Refund policy
We want you to be satisfied with every purchase. Because we sell alcoholic beverages, limited releases, personalized merchandise and other specialty products, some items carry specific return and cancellation restrictions.
All cancellations, returns and refunds go through Wine Chateau Customer Care at hello@winechateau.com or 800-946-3190. This policy forms part of our Terms & Conditions.
This policy is arranged by cause. Sections 1 to 3 govern returns and cancellations initiated by you, to which fees apply. Section 4 sets out how incidents in transit are handled. Section 5 governs errors on our part, to which no fees apply. Section 6 sets out the charges that apply where a shipment is refused, undeliverable or unclaimed. Please establish which applies before assuming a charge is due.
1. Cancelling an order
Before processing begins
If you contact us before your order enters sourcing, engraving, packing, fulfillment or shipment processing, the order will be cancelled in full with no cancellation or restocking fee. You may choose a refund to your original payment method or store credit.
After processing begins
Once an order has entered any of those stages, cancellation is no longer guaranteed. Customer Care will review the status of your order and advise whether cancellation remains possible.
Where cancellation remains possible, a 15% restocking fee is deducted from a refund, or 10% where store credit is selected.
Custom, engraved and shipped orders
Custom orders, personalized products and engraved items cannot be cancelled once customization or production has begun.
Once an order has shipped it cannot be cancelled. Where you no longer wish to retain the product, please refer to Section 2. Please do not refuse the delivery, as refused alcohol shipments incur the return costs set out in Section 6.
2. Returns
We accept eligible returns within 7 calendar days of delivery. Please contact Customer Care first, as every return must be approved before the product is returned.
To be eligible for return:
· The request must reach us within 7 calendar days of delivery;
· The product must be unopened and unused;
· The product must be undamaged and in resalable condition;
· All original labels, seals, capsules, packaging, accessories and promotional items must be intact; and
· You must provide the order number and any information we reasonably require in order to process the return.
Return methods
Once Customer Care has approved your return, the product may be returned by Self Shipping or by Return Pickup. You may select either method.
Self Shipping. We will issue a return authorization (RA) number together with the return address. The product must be packed securely, the RA number marked clearly on the outside of the package, and carriage arranged with a reputable carrier of your choice. Carriage charges are payable by you directly to your carrier.
Where Self Shipping is selected, the product remains your responsibility until it is received at our warehouse. Please ensure it is adequately packed and dispatched through a reputable carrier, as the product must reach us undamaged and in resalable condition in order to qualify for a refund or store credit.
Return Pickup. We will arrange for the product to be collected from your address. The Return Pickup charge will be confirmed to you before collection is booked, and is deducted from your refund or store credit together with any applicable restocking fee.
Return Pickup is subject to carrier availability at your address. As these are alcoholic beverages, an adult aged 21 or older must be present to release the package to the carrier.
Products must not be returned before Customer Care has approved the return. Unauthorized returns, and packages received without an RA number, may be refused or returned to you at your cost, and we cannot guarantee a refund for them.
Amounts refunded
Once we receive and inspect the return, you may choose a refund to your original payment method or store credit. For approved returns requested by you:
· Where Self Shipping is selected, carriage charges are payable by you and will not be refunded or reimbursed;
· Where Return Pickup is selected, the Return Pickup charge will be deducted from your refund or store credit;
· All shipping charges paid on the original order are nonrefundable;
· A 25% restocking fee is deducted from the approved return amount where a refund is selected; or
· A 15% restocking fee is deducted where store credit is selected.
By way of illustration: on a $100 bottle returned by choice, a 25% restocking fee leaves $75, before the shipping paid on the original order and the cost of returning the product.
If a returned product does not meet these requirements, or arrives in a condition that makes it unsellable, we may decline the return or adjust the refund or store credit accordingly. We will tell you before we do.
