Understanding Shipping Costs

At Artisan Wine & Spirits, we strive to provide you with the best wines and spirits at the lowest prices. If you live near our Mountain View store, you can of course pick up your items yourself; we also use a courier Roadie to hand-deliver locally at their reasonable fees. If you require your purchases to be shipped, we provide it at the shipper’s cost plus a small fee for packaging materials and labor. 

Visit our Shipping FAQ  to see where we ship.


So why do shippers charge so much to deliver wines and spirits?

  • Wine and spirits are heavy. A standard 750 ml bottle of wine weighs 3.5–4.5 pounds; a full case is 40–50 pounds. Certain kinds of wine, such as Champagne and cult Napa Cabs, may weigh as much as 6 pounds each.
  • Wines and spirits cannot be dropped off at the door; an adult signature is required by law. So shippers charge extra for the risk of missed deliveries. 

What can you do to reduce shipping costs?

  • Shipping to a residence is more expensive than shipping to a business because the chance of missed deliveries is greater. To save some money, ship your order to your office if they accept shipments or to a local store that will do so on your behalf.
  • An urban address is usually cheaper to ship to rather than a rural one. 
  • Buy in larger quantities. A case of wine will cost less than a few bottles.

Our promises to you on shipping:

  • We will not skimp on packing your wines and spirits as well as possible. We use form-fitting, insulated inserts inside thick cardboard boxes. In the summer, we throw in some cold packs.
  • We will not make money on shipping items to you. We will charge you the shippers’ cost plus a small fee for packaging materials and labor.
  • We will not raise our wine and spirits prices so that we can “save” you money by offering a discount on shipping;
  • We will try to give you different choices for shipping. This includes having two vendors, UPS and GLS, for West Coast shipments.
  • We will be as transparent as possible during the checkout process so you can compare prices from the shippers and see what your total cost will be.
  • We will advise you when weather conditions, such as summer heat, may pose risks to your wines. We will store your purchases for free until conditions improve.

Wines and spirits are hard to ship. But we promise that we will pack shipments as carefully as possible and charge you as little as we can.