for a friend or relative, you’ll also need the tracking number and the name of the person the package was addressed to. If your package is not picked up within 7 days, it will automatically be returned to our warehouse and processed as a return. We are unable to switch delivery-types retroactively (i.e. home-delivery once your package arrives at its local pick-up destination). You must be over 21 to accept delivery of wine.

During our regular (non-summer) shipping season, your order will depart within 2-7 business days (oftentimes, even sooner!) If your order isn't received in 10 business days, please email us at help@firstbottlewines.com. We have tons more information on our How We Ship page.

All shipments of alcohol require an adult signature (21+), even if you have ordered from us before. It is highly recommended that you provide us with a business shipping address for best service. Customer order requests such as "Please leave at front door” cannot be accommodated. Carriers will attempt three deliveries before returning the package to us.

Our check-out will automatically opt you in for 1% shipping insurance (rounded to the nearest 50¢). If your package has been lost or damaged in transit and you kept the shipping insurance selection, you are fully covered! We can issue a credit card refund or a store credit for the purchase. Alternatively, if the wine is still available, we would be happy to send a replacement! If you do not want this protection, you may deselect the Shipping Insurance during checkout. Without shipping insurance, we can only reimburse you through a store credit. Please note that heat damage is not covered by insurance.

Carriers are required to attempt delivery three times before returning a package to us. In the event that your order is rerouted back to our warehouse, our returns team will reach out to you once the package has been checked in, providing you with choices on how to proceed.

Email us at help@firstbottlewines.com and we will get this sorted out. We always recommend adding shipping insurance when placing a new order (in fact, the system will default to add insurance). So long as you didn't opt-out, if your package has been lost or damaged you are fully covered! We can issue a credit card refund or a store credit for the purchase. Alternatively, if the wine is still available in inventory, we would be happy to send a replacement! Without shipping insurance, we can only reimburse you with store credit.

We are a U.S.-based company and only ship nationally. Depending on changes in alcohol shipping regulations, we may not be able to ship to your state or zip code. If you are unable to check-out, this is likely why.

Due to ever changing direct-shipping laws and regulations, the states that we ship to are subject to change at any time. Title to, and ownership of, all wine passes from First Bottle to you the purchaser in the State of California and the purchaser takes all responsibility for shipping it from California to your home state. By arranging for transport of the wine, First Bottle is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of you, the purchaser. By utilizing this service from First Bottle, you represent that you are acting in a fashion compliant with your local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of wine. You represent that you have obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, are working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, are legally entitled to take possession of wine, are legally entitled to take quantities ordered, and authorize that you are at least 21 years of age.

If you live in a state where the direct shipment of wine may violate the law, we will contact you to discuss shipping options, which may include provision of an alternative shipping address in a state where the direct shipment of wine to consumers is permitted, or storage of the wine at an acceptable third-party storage facility.

Certain zip-codes prohibit delivery of alcohol, and our check-out will reject your order should you attempt to ship there. Those zip-codes include:

Alaska: 99545, 99551, 99552, 99554, 99559, 99561, 99563, 99576, 99578, 99581, 99585, 99586, 99589, 99604, 99607, 99609, 99614, 99620, 99621, 99622, 99626, 99628, 99630, 99632, 99634, 99637, 99641, 99650, 99651, 99655, 99657, 99659, 99662, 99666, 99671, 99677, 99678, 99679, 99680, 99681, 99690, 99691, 99720, 99721, 99724, 99727, 99736, 99739, 99740, 99742, 99747, 99750, 99751, 99753, 99758, 99759, 99761, 99762, 99763, 99766, 99769, 99770, 99771, 99772, 99773, 99774, 99776, 99779, 99782, 99783, 99785, 99786, 99788, 99789, 99791

Florida: 32013, 32066, 32321, 32334, 32335, 32360, 32427, 32428, 32437, 32462, 32463

New Hampshire: 03223, 03266

Vermont: 05143, 05143, 05830, 08905

West Virginia: 24915, 24920, 24924, 24927, 24934, 24944, 24946, 24954, 25005, 25067, 25231, 25234, 25235, 25239, 25241, 25243, 25244, 25245, 25248, 25251, 25252, 25259, 25261, 25262, 25266, 25268, 25270, 25271, 25275, 25286, 25501, 25506, 25514, 25521, 25523, 25524, 25540, 25544, 25557, 25564, 25565, 25567, 25570, 25571, 25573, 26032, 26136, 26137, 26147, 26151, 26152, 26159, 26162, 26164, 26167, 26201, 26209, 26210, 26215, 26218, 26219, 26228, 26229, 26234, 26236, 26237, 26291, 26348, 26377, 26419, 26437, 26561, 26562, 26581, 26591, 26707, 26711, 26720, 26731, 26739, 26833, 26847, 26855.