Wine order ful?ller expands into Napa, Oregon, three-tier system

WINDSOR -- Direct-to-consumer wine order fulfillment provider Pack n’ Ship Direct of Windsor has grown to serve 200 customers since it launched in early 2006 and now serves Napa County, the Central Coast of California and Oregon.

In May sister company VinShip USA LLC is set to launch to allow shipment orders to consumers through the three-tier alcoholic beverage distribution system, according to Truman Reynolds, general manager of Pack n’ Ship.

Holders of type 17 and 20 California beverage permits, which include “virtual vintners” and retailers such as Provino Premium Wines, are not allowed to ship directly to consumers in certain states that restrict such shipments to bonded wineries. VinShip has lined up a national trucking company with refrigerated trailers and formed relationships with wholesalers in 14 states to allow orders to legally be shipped to consumers.

Vynapse LLC, doing business as Pack n’ Ship, is approaching wine warehouse owners to set up order fulfillment centers in their facilities to serve their storage clients.

“Distribution of wine is down among all sellers, but bottling will happen for wine in production and is starting now, so it will be interesting to see how warehouses fill up,” Mr. Reynolds said.

Last summer Vynapse LLC, doing business as Pack n’ Ship, signed a deal with The Wine Services Cooperative to set up a 13,000-square-foot order fulfillment center in the south Napa warehouse to handle daily pick-and-pack and periodic club shipments for the co-op’s 49 members.

In May 2008, Vynapse formed a joint venture, called Wine Co. LLC, with Northwest Distribution and Storage in Salem, Ore., to set up a 10,000-square-foot fulfillment center.

Pack n’ Ship has 135 customers from the 30,000-square-foot Windsor center. In 2007 the company opened a Central Coast location, now located in the Fess Parker Wine Center in Santa Maria. Pack n’ Ship has a total of 60 customers in Santa Maria and Salem.

For more information, call 707-838-2203 or visit www.vynapse.com.

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