Frequently Asked Questions
- What’s the difference between an AOC, an AOC Exclusive or Premier Vineyard?
- What is it I get for my money ?
- How long does it take to get my Gift Pack?
- Can my gift recipient swap vineyards?
- Why do you price in Euros?
- Why can’t I buy a five-year rental online by credit card?
- Do we get the wine from the grapes grown during the year of the rental?
- When can I collect my wine?
- How long can I leave my wine at the vineyard?
- Can I just call in at the vineyard at any time?
- What if I do not like my wine?
- What happens at the end of my year’s rental?
What’s the difference between an AOC, an Exclusive AOC or Premier vineyard?
Firstly what does AOC stand for? Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée - this is the highest legal classification for French wine. In order to qualify for the AOC, wines must be produced from grapes grown within a geographically defined area, and conform to regulations concerning grape varieties, yields, alcohol content and so on.
· Our AOC vineyard rentals produce a wine which is available not only to us but to other customers as well. However, the price you pay will always be a little cheaper than the price at the vineyard.
· Our Exclusive AOC rentals produce wine that is made either from grapes harvested from a specific plot of land (eg our Mercurey Premier Cru Les Byots), or is a special cuvée selected and blended from the vats before bottling (eg our Côtes de Bourg from Château Rousselle). In both instances the resulting wine is ONLY available to 3D Wines' Partners.
· Our
Premier row rental comes from an exclusive vineyard where the
availability of our particular wine is very limited. Once again the
wine is only available to 3D Wines' Partners.
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What is it I get for my money?
Some of the best-value wines in France! Years of experience, travelling, meeting and negotiating with winemakers throughout France has given us an advantage over other wine merchants and high-street retailers - we can offer superb quality wine at fantastic prices.
But it’s more than that - it’s the experience of visiting the vineyard. All our winemakers have been selected not only for their wine but because they love to welcome 3D Wines’ Partners to their domaine, they are passionate about what they do, so visiting them really brings your wine to life. To quote one of our Partners “as soon as I open the bottle and taste the wine I am transported back to my vineyard and that wonderful tasting”.
You also get other exclusive wine offers throughout the year and our newsletter Toujours nos Vins. All our Partners get free membership of The Ferry Travel Club and to make your vineyard visit easy we provide a free booking and reservation service for our recommended hotels, restaurants, gîtes and chambre d’hôtes (some of these have special discounts and offers for our Partners).
Finally,
our events programme throughout the year means you can meet other
Partners and enjoy wine and gourmet evenings and weekends in the UK and
France - come and join us!
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How long does it take to get my Gift Pack?
Your
Gift Pack will be sent to you within 24 hours of receipt of your order
(weekdays). If you are sending this as a gift to someone else, we can
start the rental on the day you choose (ie a birthday, a wedding
anniversary) and we can arrange for the Gift Pack to be sent to you or
directly to your recipient, with the rental starting from the day of your choice.
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Can my gift recipient swap vineyards?
Yes.
On receipt of their Gift Pack, if they would prefer a different
vineyard all they need to do is call us and we’ll swap the vine rental.
We can also advise on suitable vineyard and wines according to their
taste or travel preferences.
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When
your wine is ready and available for collection, you will receive your
Option letter from us which includes details and costs of all the
delivery options. You can collect your wine at the vineyard, or at our
collection point in Calais, or have it delivered to your home. If you
are planning to collect your wine from France, you have 1 year to do so.
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Why can’t I buy a five-year rental online by credit card?
We can only accept cheques for our five-year vine rentals. This is because of bank restrictions on credit and debit card use.
As
an alternative, we offer our premium Reserve Rentals which can be
bought online by credit card - with these you or your gift recipient
can renew their membership each year for only £10 (normally £50/£70).
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Can I just call in at the vineyard at any time?
Your winemaker will be delighted to see you whenever you visit, but please remember that it is vital to make an appointment to ensure that someone is available to welcome you, and also that your wine is ready for collection. All our vineyards are small, family-run domaines, and it's always possible that unexpected visitors might find nobody at home, particularly at busy times of the year (at harvest time for example).
If the main reason for your trip to France is to visit your winemaker and collect your wine, do check your proposed dates with us first before making your travel arrangements. We have up-to-date information on our winemakers' holiday dates and this could save you the inconvenience of turning up and finding nobody there. Don't forget that part of our service is to make and confirm all the arrangements with your winemaker for you.
We can also book accommodation for you at our
recommended hotels, gîtes and chambre d’hôtes (some of these have
special discounts and offers for our Partners). For details check the
Where to Stay section or the Accommodation Information sheet included
in your Gift Pack.
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Do we get the wine from the grapes grown during the year of the rental?
No.
The wine offered during your rental year will always be from a previous
year's harvest or earlier. The wine will have been aged so that it is
ready for drinking, although many of our wines will also benefit from
further ageing. You can find out which vintage you will be offered by
checking your vineyard's Wine Page.
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We work from a base price in euros because most of our Partners collect their wine in France, where French VAT must be added (sorry - this is the law!). Where wines are delivered to the UK, we are obliged to add UK duty and VAT - this is included in our delivery charges.
When
your wine is ready, we calculate the sterling equivalent according to
the exchange rate and send out your Option letter with a sterling price
for each of the three delivery options.
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What if I do not like my wine?
If
you are dissatisfied with your wine you must consult our office
immediately. We will always do our best to provide you with a suitable
alternative or refund your money.
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How long can I leave my wine at the vineyard?
If
you choose to collect your wine in France - either from the vineyard,
or from Franglais Vins in Calais - you must do so within 1 year from
the date of your Option. The final collection date will be in your
Option letter and also on your receipt. Wine that remains at the
vineyard after the final collection date does cause storage and
administration problems for everyone concerned, so please help by
collecting your wine within the year.
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What happens at the end of my year’s rental?
You will be invited to renew your row - and the good news is that you’ll be able to do this at our discounted members’ prices!
You
can renew into the same vineyard (where you’ll get first refusal) or
you may wish to try out something new and swap into another 3D vineyard
where you can discover a different wine, grape variety or region of
France.
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