3. Final sale products
The following are final sale and cannot be returned, cancelled or refunded at your request:
· Engraved or personalized products;
· Custom orders;
· Special order products;
· Allocated, limited release or highly collectible products;
· Corporate or bulk orders;
· Products bought for resale or commercial redistribution;
· Opened or partially consumed products;
· Products with broken, altered or removed seals;
· Gift cards;
· Clearance or final sale merchandise identified as such;
· Products damaged after delivery through your handling or storage; and
· Products with damage caused by you to the label, bottle, cork, capsule or packaging.
Final sale status does not affect your rights under Section 5 or under our Package Protection Policy. If we shipped the wrong product, a product is faulty, or a product covered by Package Protection arrived damaged, we will still resolve it. Final sale means only that you cannot return the product because you changed your mind.
4. Damaged, broken, missing or leaking products
Every order is packed with considerable care. Even so, products are occasionally affected in transit, and this can occur despite the precautions taken by us and by the carrier.
Where your order arrives damaged, broken, leaking, or with an item missing, please contact Customer Care within 5 business days of delivery. Where Package Protection is included in your order, your claim is handled under our Package Protection Policy.
When reporting an issue:
· Please provide your order number;
· We require photographs of the affected product, the shipping box, the shipping label and the internal packaging;
· Please retain the affected product and all original packaging until we confirm they may be disposed of, as carriers require the packaging in order to process a claim; and
· We may request any further information reasonably required in order to review the matter.
Where Package Protection is removed at checkout, Customer Care will confirm whether the issue results from an error on our part, which is resolved under Section 5.
Where an issue results from an error on our part, no restocking fee or return shipping cost applies.
Where Package Protection is removed at checkout, Wine Chateau is not responsible for loss, theft, damage, breakage, leakage or missing items once your order has been handed to the carrier. This does not affect errors on our part, as set out in Section 5 of this policy.
If you remove Package Protection, you will be asked to confirm that you understand Wine Chateau is not responsible for loss, theft, damage, breakage, leakage or missing items once your order has been handed to the carrier.
Package Protection
For added security, Package Protection is added to eligible orders at checkout. You may remove it before completing your order.
Where Package Protection has been purchased, qualifying incidents of loss, theft, damage, breakage, leakage or missing items occurring while your order is in the carrier's custody receive priority claim handling, a committed decision timeline, and a resolution of your choosing from replacement, a comparable product, store credit or a refund.
Package Protection is subject to its own terms, including reporting deadlines, documentation requirements, exclusions and a coverage limit. For full details, please see our Package Protection Policy.
5. Errors on our part
Where an incorrect product has been supplied, or another error has occurred on our part, please contact Customer Care and retain the product together with its packaging.
Errors on our part include an incorrect product or quantity, a product missing from your order when it was packed, and a quality fault under Section 8. Anything that occurs after your order has been handed to the carrier is not an error on our part, and is covered only where Package Protection is included in your order.
Errors on our part are corrected at our cost. Depending on the circumstances, we will arrange a replacement, a comparable replacement, store credit or a refund. No restocking fee applies, and the cost of returning the product is borne by us.
6. Refused, undeliverable and unclaimed shipments
Alcohol deliveries need an eligible adult aged 21 or older to receive and sign for them. Where no eligible recipient is available, the carrier will usually move the shipment to a nearby holding facility rather than returning it to us immediately.
If your shipment goes to a holding facility:
· We or the carrier will give you the location and pickup details;
· The shipment must be collected within 5 calendar days;
· You, or another person aged 21 or older who lives at the same address and has the same last name, may collect it, subject to the carrier's identification and age requirements; and
· If it is not collected within 5 calendar days, the carrier will return it to us.
Where a shipment is returned to us because it was refused, uncollected, or undeliverable for a reason connected to you:
· The return shipping costs charged to us are payable by you;
· All shipping charges paid on the original order are nonrefundable;
· In the case of reshipment, all forward delivery charges are to be borne by you on each occasion the order is reshipped; and
· Once the products have been received and inspected, Customer Care will confirm the options available to you on the basis of our quality check.
