Tools & Resources

State Pairing Guide

The FedEx Wine Shipping State Pairing Guide identifies where FedEx Express and FedEx Ground are licensed to transport wine shipments from licensed shippers to consumers and to other licensees. The state pairing guide does not apply to retailers. Licensed retailers are responsible for knowing which states are open to them for shipping. Following are explanations of some of the terms used to describe the different types of transactions.

Wine shipping to consumers

• Intrastate: Wine shipping that originates and terminates in the same state.
  
  
• Off-site: A wine shipment purchased by a consumer via phone, fax, online Web site or wine club that is then shipped to the consumer’s home state.
  
  
• On-site: A wine shipment purchased in person by a consumer at a winery or tasting room that is then shipped to the consumer’s home state.

Shipping to licensees

• Licensee. A legal entity that holds an alcohol license and is permitted to manufacture and/or sell wine. A licensee can be a winery, distributor, retailer, consolidator, importer or exporter.

International wine shipping guide

For helpful information concerning country-specific requirements, restrictions, and importation laws — as well as an exhibit of and instructions for completing the Simplified Export Certificate for U.S. Wine for Export to the European Community — please refer to the FedEx International Wine Shipping Guide.

Customized Commercial Invoice

To help facilitate the customs clearance of your wine shipments, please use our special customized Commercial Invoice.

U.S.-to-Canada Licensee-to-Consumer FAQs

Answers to all your questions concerning the ins and outs of licensee-to-consumer wine shipping from the U.S. to Canada. Open the FAQs.

U.S.-to-Canada Licensee-to-Consumer Direct Purchase Process

The direct-purchase process enables licensee-to-consumer shipping by consigning the shipment to the customer, delivering it in care of the destination provincial liquor control authority. Open the flowchart.

U.S.-to-Ontario Licensee-to-Consumer Private Ordering Process

The private-ordering process was established by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario(LCBO) to enable Ontario residents to import wine not available in LCBO stores. Open the flowchart.

U.S.-to-Canada Wine Shipping Calculator

Use this spreadsheet application to determine the total landed in Canadian dollars — that includes a breakdown of all applicable duties and taxes — for a wine shipment. Open or save the calculator.

Pickup services

You can schedule a FedEx Express pickup for the same day (provided you request it before the cut-off time in your area) or the next business day. FedEx Ground pickups can be scheduled for the next business day or up to 10 business days in advance. To schedule a pickup, go to fedex.com and select Schedule a Pickup from the Ship tab. Or call 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339 and say "schedule a pickup."

You can also talk to your FedEx account executive or call 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339 to see if you qualify for regular scheduled pickup.

Drop-off options

We have more than 50,000 locations, both staffed and self-serve, where you can drop off your shipments. Many offer a variety of packaging, shipping and other business services. To find a location in your area, go to fedex.com and select Find Locations from the Ship tab. Or call 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339 and say "find FedEx locations."

Hold at FedEx Location service

Select this option if your recipient is not available to receive a shipment, or if they need it sooner. It's the secure, convenient way to ensure your shipment arrives when and where you recipient needs it. It's available for FedEx Express^® and FedEx Ground^® shipments. There are no additional charges for Hold at FedEx Location service.

FedEx Express Hold at Location 

If your recipient needs a shipment fast, choose FedEx Express service and Hold at FedEx Location. We'll hold it at a FedEx Office or FedEx World Service Center^® location you specify. Your recipient can then pick up the shipment earlier than the scheduled pickup time. Hold at FedEx Location is available with the following FedEx Express U.S. services:

• FedEx Priority Overnight^®
• FedEx Standard Overnight^®
• FedEx 2Day^®
• FedEx Express Saver^®
• FedEx 1Day^® Freight
• FedEx 2Day^® Freight
• FedEx 3Day^® Freight

Pickup is typically available by 9 a.m. for FedEx Priority Overnight and by 10:30 a.m. or noon for other services. Call 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339 for specific pickup times by location.

Call 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339 and say "international services" to determine international availability of the service. We'll give you an international location code to include on your shipping documentation.

FedEx Ground Hold at Location

If there's more time in your schedule, choose cost-effective FedEx Ground service and Hold at FedEx Location. We'll hold the shipment at a FedEx Office location you specify. Your recipient can then pick it up at their convenience. FedEx Ground shipments are available by end of business day on the scheduled delivery day.

Both FedEx Express and FedEx Ground hold-at-location services are backed by a money-back guarantee.¹

Hold at FedEx Location Instructions

You can select Hold at FedEx Location service on a FedEx Express airbill or FedEx Ground label and when creating labels at fedex.com.

