Well the last posting date for Royal Mail cards is Thursday 18 Dec 2008 for 2nd class and Saturday 20 December for 1st class – but wine merchants such as Nick Dobson will accept orders for Christmas delivery up until Sunday 21 December (to UK mainland addresses).
We have pretty much everything you could possibly need for a perfect Christmas day at www.nickdobsonwines.co.uk but here is a handful of ideas for some top wines to grace your table over the Christmas period…… these also make great gifts.
Joseph Barnes Wines of Saffron Walden’s last online order date is Friday 19 December – but you can also call at the shop right up until 6.30pm on Christmas Eve – but that really is leaving it a little late!
Leon Stolarski will also accept orders for Christmas delivery as late as Sunday 21 December and they are featuring some exciting new arrivals from Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France includng seldom-seen wines such as Collioure and Banyuls.
If your delivery address is London or the Midlands, Sunday 21 December is also the deadline for Vineyards Direct orders for their selection of fine Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Champagne and Tuscany.
Waitrose Wine Direct have an online deadline of 3pm Friday 19 December – but then again you can always go to the local store (although the wine selection is not always as wide as online) and Oddbins is Wednesday 17 December online.
A surprising number of merchants do not specify a last order date for pre-Christmas delivery (or if they do it is not easily found) – at this stage customers want to be sure that they will get their wine on time and hence a phone call may be advised to ensure your chosen wines are in stock and that they can get them out to you before Christmas Eve. And given that most delivery services require a signature, you need to be sure that someone will be at home to take the delivery. It certainly seems as though the small independent wine merchants have the edge in being able to accept late online orders, presumably because they can get their orders together more quickly and use a courier service which offers next day delivery.
However, the latest I have found is Devigne Wines and Confit Direct who quote 3pm Monday 22 December as their order deadline – and as a bonus you can add some French food specialties to your order to add to the Christmas feasting!
