Be Green, Save Green with
Safe Haven ShipSmart Passport
For all you enthusiasts of San Luis Obispo County wineries, it just became easier, less expensive and better for the environment to buy wine. A bold statement for sure, but Safe Haven Wine Services’ new ShipSmart Passport program does just that! They allow consumers the ultimate convenience by consolidating their wine shipments. Now consumers can travel through the San Luis Obispo wine region, purchasing direct through wineries or through wine clubs and save significantly on shipping costs, while reducing packaging waste and energy consumption.
“We introduced this program because, well, it just makes sense to us,” explained Corrine Appelbaum, who owns Safe Haven with her husband Daniel. “There is no sense in accumulating all this waste—cost wise and packaging wise—it’s 100% avoidable.”
The ShipSmart Passport program is quite simple: buy wine at participating wineries throughout San Luis Obispo County, fill out the Safe Haven ShipSmart Passport (available at participating wineries and hotels) then return home. Your wine purchases will arrive as a single, consolidated shipment.
Safe Haven not only collects your wine purchases from the various wineries at no charge, they then protect them with eco-friendly 100% recycled pulp packaging. They ship them to you as consolidated case shipments, for a cost that is significantly less than having them sent directly from each winery.
“Let’s say you need the wine to go to the East Coast,” explained Corrine, “If you bought two bottles each at six wineries during your stay, you would be looking at $20 per shipment, for a total of $120 in shipping on top of the cost of the wine. If you shipped with the Safe Haven SmartShip Passport, it would be a flat rate of $57.50 to a commercial address, for all of your wine shipped as a single case. And you only have to be there to sign for one package, instead of six.”
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The program is also ideal for those with multiple wine club memberships. As many clubs ship during the same periods each year, Safe Haven will collect your wines in person from the various wineries, consolidate them into cases and ship them at a lower total cost. You pay no more for your wine than your wine club cost, and Safe Haven takes care of consolidating your shipping costs. Costs vary based on the destination of the wines, but the savings for consolidated shipping are significant nationwide.
“It’s so simple but so valuable,” said Daniel, the co-owner of Safe Haven Wine Services. “We handle club shipments and wine storage for many of the partner wineries already. More than 50 San Luis Obispo County wineries already participate in the program, with more coming on board every day.
“It’s more convenient for the wineries because they don’t have to cope with the hassles of shipping. It’s more economical and easier for visitors who are buying wine at multiple wineries; and it reduces the amount of packaging and transportation fuel involved in getting the wine to its destination,” said Corrine. “It’s really a win-win-win for wineries, wine enthusiasts and the environment.”
Tour and limo companies in the SLO area are also getting on board. “Instead of trying to keep everyone’s wines sorted in the trunk or back of the van, everyone just fills out their Safe Haven ShipSmart Passports along the way,” explained Corrine. “At the end of the visit, we round up everyone’s purchases, package them up for each person and deliver them where they need to go.”
Safe Haven Wine Services is well known as the SLO county leader in offering wine shipping and storage services to visitors throughout Paso Robles Wine Country. San Luis Obispo County residents have been raving about Safe Haven’s new expanded coverage area which now includes southern San Luis Obispo County as well. In addition to shipping and concierge services, Safe Haven offers onsite climate controlled storage facilities, a wine lounge for events and daily shipping, storage and wine club services for wineries. 
For more information about the program and Safe Haven’s other services, please visit www.SafeHavenWineServices.com or call 805-238-SAFE (7233). You can also stop by the Safe Haven Wine Services facility at 2732 Danley Court in Paso Robles. They are open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
