FAQ: Wine Store

• Company
  • What differentiates Vinfolio from other wine retailers?
    • Vinfolio is the leading source for fine wine, serving the needs of wine enthusiasts and collectors worldwide. Through its online wine store and Marketplace, the company offers access to thousands of unique wines. Vinfolio's mission is to bring simplicity and transparency to the fine wine market and provide exceptional service to its wine buying, selling and storage customers.
  • What are the benefits of registering with Vinfolio?
    • A Vinfolio account brings added benefits, allowing you to:
      • Store frequently used information such as wine search queries and personal information (credit cards, shipping addresses, etc.) to speed checkout.
      • Sign up for email offers targeted to your wine preferences.
      • Set up Vinfolio wine alerts (sent via email) - based on your specific search criteria - and find out when the wines you want become available for sale on Vinfolio's site.
      • Use VinCellar™, Vinfolio's free online cellar management software.
      • Use WinePrices.com, Vinfolio's comprehensive auction and retail wine prices site. If you have an iPhone, you can also download and use the free Wine Prices app.
      • Earn store credit with Vinfolio's Personal Referral Program. Upon registering, you are assigned a Personal Referral Code which you can share your with your friends. They save 10% (on their first purchases) and you earn store credit.
      • Enable integrated access to your paid subscriptions to Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar in the Vinfolio wine store, within VinCellar, and on WinePrices.com.
• Sales
  • How do I get wine recommendations?
    • Every customer has access to Vinfolio's Wine Specialists who can provide expert advice on everything from vintage recommendations and varietal selections, to styles of wine to match your interests or a special occasion. Simply call Vinfolio and ask for a Wine Specialist or send an email to winespecialists@vinfolio.com.
  • Is there a minimum order size?
    • No. You may order any quantity you wish, including one bottle at a time.
  • How do you price wine?
    • In two words, very competitively. Vinfolio wants to be your primary choice for wine purchases and we offer competitive pricing and exceptional customer service in order to achieve this goal.
  • Where do you obtain the wine that you sell?
    • We source wine directly from domestic and European wineries, from private collectors, and distributors.
  • How do I know where the older vintages come from and how they have been stored?
    • We have established relationships with reputable suppliers who, like us, place a high priority on the condition of the wine they source, including how it was stored. When we source wine from private collectors, we interview the collector to understand storage conditions and history of ownership. Bottles may also be randomly selected for sampling. For larger cellar purchases, we may travel to the cellar location to inspect cellar conditions firsthand.
      
