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Shipping & Returns

Shipping

For any questions please contact us by emailing [email protected] or by calling 707-287-9685.

All packages are shipped using FedEx, UPS and GSO (where available) and our shipping prices include packaging materials. During the winter and summer months, weather conditions and longer delivery times can often result in the spoilage of your order. Expedited delivery options tend to be worth the added expense in order to protect your investment.

Ground shipments are sent Monday through Thursday. 2 Day shipments are only sent Monday through Wednesday. Overnight shipments are only sent Monday through Thursday.

You will be notified by email when your wines are shipped. Orders will usually ship within 2-5 business days. However, in effort to protect your wine, please be aware that your order may be held for ideal weather and shipping conditions.

If your state is sent via Third Party Shipping (Refrigerated Ground), orders are shipped each Thursday. You will receive a shipping confirmation email once your order has left our warehouse. Tracking is also uploaded to your account the following Monday. Tracking will not show any activity until scanned at your state’s area hub. Once scanned, your tracking link will start to show activity and provide you with an accurate ETA. Delivery is then made within a day or two (occasionally three) depending on your distance from the area hub.  Please note that refrigerated shipping takes roughly 1-3 weeks to get to you. 

In the summer months (typically May-October), we have summer shipping options available at checkout. We can add an ice pack to the package to keep the wine cool during transit. For orders shipping Ground, the ice pack option is an additional $4 fee. If the Refrigerated Ground + Ice Pack shipping option is chosen ($8 additional fee), orders travel temp controlled to the shipping hub, then an ice pack is dropped in before the shipment goes Ground (non-refrigerated) with the end mile carrier. 

We can also hold your order, free of charge, until the temperatures have lowered to a safe shipping temperature.  If you do choose the hold option, we typically start shipping in early/mid fall and will contact you prior to shipping. You may also request a specific shipping date (use the special instruction box at checkout).

We always recommend adding shipping insurance when placing a new order.  It is 1% of the subtotal, and will cover you in case of loss or damage in transit. If you do not want this protection, you may deselect the 'Shipping Insurance?' box at checkout. If shipping insurance was added to your order and the package has been lost or damaged, you are fully covered. We can issue a credit card refund or a store credit for the purchase. Alternatively, if the wine is still available, we would be happy to send a replacement package. Without shipping insurance, we can only reimburse you through a store credit.

You must be 21 years of age or older to purchase wine from FirstBottleWines.com. It is highly recommended that you provide us with a business shipping address for best service. Customer order requests such as "Please leave on back porch" or "Please leave at front door” cannot be followed, and you will receive an email asking for an updated address.

Due to ever changing direct-shipping laws and regulations, the list of states that we ship to may change at any time. All wines are sold in California and title passes to the buyer in California. We will arrange for shipment on behalf of the buyer, to an address specified by the buyer, provided that in our sole discretion we believe that such shipment will not subject us to the risk of any sort of legal action or other harm. If a buyer lives in a state where the direct shipment of wine may violate the law, we will contact the buyer 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 third-party storage facility.





Returns

First Bottle generally cannot accept returns of wine in your possession longer than 6 months, as we have no way of knowing your specific storage conditions. We hope you understand. We will, however, review this on a case-by-case basis.

First Bottle guarantees the excellent provenance of the wine it sells. We will happily return, refund, credit, or exchange bottles that suffer from the following conditions:

  • Wine that is leaking on arrival
  • Incorrect fulfillment (wrong vintage, etc.)
  • Shipping problems that are clearly the fault of the shipper or First Bottle