• Your recipient will receive a phone call letting them know the shipment is available for pickup.
• For shipments from approved U.S. states to approved U.S. states, the recipient will be required to provide a government-issued photo ID that demonstrates they are at least 21 years of age. If the customer cannot show proper ID, the shipment will be considered undeliverable and will be returned to you.
• For shipments from approved U.S. states to approved international countries, the recipient must be the legal age required to purchase alcohol in that particular country.
• The recipient will be required to sign for the package.

¹For details on the FedEx Money-Back Guarantee, see Our Services at fedex.com. The FedEx Ground money-back guarantee applies to deliveries within the U.S. and to brokerage-inclusive shipments to Canada. For details, see the FedEx Ground Tariff.

FedEx^® packaging services

As mentioned in the requirements section of this site, your wine shipment must meet FedEx packaging requirements. That’s where FedEx Packaging Services comes in. This group offers a variety of design, testing and engineering information services that can improve your packaging strategies, better protect your products, help prevent delivery delays, and save you time and money.

In addition to submitting samples of your packaging to FedEx Packaging Services for testing and design assistance, you can also receive on-site support. Our nationwide team of field packaging engineers can help evaluate your current package design and offer suggestions for appropriate packing and transit options. You can contact a FedEx field packaging engineer at pkgfield@corp.ds.fedex.com or request a referral from your FedEx account executive.

Electronic shipping solutions

• FedEx Ship Manager^® at fedex.com helps you quickly and easily create shipping labels — from airbills and air waybills to bar-code labels, and more — online.
  
  
• FedEx Ship Manager^® Software is ideal for shipping rooms, warehouses and businesses that lack high-speed Internet access. With a full range of shipping functions always available on your desktop, you can manage a multitude of FedEx shipments easily, quickly, conveniently and thoroughly — from preparation to reporting.
  
  
• FedEx Web Services is an online solution for businesses that want to integrate FedEx shipping functionality directly into their existing order-entry, warehouse management and other business software systems, but don't want to host their own software.
  
  
• The FedEx^® Compatible Solutions Program integrates FedEx shipping capability into many of the most popular business software systems. That means you can ship and manage shipments with the software you already use every day. We test the shipping functionality of each solution to make sure it provides the reliability you expect from FedEx with fast processing, powerful shipment-status tracking and a broad array of services. Platforms include e-commerce, warehouse management systems, enterprise resource planning systems and transportation management systems.
  
  Of special note to wine shippers are:
  • Active Club Management. An e-commerce software solution that helps you comply with the lengthy regulatory reporting and processing required for wine club shipments.
    
    
  • ShipCompliant. Wine shipping compliance software that helps you comply with local and state wine and liquor shipping laws. In addition, you can take advantage of free tools and resources that can simplify your wine shipping program. Go to the Wine tools section for more information.
• FedEx Ship Manager^® Server is designed for large, high-volume shippers. Along with its high-speed shipping "engine," FedEx Ship Manager Server is designed to be integrated into your existing systems so you can streamline your supply chain and relevant data.

For more information about these and other FedEx^® electronic shipping tools, click here.

Shipment-status tracking options

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• FedEx^® Tracking. Whether it's via tracking numbers, door tag numbers, account numbers or order numbers, you can track the status of up to 30 FedEx shipments from origin to destination.
  
  
• Advanced Tracking. Provides shipment-status updates in an easy-to-scan format, with powerful search and filtering capabilities that help you quickly find information about your shipments.
  
  
• FedEx InSight^®. A shipment-status tracking and management tool for shippers with a moderate-to-high volume of high-value shipments. It monitors your shipping activity and provides status updates for your shipments. It’s ideal for managing your shipments across multiple locations and accounts.
  
  
• FedEx Desktop. Download this software to your desktop and actively monitor your shipments. Receive notifications, drag and drop important shipments to your desktop, and e-mail tracking results to your customers.
  
  
• FedEx^® Mobile. When you’re on the go, you can still get instant shipment-status updates anytime, anywhere. Through FedEx Mobile, your cell phone, PDA, Apple^® iPhone™ or iPod touch^® can become an on-the-go shipping device.
  
  
• Phone. Call 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339 and say "track a package."

To learn more about these options, click here.

Wine tools

ShipCompliant — one of the FedEx^® Compatible Solutions Program providers — provides wine shipping tools that can help you better manage your wine shipping business.

• Tasting room map. Create a printable map customized to your company’s wine shipping policies. Use it to reduce confusion on where you ship, and prevent long lines in the tasting room.
  
  
• State breakeven calculator. Calculate the number of orders required to break even against license, tax and report generation costs when you’re considering opening a new state for licensee-to-consumer shipping.
  
  
• Volume converter. Convert liters to gallons, gallons to cases, cases to mL, and more.