Retail Conditions of Sale

Acceptance of These Retail Conditions of Sale
Your acceptance of these Conditions of Sale will be required for orders placed on our website, www.hdhwine.com each time you place an order, however this acceptance is made via a simple checkbox during checkout. By accepting these Retail Conditions of Sale, you are accepting them for the duration of your buying relationship with Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. (HDH) which will allow you to make other retail purchases over the phone or through email should you choose to. We will notify you of changes to our Retail Conditions of Sale as they may occur in the future. We appreciate your business and thank you for taking time to read and understand this document.

Purchasing and Shipping Wine Legally
Any wine sold to you by HDH is sold in Illinois, and title passes to you, the buyer, in Illinois at the time of sale. Many states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws that regulate inbound shipments of wine and other alcoholic beverages purchased in another state. Such shipments may be a crime unless a permit or license is obtained. Many laws and statutes make exception for wine purchased for personal consumption.

Since these laws may affect your purchase of wines from HDH, we urge you to investigate the laws in your state regarding this subject before shipping or arranging to ship any wine purchased from us. Buyers (not HDH) are the owners and shippers of all wine purchased in Illinois from HDH. As your agent, we will be pleased to choose a licensed common carrier on your behalf, with various levels of service typically available. If buyers wish to arrange delivery of their wines after purchase, they are responsible and bear all risk, including selecting a carrier and providing delivery instructions.

Neither HDH nor its agents can assume responsibility for any deterioration resulting from shipment, which includes, but is not limited to: scuffed labels, cracked wax capsules, or minor seepage. Insurance will be automatically provided at a nominal charge, which will cover solely breakage or loss from time of purchase to the time of delivery. Wines must be inspected by the Purchaser upon receipt and any loss or breakage must be noted on the Shipper’s documents. HDH must be notified of any breakage or loss claims within 24 hours of delivery. Should this insurance coverage not be desired, a written waiver of insurance and any subsequent claims must be received prior to the shipment of the wines. Without insurance, loss or damage due to any cause will be at the Purchaser’s risk.

All sales are made in Illinois. Payment in full is due upon confirmation of orders. Wines may be sold and delivered only to persons who are 21 years old.

Returns and Cancellations
Due to the consignment nature of our business, all sales are final whether or not the purchase has left our premises. We insist on this practice to honor our commitments not only to our buyers, but to our consignors as well. Returns and order cancellations are not accepted, except in cases of shipping or inventory errors on the part of HDH Wine Co., in which case, issue-specific resolutions will be created and applied.

Age Verification
Buyers must warrant that he/she are at least 21 years of age, and that the wines will be received by someone that is at least 21 years of age. By placing an order with Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. 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. Upon delivery, the recipient will be required to show photo identification proving that he or she is at least 21 years of age; delivery will not be executed without a signature from the recipient. 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.

Payment
All sales are made in the state of Illinois. Payment in full is due upon receipt of invoice or order confirmation. No order will be shipped or allowed to be collected from our cellar until all expenses related to the order have been paid. We accept cash, checks, money orders, wire transfers, and credit cards (MasterCard, Visa, and DiscoverCard).

Transactions for restaurants and other licensees will be routed through a licensed wholesaler. There is no charge for this service, but we do require that buyers identify themselves as licensees at the time the order is placed.

If payment in good cleared funds is not received within 21 days of the purchase, HDH Wine Co. reserves the right to assess a late charge of up to 3% of the total purchase price, in addition to any other rights and remedies available by law to HDH Wine Co., and additional 3% late charges every two weeks following day 21. HDH reserves the right to cancel any order at any time.

Sales Tax
At all times, taxation is determined by point of delivery. We are required by law to collect the appropriate state and local taxes from purchasers who collect their lots in Chicago, unless the purchase is deemed to be non-taxable. All conclusions as to taxation are to be determined by HDH in its sole discretion. All non-taxable transactions must be completely documented prior to release of purchases in one of the following ways:

a) Those licensed to sell alcoholic beverages may submit their sales tax number and proceed with being invoiced through our designated Illinois wholesaler.

b) Out-of-state deliveries are non-taxable provided they are made by a carrier licensed by the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Variations in Pricing
You may notice price discrepancies when shopping for individual wines. Due to the dynamic nature of the wine market and contractual obligations to our consignors, pricing on two otherwise identical bottles can occasionally be disparate. Please note that each bottle is individually subjected to HDH’s strict inspection standards, and price discrepancies are not a reflection of condition discrepancies between individual bottles (for more information on bottle conditions, see below). Our recommendation to buyers is to purchase the least expensive bottles available when price discrepancies exist.

Bottle Conditions
To the best of our knowledge, all wines benefited from proper storage prior to being delivered to our temperature and humidity-controlled cellar. Every bottle has been carefully inspected by our experts and described as accurately as possible at the time the wines were added to our retail inventory. However, buyers of older and more fragile wines must make proper allowances for natural variations of ullage and general condition. Wines less than 30 years of age can be assumed to be in generally excellent condition unless otherwise indicated. As outlined above, no returns or cancellations will be accepted.

Weather Watch – A Shipping Moratorium
From time to time, HDH will put a “Weather Watch” into effect to protect our customers and their wines from damage due to extreme temperatures around the country. When a Weather Watch is in effect, HDH strongly recommends holding your shipment in our temperature controlled cellar until shipping conditions improve (depending on your location, this could be for a period of up to three months). During a “Weather Watch” the available shipping dates will fall only on dates outside of the Weather Watch period unless you select to waive HDH of Damage Liability. By Waiving HDH of Damage Liability, you acknowledge our recommendation to not ship at this time, with the understanding that any damage suffered due to extreme cold or heat will not be covered by insurance. Shipping dates within the Weather Watch period will be available to you should you select the waiver option.

Complimentary 60-Day Storage
We are pleased to provide complimentary storage for 60 days from the date of purchase, not inclusive of days where a Weather Watch is in effect. Note that wines held in complimentary storage are held in title to you, the buyer, and liability for said wines has passed from HDH to the buyer at the time of the sale.