Shipping Policy

You must be 21 years of age or older to purchase wines and other alcoholic beverages from CzechWineDirect.com.

Wines and other alcoholic beverages may be only delivered to persons over the age of 21. By ordering from CzechWineDirect.com (CWD) you affirm that you are at least 21 years of age. You also acknowledge that an adult person 21 years or older must be present upon the delivery and sign for the package.

We make every effort to ensure that alcoholic beverages we ship on your behalf are not delivered to anyone who is under the age of 21. All alcoholic beverages must be received and signed for by an adult of the legal drinking age. We encourage you to have your package delivered to a business address to reduce the likelihood of failed delivery. If the wine is returned to us for failure to provide positive proof of age, you are responsible for paying all related shipping charges.

Interstate shipping:
Many states laws are prohibiting or severely restricting the shipment of wine into their states from elsewhere in the country. Non-California residents are responsible for determining if their state or county laws allow wines, spirits or tobacco products to ship into their state or county. Each state or county has their own laws and regulations related to these products. Please check with your appropriate agencies. Each individual accepts responsibility for their state verifications. We may determine not to ship to any location if we believe that, to do so, would violate any federal, state or local laws. If a buyer lives in a state where the direct shipment of wine may violate the law, buyer may contact us to discuss shipping options, which options may include provision of an alternative shipping address in a state where the direct shipment of wines to consumers is permitted or storage of the wines at an acceptable and legally compliant third-party storage facility, provided that, in so doing, we would not be indirectly violating the law in our sole judgment. If you desire and elect to ship to another state you’ll assume all responsibility for determining whether it is lawful to import alcoholic beverages into that state.

Interstate shipping laws are constantly changing so we recommend you check with the appropriate agency in your state or county. Due to ever changing direct-shipping laws and regulations, the list of states that we ship to may change at any time. We may ship to limited zip codes in Alaska. We may send wine only shipments within the state of California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Unfortunately, we cannot ship to P.O. boxes, freight forwarders, APO/FPO addresses, or internationally.

All CzechWineDirect.com wines are sold in California and title passes to the buyer in California. We make no representation of the legal rights of anyone to ship or import wines into any state outside of California. The buyer is solely responsible for the shipment of wines. By placing an order with us, you authorize CzechWineDirect.com to act on your behalf to engage a common carrier to deliver your order to you. Our acknowledgment of an order is not a guarantee that we will ultimately be able to ship the order to you. If we are unable to ship your order to the state of your request we will cancel your order and refund your money.

Once wine has left our storage facility, the buyer is solely responsible for any loss or damage. Buyer agrees to provide a business shipping address and is responsible to contact us regarding alternative or special shipping arrangements.

All wine is sold “as is” and final once shipped or received. We cannot accept a return for any opened wine under any circumstance.

Although we are usually able to ship your order on the same day, occasionally, demand for limited supplies may deplete our stock. In that case, the item will be placed on backorder and we will notify you via email. We will email you once again when the item becomes available and you’ll have to respond to us letting us know you would still like to receive the item. Your credit card will be charged only when the item has shipped EXCEPT on Future and Pre-Sale items. Those charges will be processed shortly after the order has been placed.

Shipping weather advisory:
We do not recommend ground delivery for orders and we strongly urge you to consider the effect of weather conditions when selecting a shipping method. We will not be held responsible for damaged products due to the selection of such delivery service chosen. Neither we nor the shipping company contracted on your behalf to deliver your wine provide insurance coverage against weather-related damage that may occur in transit. This is because of the potential heat exposure through summer or extremely cold conditions during winter. After your wine has safely left our facility we do not accept returns due to such damage. If you desire to put your order on hold until temperature conditions are more suitable for shipping contact us with your request and we may do so at no additional cost.

Sales tax:
Sales tax will be applied based on the seller’s location. Seller makes no representation as to the legal rights of anyone to deliver or import any alcoholic beverages or other goods into any state. Buyer warrants he or she is solely responsible for the transport of the purchased products and for determining the legality and the tax/duty consequences of bringing the products to the buyer’s chosen destination. We add applicable Los Angeles County sales tax of 9.5% to all orders shipped or delivered within the state of California. Orders shipped to states outside California are not subject to California state sales tax, however, they may be subject to sales or use tax in the destination state and we will charge such tax accordingly at the time of order. Note that any new governmental taxes incurred after the order will also be charged at the shipment date.

Order processing time:
In-stock wines, as well as the "in stock" portion of orders that include both "in stock" and "pre-arrival" wines, are generally processed and shipped within 24-48 hours. Special shipping requests including rush orders, requests to ship original wood cases, etc. should be made by contacting us.

Futures & pre-arrivals:
Futures & Pre-arrival wines are not available for immediate shipment, some may take anywhere from a few weeks to 3 years. For your inquiry for a particular wine, we can provide you with an estimate of arrival times via email. Shipping for futures & pre-arrivals is not charged at the time of order but is determined once the wine arrives at our warehouse. We will contact you for further instructions which include a shipping address and method. We do not automatically ship out pre-arrival wines. We typically email you upon the wine's arrival and will follow up by another email if no response is received within a reasonable period.

