Frequently asked questions
Your wine
Wine Store - Frequently asked questions
Company
What does Vinfolio do and what makes it unique?
Vinfolio's motto is "Fine wine, finer service."
First and foremost, we sell fine wine to collectors and enthusiasts at
competitive prices. But our personalized customer service and collector
services are what truly sets Vinfolio apart. From our extensive fine wine
selection to VinCellar™ our free online cellar
management software, to collector services
(including on-site inventorying and full-service storage), Vinfolio delivers
fine wine and finer service every day.
What are the benefits of registering on the Vinfolio site?
You are not required to register for
Vinfolio to purchase wine, however a Vinfolio account brings
added benefits, allowing you to:
- Store frequently used information such as wine search queries and personal information to speed checkout (credit cards, shipping addresses, etc.).
- Use VinCellar™, Vinfolio's free online cellar management software (learn more). All Vinfolio wine purchases and invoice images are automatically entered into your VinCellar account (non-Vinfolio purchases may be added for a small fee).
- Access auction price results from the Wine Price File, both from within the Wine Store and from within VinCellar, including over 80,000 summary listings with high/low/average pricing and over 263,000 individual lot results. New results are posted as they become available.
- Enable integrated access to your paid subscriptions to Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Allen Meadows' Burghound, Roy Hersh's For The Love of Port, and Richard Juhlin's Champagne Club in the Vinfolio wine store and within VinCellar.
Wine Store - Sales
Is there any minimum order size?
No. You may order any quantity you wish, including one bottle at a
time. And because we provide up to six
months of free storage for each purchase (prearrivals are measured from arrival
date), you may consolidate multiple purchases as needed.
What is the difference between wine listed in the Our inventory tab and wine listed in the Other results tab?
Wine listed in the Our inventory tab of a search result represents wine Vinfolio has already purchased or which it has a firm agreement to buy at a pre-determined price when a buyer is found.
This wine can be purchased immediately whereas it may take us a day to several weeks to locate and quote a price on wine listed in the Other results tab.
How do you price wine?
In a word, competitively. To capture a meaningful share of your wine purchases and to sustain a long-term relationship with you, we know we have to be competitive on price.
We work hard to source wine of sound provenance at attractive prices so we can pass along the savings to you.
Where do you obtain the wine that you sell?
We source wine from Europe, directly from 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 provenance. 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.
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.
When I ask for a price quote, am I obligated to buy the wine?
No. Asking for a price quote is just part of the way we do business.
There is no obligation to purchase a wine you've requested.
Are there any restrictions on what I can ask you to quote?
No. Older vintages with sound provenance can
normally be found. Requests for current releases and wine not yet released are
welcomed. And, for advance requests, we hold your request until the wine
becomes available. We do reserve the right to impose a minimum purchase
quantity due to purchase requirements imposed by our suppliers. Priority is given to request of six or more bottles or a
request valued over $250.
On prearrivals and futures purchased from VInfolio, do I bear any risk from the time I pay to the date of actual delivery?
No. Vinfolio guarantees that the wine you purchased from us will be delivered as originally sold, even if the original supplier defaults and we have to repurchase it from elsewhere at a higher price.
Please see "Vinfolio's 125% pre-arrival guarantee".
Do you offer case discounts?
No. We don't believe you should have to buy a full case to get a discount and price our wine per bottle accordingly.
Wine Store - Vinfolio email communications
What types of emails does Vinfolio send to its registered members?
Vinfolio sends a range of emails emails tailored to your particular interests and tastes, including:
- Wine offers
Highlighting 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, this informative newsletter written by Vinfolio's wine experts covers a wide range of topics. Click here to read the latest Wine offer email and browse an archive of past issues.
- Wilder Side of California
Discover the best of California wine with Doug Wilder's weekly wineletter focused on boutique producers. Visit the Wilder Side of California on our site to read the current issue and browse an archive of past issues.
- New releases
Focusing on recently released wines available for purchase at Vinfolio's wine store. Click here to read the latest New releases email and browse an archive of past issues.
- New arrivals
Featuring wine that has just arrived at Vinfolio and is available for purchase at our online wine store. Click here to read the latest New arrivals email and browse an archive of past issues.
- New cellar acquisitions
These offers feature entire cellars sourced from private collectors. Click here to read the latest New cellar acquisitions email and browse an archive of past issues.
