FAQs

How long will it take to process my online order?

We try to process on-line orders within 24 hours. We will notify you by E-mail if a wine you order is out of stock or if the vintage you have ordered has changed. Temporarily, due to high demand, this processing time may be longer.
Once your order has been processed, you will receive a detailed automatic e-mail confirming that we received your order and that it is being fulfilled.

How can I ship my wine?

Because wine can be stranded in non-climate controlled environments over the weekend, leading to damaged wine, we do not ship orders over weekends, Wine ordered Friday will not be shipped until the following Monday. Wine ordered on Thursday or later for out of state delivery will also ship the following Monday. When we complete your order, we will E-mail you your tracking number with a tracking link.
Shipping costs are composed of handling fees and the packaging added to the cost of the carrier whether it be UPS or Fedex & Golden-State-Overnight. While handling fees are a fixed cost, shipping costs vary with distance and weight plus adult signature is required for shipping any alcohol. Adult signature required is an extra and can cost as much as $4.90. It is advisable to ship as many bottles as possible in one package to bring down your cost. Shipper packages come in one, two, three, six and twelve-bottle cases. Packages are normally expedited within one business day of receipt of payment. By placing an order, you are authorizing Charlemagne Inc to act on your behalf to engage a shipping company such as UPS to deliver your order. You are solely responsible for the shipment of your wine and for determining the legality and the tax/duty consequences of having wine shipped to you. Charlemagne Inc recommends shipping to a business address to avoid missed deliveries. In the event that your wine has been damaged during shipment, please contact karl@charlemagnefinewines.com
For quality control purposes, we may require you to return any unopened bottles for analysis. At our discretion, we may offer a replacement or an account credit to be used for a future purchase.

There is a free delivery service in Los Angeles County and Orange County for over $75 purchased.

Return policy

Under California law, it is illegal to return wines once sold. The exception is defective wines, which may be returned for credit or replacement within thirty days of purchase. All returned wines must be accompanied by a receipt. OLDER WINES: We do our best to ensure proper temperature-controlled storage and provenance. However, we cannot be responsible for wines older than five years from the latest vintage. This is a wine industry standard.
HEAT AND ULLAGE: Heat is wine’s worst enemy. Even on mild days, the temperature inside an automobile can exceed 90 degrees F, some 35 degrees (or more) hotter than the average wine cellar. This wide temperature differential can quickly squeeze corks and/or create seepage and messy labels. Moreover, certain “fragile” wines can be completely ruined in a matter of hours by excessive heat. Therefore, out of fairness to our clientele, we cannot accept any returns of wines showing evidence of heat damage. Our shipping department keeps an eye on the weather. If, for example, you select ground shipping to a very hot climate, we will contact you to suggest a faster shipping method or request that you fill out a waiver assuming liability in the event the wine is damaged. We strive to make sure you receive your wines in the condition they are in while resting in our 55 degree F cellar. Similar measures are taken in cold weather. In the event a lot has a bad bottle, and you experience dissatisfaction with it, please email us within 30 days at karl@charlemagnefinewines.com with a detailed description of what you feel is wrong with the wine. Please provide invoice number, your name and a phone number where you can be contacted. At our discretion, we may offer you a replacement or an online credit.

Cancelation of online order

Under normal circumstances, online orders will be processed within 24 hours. Orders that have been processed and shipped cannot be cancelled or altered without an additional shipping fee and/or a restock fee of up to 15%.

Weather hold

Wine which we are not able to ship due to extreme weather temperatures will be held free of charge in temperature controlled storage as long as the amount ordered is 12 bottles and above. Charlemagne Inc. will hold the wine until more clement weather prevails. Once the weather is deemed fit for shipping, Charlemagne Inc. will notify you of the shipment 48 hours in advance.

Minimum order

Charlemagne Inc has no minimum order size. However, it is expensive to ship wine, therefore it is more economic to ship 3 bottles rather than one.

How are your wines packaged for shipping?

For our regular 750ml bottles, we use pulp paper molded shippers. With odd-shaped bottles, our shipping department uses its discretion to determine which packing method provides the most safety. We also use bubble wrap and/or peanuts if needed. Products are shipped in a plain brown cardboard box.

Delivery

A person receiving delivery of alcohol must be 21 or older in order to sign. It is your responsibility to be at the address on the order to take delivery. If you are not at the address, two more delivery attempts will be made. If all three delivery attempts fail, your order will be returned to Charlemagne’s storage facility. You will then be responsible for reshipping the order. No alcoholic beverage will be left outside a residence. A 6% handling fee will be added to all orders. I stress that you must be 21 years of age or older to order alcohol on-line.

Breakage insurance

Orders above $100 in value are insured automatically with a $1.00 surcharge.

Do you ship to my state?

These are the states we cannot ship to. If your state is listed here, we cannot ship to you.

• Pennsylvania
• Delaware
• Mississippi
• Oklahoma
• Florida
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Texas
• Montana
• Kansas
• Massachusetts
• Kentucky
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• New Jersey
• South Dakota
• Arkansas
• Tennessee
• Vermont
• West Virginia

Privacy policy

All information we gather is for our sole use in helping Charlemagne give you the best possible service. We do not sell or distribute your information to anyone, except as needed to serve you (delivery companies and credit card transactions).

What Information Do We Collect?

When visiting our website, you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you voluntarily choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and information gathered during actual website usage (Statistics).

Personal Information You Choose to Provide

Registration Information

You will provide us information about yourself, your firm or company, and your practices when you register to be a user of our services, register for certain services, or sign up for email newsletters and alerts.

Email Information

If you choose to correspond with us via email, we may retain the content of your email messages together with your email address and our responses. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose.

How old must I be to use this site?

Anyone using this site must be 21 or older. It is illegal to use this site under that age. By placing an order on this site, you are affirming legally that you are 21 or older and that any alcohol purchased by you on this site is for your own personal consumption. Any person 21 or older who uses this site to buy alcohol and distribute it to persons under the age of 21 can and will be prosecuted to the full extent of state and federal law within the United States.

Disclaimer:

We make every effort to ensure that the information on this website is accurate and current; however Charlemagne Inc. provides this web site and its contents on an “as is” basis and expressly disclaims all representations or warranties of any kind with respect to this website and its contents. Charlemagne Inc. also reserves the right to change price and availability information without notice.
Charlemagne Inc. disclaims all such representations and warranties, including for example warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In addition Charlemagne Inc. does not represent or warrant that the information accessible via this site is accurate, complete or current. Except as specifically stated on this site, neither Charlemagne Inc. nor any of its directors, employees or other representatives will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with the use of this site. This is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including (without limitation) compensatory, direct, indirect or consequential damages, loss of data, income or profit, loss of or damage to property and claims of third parties.

Original Wooden Cases:

Original wooden cases are not sold as part of the wine sale. They are for sale at a cost of $20 and will be shipped separately at your cost. It should be noted that they can be damaged and the sale of the case is on an ‘AS IS’ basis.