      Any wine that Vinfolio sells, from any source, is inspected upon receipt at our warehouse according to our inspection guidelines and returned to the source if rejected.
  • What is your pre-arrival guarantee?
    • It may occur that a supplier of Vinfolio is unable to deliver the quantity or bottle sizes originally sold to Vinfolio which it has then sold to Customer. From the date such a supplier default is determined, Vinfolio guarantees it will attempt to repurchase the wine from another source (for up to three months) to fulfill its commitment to Customer. If, however, Customer wishes to cancel the order without waiting for a replacement to be found, or Vinfolio is unable to source the wine within 3 months at a total cost equal to or below the original retail price paid by Customer, Vinfolio will refund the original amount paid, including applicable sales taxes (without any cancellation fee applied). This guarantee does not apply to delays in pre-arrival deliveries as expected arrival dates provided at the time of purchase are only Vinfolio's best estimates.
  • Do you offer case discounts?
    • No. We don't believe you should have to buy a full case to get a discount and therefore price our wine per bottle accordingly. However, periodically we may run a promotion to clear various items in which case we may provide a discount for purchases of 12+ bottles.
• Email Communications
  • What types of emails does Vinfolio send to its registered members?
    • Vinfolio sends a range of emails tailored to your particular interests and tastes, including:
      • Wine Offers
        Highlight various wine producers, varietals, regions, vintages and formats, including special selections, wine to celebrate relevant holidays, as well as wine that our specialists feel is a good value. These informative offers, written by Vinfolio's wine experts, cover a wide range of topics. View Email Offers »
      • Sell Wine
        Offers and tips on selling your wine.
      • Vinfolio Company Updates
        Features the latest Vinfolio news and press coverage. Read press releases »
      • Alerts on newly available wine matching your VinCellar holdings
        VinCellar users, and customers who have purchased wine from Vinfolio in the past, can receive alerts on new wines added to Vinfolio''s inventory that matches their VinCellar holdings or previously purchased wine. Most wines featured in our emails (except Sell wine and Vinfolio updates) include producer notes, scores, drink dates and reviews from either Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Allen Meadows' Burghound, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator, Roy Hersh's For The Love of Port, Richard Juhlin's Champagne Club, or Vinfolio. In many cases, wine in email offers is available in very limited quantities so we encourage you to order quickly.
  • How do I sign up for Wine offers or other email communications?
    • You can subscribe to Vinfolio's emails by registering for a free Vinfolio account and specifying which emails you would like to receive on the Account information page. You can change your subscription settings at any time by signing in to Vinfolio, going to My Account and selecting Email preferences. Register Now »
  • How do I opt-out of Wine offers and other email communications?
    • Registered members can opt out of Vinfolio Wine offers and other email communications:
      1. Sign in to Vinfolio (upper right corner of the page)
      2. Go to Email preferences
      3. Uncheck the boxes corresponding to particular emails you no longer wish to receive
      If you are not a registered Vinfolio member, you can opt out of all Vinfolio emails by clicking the opt out link at the bottom of any of our emails.
• Shipping & Local Delivery
  • What are my shipping and delivery options?
    • Please read Shipping and local delivery.
  • Which states does Vinfolio ship to?
    • Please see the State eligibility for shipping section of our Shipping and local delivery page.
  • If I live in a state that prohibits Vinfolio from shipping wine to me, can I still buy wine from you?
    • Yes. If we don't ship to your state, you must make your own arrangements with a freight forwarder or other agent to pick up or transfer the wine from our storage facility. Use the Third Party Shipper shipping option at checkout, and tell us if you'd like us to either deliver your purchase to the shipper, or have them pick your purchase up from our Napa or SF warehouse. Learn more about Interstate shipping and alternatives.
  • When do you ship my wine purchases?
    • You decide when to ship; Vinfolio does not ship any wine automatically.
      
      At the time of your order, you specify your preferred option for shipping, delivering, or storing your wine when it is in stock. For wines not in stock at the time of purchase, you receive an email notification when the wine arrives at our temperature-controlled facility.
      
      There are several ways to initiate a shipment or delivery later:
      • Use the Move wine from Storage link in My Account to select wine and arrange shipping or local delivery (recommended).
      • Change an order's shipping instructions in the My Account page.
      • Call or email one of Vinfolio's Wine Specialists or Customer Service at service@vinfolio.com.
  • Can I use my own FedEx or UPS account to ship wine?
    • No. Shipping wine requires the shipper to have an alcohol shipping agreement in place with the carrier; something most customers generally don't have. Moreover, Vinfolio concentrates all of its domestic shipping business with FedEx and has integrated its operational software with FedEx's computer systems. This enables us to provide you with better service and to obtain lower shipping rates for your benefit.
  • Are wine shipments and deliveries insured?
    • Wine in transit (via our delivery vans, FedEx, freight forwarders, etc.) is fully insured for up to $1,000,000 per shipment when arranged by us. Insurance for excess coverage of higher values may be quoted upon request. There are some limits to this coverage (such as temperature related damage, etc), the details of which can be found in our standard terms and conditions.
  • Do you ship during periods of adverse weather conditions?
    • If you select our Vinfolio Safe Shipping option, we will ensure your wine is not shipped during adverse weather conditions.
  • What if the wine I receive appears to have suffered from temperature-related damage?
    • Vinfolio's Safe Shipping option was designed to avoid such occurrences. However, if you believe temperature-related damage occurred with a shipment sent using our Safe Shipping option, please contact us at service@vinfolio.com to discuss the problem. Please be aware that there are several situations where you bear sole responsibility for temperature-related damage including:
      • Failed delivery attempts by the common carrier.
      • If you choose to ship your wine using Standard shipping.
      Our automatic shipping insurance on Vinfolio purchases shipped through common carriers (up to $1,000,000 per shipment) does not cover heat and cold-related damage.