- Vinfolio inventory (PDF)
Vinfolio's entire inventory of over 2,000 unique wines available in a convenient PDF format. Click here to view the latest issue.
- Sell wine
Offers and tips on selling your wine. Click here to read the latest Sell wine email and browse an archive of past issues.
- Vinfolio updates
Latest Vinfolio news and press coverage. Click here to read the latest Vinfolio updates email and browse an archive of past issues.
- Alerts on new inventory 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 inventory matching their VinCellar holdings or previously purchased wine.
How do I sign up for Wine offers or other email communications?
You can subscribe to any or all of 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 for a free Vinfolio account here
Note: After registering for your free Vinfolio account, add wineoffers@vinfolio.com to your email address book, or safe senders list, to make sure you receive our emails.
Register for a free Vinfolio account hereNote: After registering for your free Vinfolio account, add wineoffers@vinfolio.com to your email address book, or safe senders list, to make sure you receive our emails.
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 by signing in to Vinfolio and going to "My Account" (upper right corner of the page), then to "Email preferences" and un-checking 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.
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.
Is selling the wine Vinfolio has reviewed in Wilder Side of California a conflict of interest?
We don't think so. Doug writes about many small production, hard to find wines that have seldom been reviewed by anyone else.
If you are interested in trying the wines, we want to make it convenient for you to buy it.
Wine Store - Shipping and Delivery
What are my shipping and delivery options?
Please read
shipping and delivery
information (which is also located in the footer of every page of the site).
What is your shipping policy?
Please read our
shipping policy
which governs all shipments of wine through common carriers (such as FedEx).
You always have the option of overriding it at your own risk.
Which states does Vinfolio ship to?
Please see the "State eligibility for shipping" section of our
shipping and delivery
page.
If I live in a state that prohibits Vinfolio from shipping wine to me, can I still buy wine from you?
Yes. Your purchases will be stored in our temperature-controlled warehouse in San Francisco (the first six months of storage is free).
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.
Learn more about Interstate shipping and alternatives.
How does your Delivery service work?
Delivery is free with a cumulative purchase of 12 bottles of wine from one or more purchases being delivered at once. Other deliveries cost $10 per case with a two-case minimum. These
purchases will then be delivered in a single delivery on the
weekly route days
for your area (subject to capacity constraints).
The fine print:
- Most deliveries will be made in our temperature-controlled van. However, smaller deliveries may be made by courier or carrier, such as FedEx.
- Non-eligible wine will incur shipping fees as if it is an independent delivery when combined with wine eligible for delivery.
When do you ship my wine purchases?
You decide when to ship; we do not ship any wine automatically.
At the time of your order, you specify your
preferred option of 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. All customers receive up to six months of
free storage with Vinfolio purchases (measured from the date of arrival in our
warehouse if a prearrival).
There are several ways to initiate a shipment or delivery later:
- Change an order's shipping instructions in the My Account page.
- Use the Move wizard in VinCellar to initiate a move request for any of your wine in Vinfolio storage for shipping, local delivery, or will call.
- 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 which 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 better service to you and obtain lower shipping rates for your benefit.
Are wine shipments and deliveries insured?
Wine in transit (via our delivery van, FedEx,
freight forwarders, etc.) is fully insured for up to $750,000 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?
Unless explicitly authorized by you, our
shipping policy
states that we do not ship wine
during adverse weather conditions which we define as temperature readings or
predicted temperatures of greater than 75 or less than 20 degrees Fahrenheit,
either at the Vinfolio warehouse (on the shipping date) or expected at the
destination location (on the estimated arrival date). Since extreme weather can
damage fine wine, we store your wine at our temperature-controlled facility
until a change in weather makes it safe to ship (remember that all customers
receive six months of free storage with all Vinfolio purchases).
What if the wine I received appears to have suffered from temperature-related damage?
Vinfolio's
shipping policy
was designed to avoid such damages. However, if you believe
temperature-related damage occurred with a shipment sent according to our
standard policies, please contact us at
.
to discuss the problem. Our automatic shipping insurance on Vinfolio purchases
shipped through common carriers (up to $750,000 per shipment) does not cover heat and cold-related damage.
There are several situations where you bear sole responsibility for
temperature-related damages including:
- Failed delivery attempts by the common carrier
- If you authorized us to override our standard shipping policy for the shipment
