FAQS
General:
ONLINE: Have a browse on desktop, tablet or mobile, add the wines to your basket, checkout, pick a delivery option and enter payment details.
CALL: +44 203 925 4526
EMAIL: [email protected]
In Bond: Prices shown exclude UK duty and VAT. Payment of duty and VAT is deferred until delivery outside of bond. Wines marked ‘In Bond’ will not incur duty or VAT if retained in bonded storage at our warehouse.
Duty Paid: Prices shown include UK duty but exclude VAT. VAT will be added to your invoice but not Duty as this has already been paid.
Buying wine “en primeur” refers to the process of buying wine before it is bottled and released to the market. This principally applies to the best wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy and The Rhône. The wine is generally shipped to the UK in the year or two after purchase.
Delivery and return:
We work with a number of transportation companies and we are therefore able to deliver the wines anywhere in the world. If you select the “1 month free storage at Vinotèque” option when checking-out, and input your delivery address, one of our team members will reach out to you with a quote for delivery. For further information please see Shipping & Delivery Information.
No problems, just contact us on [email protected] or call us on +44 203 925 4526, mentioning your reference order and we will make sure to do all the necessary adjustments.
Yes we have a 14-day return policy in which you are able to return your order. However, the goods have to be in the exact same condition as you have received them. You will be charged a return shipment fee.
Yes, the delivery carrier will require a signature from an adult 18 years of age or older in order to make the delivery.
Storage:
Yes and we recommend storing your wine with Vinotèque, London City Bond. This is where we store all our wines as well. It is a bonded warehouse, which defers Duty and VAT until released out of bond. If you decide to resell your wines in-bond you will never have to pay Duty and VAT on your purchase. Vinotèque has a state of the art temperature and humidity control and you can get your wines delivered anywhere in the UK within several days. We can help you set-up an account there.
For more information, visit our page on: Wine Storage.
Cru Wine Limited offers its clients the first 30-day period at no charge.
The first 30-day period will start when the land is physically landed in the bonded cellar and as such available for delivery.
You will be notified by Cru Wine Limited when your wines have landed and the first 30-day period has begun, alternatively you can view the current location of your wines in your online account (please contact your account manager for information on how to get access).
Wines stored through Cru Wine Limited on our Eton Park Account will have the following per case charge accrued monthly:
£0.10 per 75cl bottle per month
Charges are applied for each 30-day period and are exclusive of VAT.
What we offer:
- Allocation of a key account manager
- Wines are fully insured
- Easy online management of your cellar
- Ability to request condition requests
- Private invitations to our Cru Wine events
We will send you a goods-in certificate of the wines under your name at our warehouse. You can also request pictures and condition reports for £10 per case.
We also have a new portfolio service on request for our clients where they can see their stock and value on their own platform.
Manage your Cru Wine Account
You can access your portfolio online within your Account Overview. If you have not signed into Cru Wine before, please visit My Account at the top right of our website page, and register your account using your registered email with us.
You’ll need to log into your account, then view your collection in your Account Overview. Select the wines you would like to sell and then choose the “Trade” option. You will be able to view the market value for all wines in your cellar, which can help you set your preferred sell price.
Once you offer your wine for sale, it will be available to buy from cru-wine.com, as well as appearing on Wine Searcher. Any orders you receive will be confirmed with you by your account manager.
Any wines traded through the Cru Wine platform will be charged a 5% sales commission fee. There are no buying fees.
There are several ways of selling your wine through Cru Wine:
- We may decide to purchase wine directly from you
- Broker your wines to our international network of private and professional buyers
- Broker your wines to our international network of clients and fine wine enthusiasts
- Online via our website and through our digital partners such as Wine Searcher/Liv-Ex etc.
- Under certain circumstances, we may feel it to be in the best interest for our client to auction the wines with a reputable auction house
Any wines traded through the Cru Wine platform will be charged a 5% sales commission fee. There are no buying fees.
You can look up the current market value of the wines and spirits in your collection by signing into your online account and viewing your Account Overview. The market value of your wines is updated on a daily basis.
The easiest way to now organise delivery of your wines or spirits is through the “Deliver” button on your Account Overview, located within your Cru Wine online account. Simply select which wines you would like to be delivered and confirm the delivery address to conveniently manage your deliveries.
Wine Investment:
LOW LEVELS OF RISK AND STABLE RETURNS
As it has been proven, wine investments are consistently outperforming traditional investments such as stocks/shares and commodities with higher returns. Wine as an investment has traditionally been associated with low levels of risk and stable returns thanks to its unique characteristics as an asset.
HEALTHY SUPPLY AND DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS
The handful of Bordeaux and Burgundy estates (which are considered investment grade wines) produce wine in relatively small quantities, which ultimately limits supply every harvest and diminishes as a consequence of consumption. Demand on the other hand, particularly for attractive estates, tends to outstrip supply. This increasing demand from traditional wine consumers such as Europe and the US and increasingly from emerging markets such as the BRICs inflicts price pressure over time.
TANGIBLE ASSET THAT IMPROVES WITH AGE
The other unique characteristic of fine wine as an asset is its quality improvement with age. When these wines reach maturity and approach optimum drinking, they become more desirable and therefore more valuable. Additionally, although most wine investors enjoy high returns on investments, there always remain the possibility of drinking your own stock as the odds are slim that you would have been able to purchase wine at a price as attractive as a wine investment company (while storing it in optimum environment).
Wine investment is a typically medium to long term investment and optimal timing is 3-5 years. Production of the wines from single vintage is limited to a certain number of bottles. In a given period the wine being drunk which means reduces availability and increases demand which pushes prices up.
Because the wine is being kept in “duty free” cellars, there is no wine duty or VAT to be paid on the wine at the time of the purchase.
Yes, wine can be delivered to your home and is subject to duty and VAT (based on the invoice price)
We will provide you with online portfolio which you can access 24/7 for up-to-date valuations of all assets.
We advise starting with £10,000. Main fine wine regions can be included in this range to achieve balanced and diversified portfolio for the best performance.
All the wine is kept in the professional storage facilities of London City Bond, the oldest and the most established warehousing company specialising in fine wine storage.
We would sell the wine on your behalf using number of different roots to the market and it typically takes between 4-12 weeks to do so.
Our fee structure is designed to allow our clients to generate strong returns straight away, with low entry fees, and a performance-related exit fee (most wine companies will charge for selling your wine whether it has gained in value or not). The cost of insurance, storage and full management of your portfolio is covered by us.
We advise to contact us for a tailor-made proposal.