Where a refund to your original payment method or store credit is issued, it will be processed after deduction of the charges set out above.
If the person receiving the delivery is under 21 or cannot provide the required identification, the order cannot be delivered and will be returned to us.
For more on adult signature requirements, holding facilities and delivery attempts, please see our Shipping & Delivery Policy.
7. Products unavailable or withheld following quality inspection
Occasionally a product you have ordered proves to be unavailable, or does not pass our quality inspection prior to dispatch. This may affect an entire order or only part of it.
Where this occurs, Customer Care will contact you by email and by telephone to inform you and to discuss the options available to you. Depending on the product and the circumstances, these may include:
· Replacement with an alternative product of comparable character and value;
· Holding your order until the product becomes available, where we reasonably expect it to become available within a short period. We will provide a revised date, and you may cancel at any time before dispatch; or
· Store credit for the affected products, which may be applied against any product we can lawfully ship to you and which does not expire.
Where none of the above is suitable, a refund to your original payment method is available on request.
Where we are unable to reach you
Where we have attempted to contact you by both email and telephone and have received no response within 7 calendar days, we will issue store credit for the affected products, so that the value of your order remains available to you without further delay.
Store credit issued in these circumstances may be converted to a refund to your original payment method at any time on request.
8. Product character and quality
Wine and spirits vary considerably in taste, aroma, maturity and character, and individual preference differs. A product that does not suit your palate is not, for that reason, defective, and preference is not a basis for return under Section 2 once a bottle has been opened.
A genuine quality fault is a separate matter. Faults include cork taint, oxidation, refermentation, and a product that clearly does not correspond to its label.
Where you believe a product is faulty, please contact Customer Care with your order details and a description of the issue, and retain the bottle together with its remaining contents. Our team will review the matter and, where a fault is established, will address it under Section 5.
9. Refunds and store credit
Refund to your original payment method
Once a return has been received and inspected, we will initiate the refund within 10 business days. Any applicable shipping, return shipping or restocking charges are deducted from the approved amount first.
Once initiated, how quickly the money appears depends on your bank or card issuer. It is usually 5 to 10 business days, sometimes longer.
Store credit
Store credit is processed within 5 business days after a return is received and approved, and is available in your Wine Chateau account immediately once issued.
Store credit does not expire, has no cash value, cannot be exchanged for cash except where the law requires it, and is not transferable. It can be used against any product we can lawfully ship to you. Full gift card and store credit terms are set out in our Terms & Conditions.
10. Packaging and vintage variations
Product images are illustrative and may not show the exact bottle, label or packaging you receive. Depending on the product and availability you may notice variations in bottle shape or design, label design, gift boxes or manufacturer packaging, closures or capsules, bottle size or proof, or importer details.
Vintage Substitution: on the rare occasion that the vintage you ordered is unavailable, wines priced under $40 will be supplied in an alternate vintage of the same wine at the same price. For wines priced above $40, Customer Care will contact you under Section 7.
These variations do not mean the wrong product was shipped, provided the product is materially consistent with the description and your order. Where a specific vintage, bottle size or release is expressly guaranteed in the product description or confirmed by us in writing, that specification applies. Please see Section 4 of our Terms & Conditions.
11. Relationship to our Terms & Conditions
This policy forms part of the Wine Chateau Terms & Conditions and should be read together with them. Where a summary in the Terms & Conditions differs from this policy, this policy controls.
Additional terms may apply to certain products, promotions, memberships, corporate orders or services. Where specific terms are provided for a particular product or order, those terms apply.
12. Contact us
Please contact us about cancellations, returns, refunds or store credit as soon as an issue arises.
Wine Chateau
85 Central Ave, Metuchen, NJ 08840
Email: hello@winechateau.com
Phone: 800-946-3190
Hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET