Terms and Conditions - Prime Cellar: Rare and Fine Wine

Shipping Policies

In order to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of your wine, Prime Cellar will only ship Monday through Wednesday. Any order placed after 12 pm on a Wednesday will ship the following Monday barring national holidays.

It is the policy of Prime Cellar not to ship wine in extremely cold or hot weather. Transporting wine in extreme weather conditions, even by overnight service, may cause seriously damage to the wines. During periods of extreme weather, Prime Cellar strongly advises against transport of wines by any means. During these times we are pleased to provide complimentary short-term storage until better conditions prevail – the next shipping season. If shipment is requested during periods of extreme weather, the buyer will be required to sign a shipping release form through email to free Prime Cellar from any liability for damages incurred to wines shipped during periods of extreme weather. The ultimate shipping method and timing is yours.

We do not accept returns of wine distressed due to shipping. We cannot be responsible nor can we replace bottles damaged by the weather. Again, the ultimate shipping method and timing is yours.

Same-day shipping is unavailable for any orders placed after noon (12:00 pm) Pacific time.

Weather Waiver: Download our weather waiver, sign and return to us for handling.

Privacy & Cookies

At Prime Cellar LLC, we are committed to protecting your privacy. Prime Cellar LLC will not rent or sell your personal information to any non-affiliated organization or company PERIOD. When you register, place an order or provide your personal information to us for any other business purpose, we may collect your name, address, email address, phone number and credit card information. We may also request additional information. We use this information to process your requests and to communicate with you about your orders. From time to time, we may use your name and contact information to notify you of changes to the web site, new releases, special offers and events we think you’ll find valuable. All of the customer data we collect is stored on a secured server to protect against unauthorized access. By using our website, you consent to the policies described in this privacy statement. The provisions of this policy are subject to change. Prime Cellar LLC will post changes to this privacy policy on this page.

We use cookies on our website. Cookies are used to improve the functionality and use of our internet site, as well as for analytic and advertising purposes. By continuing to use this site without changing your settings you consent to our use of cookies.

Wine Photos And Images

The bottle in the photo may not be actual bottle shipped. Prime Cellar is happy to provide pictures of individual bottles at customer request.

Purchasing And Shipping Wine Legally

You must be 21 years of age to purchase and/or receive wine from us. Prime Cellar LLC can only ship to states where it is legal to ship alcoholic beverages. If you live in a state which is not legal to ship alcoholic beverages, please provide an alternative shipping address in a legal state, or the address of a “third party” storage facility (taxes will be applied as appropriate).

Shipping Restriction

A complete list of the states and their shipping restrictions is included on this page. We can also hold your shipment for a limited time for you to pick up at our office, located minutes from Millbrae, CA. See special sales tax note below. Any wine sold to you by Prime Cellar LLC is sold in California, and title passes to you, the buyer, in California. All orders are shipped by a licensed California wine retailer. The buyer is solely responsible for the shipment of wine. We make no representations concerning your legal right to ship or receive wine into any state outside California or any country outside the United States. By placing any wine order with Prime Cellar LLC, you authorize Prime Cellar LLC to act on your behalf to engage a common carrier to deliver your order to your selected destination.

Sales Tax

We must collect sales tax, where applicable, for shipments to the states to which we ship. Note that any order delivered to a wine storage facility based in one of those states must be charged the appropriate sales tax. All orders picked up at Prime Cellar LLC’s office (and not shipped by a licensed carrier to an out of state destination) must be charged local sales tax regardless of where the purchaser lives or where the wine will be taken.

Returns and Cancellations

There will be a 15% restocking/cancellation fee enforced for any order that is cancelled by the customer prior to shipment, including pre-arrival orders.

By law, we are only able to accept returns on wines purchased in error or that are unfit for human consumption. After the wine has been in your possession for more than three weeks, we are unable to accept returns for any reason. We do not accept any returns on bottles that have been opened.

Pricing / Website Errors

While we will do our best to ensure an accurate inventory, occasionally there may be an error in wine listed online. When such situations occur, Prime Cellar LLC shall be held harmless for the error. We make every effort to make sure that our product database is accurate, however mistakes do happen. In all cases, the customer will be contacted as soon as the problem is discovered. We will promptly return to the customer any monies collected upon discovery of the problem. A refund will be the limit of the remedy. Prices are subject to change without notice. Prime Cellar LLC is not responsible for pricing errors that may occur on our website from time to time.

Pre-arrival Wines Versus In-stock Wines

The term “Pre-Arrival” is applied to wines we have purchased (typically abroad) that have not arrived yet. Depending on the particular wine, the arrival time is typically 6+ months to over two years (in the case of Bordeaux Futures, for example).

Many new releases of highly desirable, limited-production wines (ie – Burgundy, Rhone, Italian, etc.) are offered on a “Pre-Arrival” basis by our suppliers. These offerings typically take 6 to 18 months to arrive and are often the only way to source the wines before they sell out (and at optimal prices). We send an email notification when your wines arrive.

States We Ship To

At the present time we ship to the following states: AK, CA, DC, FL, MN, OR. This list is subject to change without notice.

States We Don’t Ship To

If you live in a state other than one listed above, we encourage you to contact your state representatives and ask them to change their laws and allow you to enjoy the same rights as wine lovers in other states. In the meantime, we suggest that you consider contracting with a professional wine storage facility. If you transfer wines purchased to a storage facility in California, you are required to pay CA sales tax.

Age Verification

You must be at least 21 years of age or older to buy wine. By placing an order with Prime Cellar LLC, whether through our website, over the phone or in person, you certify under penalty of perjury that you and the recipient are at least 21 years old. When the wine is delivered, the recipient will be required to show identification proving that he or she is at least 21 years old. The willful misrepresentation of your age or the age of the recipient is a crime in most states, and if it appears to us or to the authorities that you have done so, we will cooperate with the authorities to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.

Adult Signature Required

Because of strict alcoholic beverage laws in the states to which we can legally ship wine, an adult must be present to sign for your wine order. For this reason, we encourage you to use a business address, if possible, where an adult is present during business hours. Neither we nor the shipping companies we use are authorized to accept a “signature on file” or leave a wine package at the door or with a neighbor. Shipping to a business address will also minimize the chance that a delivery will be attempted when no one is there, resulting in the wine spending more time in delivery trucks and warehouses, where it can be exposed to temperature extremes.

Shipping Companies

Currently, we only ship via FedEx and GSO. These companies accept wine shipments and are committed to delivering them legally. It is not legal to ship wine via the US Postal Service. We can also ship by common carrier (truck), which makes sense for larger shipments, as you can then receive your wine in its original box. Please call for more information.

Shipping Policies

In order to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of your wine, Prime Cellar will typically only ship Monday through Wednesday. Any order placed after 12 pm on a Wednesday will ship the following Monday barring national holidays.

We do not accept returns of wine distressed due to shipping. We cannot be responsible nor can we replace bottles damaged by the weather. Again, the ultimate shipping method and timing is yours.

No PO Boxes

A street address must be provided, since FedEx and GSO are unable to deliver to PO Boxes. You should also provide a daytime phone number for the recipient’s location, so we or the shipping company can reach you if necessary.