Wine and other alcoholic beverages sold by CWD may be subject to other laws, rules, or restrictions governing the importation, including duties, tariffs, permits, rates, schedules, taxes, and preliminary statements, as they may be amended, adjusted, increased, renegotiated, replaced or restated from time to time (herein "Import Duties"). You, as a buyer, are solely responsible for all import duties that may apply to any purchase of wine or alcoholic beverages, including those import duties in effect after you purchased the wine or alcoholic beverage but before the importation of the wine or alcoholic beverage.

Pre-Sale:
The wine listed as "Pre-Sale" is available for purchase now as "futures & pre-arrivals" noted above. Such wines are sold on a pre-sale basis and may not arrive for weeks. By ordering today, you can secure a supply of this hard-to-find wine, at a price that is generally much lower than when the vintage is finally available on the market (though there is no guarantee). Note purchases will be charged a deposit equivalent to the wine, shipping & handling and the applicable taxes. Order cancellation will be subject to a fee equal to 20% of the wine. For more info contact our fine wine specialists.

International orders:
We may accept an international order for your country or provide a quote for international shipping upon request. Note that there may be additional duties, taxes, and tariffs based on your destination country. You are responsible for determining your customs charges and shall contact your local customs office for details. Contact us for more information.

Shipping Rates:
Our shipping rates include the cost of handling and packaging and also specially designed wine shipping containers. Estimated shipping rates at checkout are provided based on shipping address, shipping method, and the number of bottles in your order. Note these quoted shipping rates are estimates, and actual shipping charges may differ based on factors that are not taken into account by our automated shipping estimator.

For example, sparkling wines and some non-sparkling wines due to their heavier bottle weight are charged an additional $3.00 per bottle above the estimates provided. Our shipping estimator is set up to recognize 750ml in size. The actual price difference for bottles smaller than 750ml bottles (bottle size 500ml, 375ml, 300ml, 187ml, etc.) is typically lower and we will pass along these savings to you. Also, shipping charges for unusual bottle shapes and sizes cannot be accurately estimated. We will include the actual shipping charges in the order confirmation email we send to you upon the shipment.

Insurance:
Optional insurance coverage is available for 1.0% of the total purchase price of your order over $100 and covers any loss due to breakage or theft that may occur while your order is in the possession of a common carrier. This insurance does not cover damage resulting from extreme hot or cold temperatures during transit. While shipping insurance is optional, declining coverage releases us of all liability associated with breakage or loss that may occur to your order during shipment. If you have opted for the optional insurance coverage and you receive damaged merchandise, you must notify us of any broken or damaged bottles within two days of delivery so that we may process your claim with the carrier.

Original wooden cases:
If applicable we may ship the original wooden case upon your special request. Please contact us first to arrange such option.

Shipping charge-backs:
A small surcharge is levied by our carriers for delivery to residential addresses. You are responsible for correctly identifying if the address is a residence or business. Charge-backs received from our carriers due to incorrect address identification caused by you will be billed back to you. If the provided incorrect shipping address information caused a failed delivery attempt, our primary carriers will charge us a $20 PENALTY PER PACKAGE for address corrections, which will be billed back to you. Any order that is refused or returned after three delivery attempts shall be refunded for the amount of the item ONLY. The shipping charges will not be refunded and a one-time, non-refundable 20% restocking fee will be applied to each order item.

Shipping options:
We offer the following shipping methods:

Ground: Day-definite delivery typically in one to five days, depending on the distance.
3-Day: Delivery by the end of the third business day.
2-Day: Delivery by the end of the second business day to most areas.
Next-Day: Delivery by the end of the next business day.
Priority Next Day: Delivery by 12:00 PM on the next business day to most areas.

Regional carrier - GLS Standard:
General Logistics Systems (GLS), formerly known as Golden State Overnight - GSO is a regional next-day package delivery specialist. Their standard CPS service provides guaranteed next-day delivery by 5 pm to all California addresses, as well as to most major metro areas in Arizona and Nevada. This service includes Saturday deliveries at no additional charge. Not recommended for residential delivery.

Regional carrier - GLS Priority:
Provides guaranteed next-day delivery by 10:30 am to most addresses in its delivery coverage area of California and metro Arizona and Nevada. See GLS-PDS guaranteed delivery times by zip code

Local shipping alternative:
As a courtesy to local customers (the greater Los Angeles area, including Ventura County, Orange County, and San Diego County), we may deliver full case orders for a flat fee. This service may be available for deliveries on demand within 5- 7 days from the order confirmation. Note such orders may be subject to a case minimum. Emails us shall you learn more about this option.
Exceptions to service commitments above exist for Alaska, as well as for certain rural areas. Please contact us if you require a more specific delivery commitment for your destination.

Estimated shipping rates for each of these options are provided during checkout. Before shipping your order an order confirmation including actual shipping charges is emailed to you. Once your order is shipped you’ll receive from us a shipment confirmation that includes a shipment tracking number.

Special shipping requests —including rush shipping, international delivery, requests to ship original wood cases, etc. – shall be requested via contacting us before checkout.

Wine offers are void where prohibited by law.

California Proposition 65

WARNING: Drinking distilled spirits, beer, coolers, wine and other alcoholic beverages may increase cancer risk and during pregnancy, can cause birth defects. For more information go to https://www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/alcohol

WARNING: Many food and beverage cans have linings containing bisphenol A (BPA) a chemical known to the State of California to cause harm to the female reproductive system. Jar lids and bottle caps may also contain BPA. You can be exposed to BPA when you consume foods or beverages in these containers.  For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/BPA

Please feel free to contact us if you have additional questions.