Shipping wine requires knowledge of the varying state laws governing the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages such as wine. But for those who are selling a small wine collection once, or for those wanting to send bottles to a pal in another state, most do not wish to apply for a license. Doing so would exhaust a regular person when they see the number of requirements they have to fulfill just to acquire one license. If your time is money, this is definitely a losing option, unless you plan to sell wine regularly as a hobby.

Use Private Couriers: The United States Postal Service has a strict policy concerning the shipment of alcoholic beverages. They do not allow it. If the USPS personnel suspect you are shipping wine, they will usually impound the package. DHL, FedEx and UPS do not expressly ban such practices. But if they know you are shipping wine, you will have to answer a lot of questions and do a lot of paperwork. To avoid the red-tape, some people just ship packages through these carriers declaring that the package contains "glassware" or similar fragile components.

Packaging, Packaging, Packaging: When shipping wine through couriers, use sturdy boxes, all of which should be durable and not easily split. Place padding around each bottle using bubble wrap, and make sure that every single bottle is properly wrapped so that they will not clink against each other. Assume that once they are packaged, they will be hurled from one delivery truck to another as the driver sees fit. Towels or blankets can be used to pad each bottle together to further guarantee the integrity of your merchandise. Be careful when packaging that you do not damage the labels on the wine. A large part of the value of each bottle comes from, in part, the quality and integrity of the label on the wine. If the label is damaged, the value of your bottle of grapey goodness goes down considerably.

Talk to Professionals: The best thing to do before shipping and packaging your bottle is to find out how the person you are shipping it to wants it shipped. Of course, this assumes that you are shipping it to a professional. Professional wine buyers know the inter-state laws as well as the rules and regulations of the major courier services throughout the United States. Specific wine buyers in each state will know the courier service they prefer to use, as well as a shipping method they prefer to use. Just communicate with them and they will point you in the right direction.