Last Updated: July 4, 2024
THIS TERMS & CONDITIONS (AGREEMENT OR TERMS OF USE) IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU (EITHER AN INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY) (“YOU” OR “YOUR”) AND GOLDEN GATE WINE CELLARS. (HEREINAFTER “GOLDEN GATE WINE CELLARS”, “COMPANY”, “WE” OR “US”) THAT SETS FORTH THE LEGAL TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR YOUR USE OF GOLDENGATEWINECELLARS.COM AND ANY OTHER WEBSITE OWNED AND OPERATED BY COMPANY (THE WEBSITE), AND FOR YOUR PURCHASE OF ANY COMPANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. USING THIS WEBSITE AND CLICKING ON THE AGREE BOX WHEN YOU PLACE YOUR ORDERS REPRESENTS YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE.
THE COMPANY RESERVES THE RIGHT, AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION, TO REVISE THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE AT ANY TIME BY UPDATING THIS AGREEMENT ON THE WEBSITE. PLEASE CHECK THESE TERMS PERIODICALLY FOR CHANGES. IF WE CHANGE THIS AGREEMENT, WE WILL GIVE YOU NOTICE BY POSTING THE REVISED AGREEMENT ON THIS WEBSITE. THOSE CHANGES WILL GO INTO EFFECT ON THE REVISION DATE SHOWN IN THE REVISED AGREEMENT. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF THE WEBSITE FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF CHANGES TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS WILL MEAN YOU ACCEPT THOSE CHANGES AND THAT THEY APPLY TO YOU. THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE APPLY TO EVERY WEBSITE MAINTAINED BY THE COMPANY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE. IF YOU BREACH ANY OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE YOUR RIGHT TO USE THIS WEBSITE WILL TERMINATE AUTOMATICALLY.
GoldenGateWineCellars.com, ggwc.com, and FrankMelisWine.com are the online presence of Golden Gate Wine Cellars. The Company operates a specialty beverage store in California in addition to this Website. A map to the store may be found on the site. If you use this Website from other locations you are responsible for compliance with any and all applicable local laws.
The Company has strict customer information confidentiality policies as set forth in its online Privacy Policy. You agree to be bound by the Company’s Privacy Policy. Consistent with these policies, you may not collect, distribute or gather personal or aggregate information about other customers or users of the website.
The Sale of Alcoholic Beverages
The Company does not sell alcohol to persons under the age of 21. By using this site you are representing that you are over the age of 21. The Company makes every effort to ensure that alcoholic beverages are not delivered to anyone who is under the age of 21. By using this site you are representing that the person receiving a shipment of alcoholic beverages from the Company is over the age of 21. You also agree that any alcohol purchased from the Company is intended for personal consumption and not for resale. If your purchase is spoiled, contaminated or otherwise not consumable you may return the product within seven (7) days with a for a refund to the original form of payment in accordance with our Shipping and Returns policy, or, if you prefer, exchange the product.
We reserve the right to cancel and/or void at our discretion any sales or purchases that appear to be fraudulent or illegal in nature. Failure to exercise this right does not imply or confirm any knowledge regarding the legality of such sale or purchase, nor shall the Company be held liable for the same.
Use of Site
The Company maintains this Website and its contents for your personal information, entertainment and education. You agree to (a) provide Golden Gate Wine Cellars with complete and current registration information when you first register for this Website and (b) keep such registration information updated and current. Persons under 21 are prohibited from providing personal information on our Website. Those who choose to access the Website from locations other than where we ship or do business do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.
You may not distribute, retransmit, republish, reuse, re-post, or use the contents of this website for public or commercial purposes, without the Company’s prior written permission. You may not alter or interfere with the content or functioning of the Website, or “mirror” any content contained on this Website on any other server. The materials on this Website are the intellectual property of Golden Gate Wine Cellars and any unauthorized use may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes. If you breach any of the terms of conditions of use, your right to use this Website will terminate automatically.
You are responsible for your use of the Website, and for any use of the Website made using your account. In your use of the Website we prohibit certain kinds of conduct that may be harmful to other users or to the Company. When you use the Website, you may not:
• Intentionally or unintentionally violate any law or regulation;
• violate, infringe, or misappropriate other people’s intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other legal rights;
• post, share, send, or otherwise use the website to do anything that is illegal, abusive, harassing, harmful to reputation, pornographic, indecent, profane, obscene, hateful, racist, or otherwise objectionable (such as sending unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or commercial communications as outlined in our Anti-Spam Policy described below);
• transmit any viruses or other computer instructions or technological means whose purpose is to disrupt, damage, or interfere with the use of computers or related systems;
• use automated methods to use the Website nor use any means to scrape or crawl any Web pages or content contained in the Website (although the Company may allow operators of public search engines to use spiders to index materials from the Website for the sole purpose of creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials, and the Company reserves the right to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases);
• attempt to circumvent any technological measure implemented by the Company or any of the Company’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Website;
• attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Website; or
• advocate, encourage, or assist any third party in doing any of the foregoing.
ANTI-SPAM POLICY – The Company strictly prohibits the sending of unsolicited bulk email (spam). Spam is defined for this purpose as sending multiple messages similar in content to any persons, entities, newsgroups, forums, email lists, or other groups or lists unless prior authorization has been obtained from the email recipient or unless a business or personal relationship has already been established with the email recipient. The Company also prohibits using false headers in emails or falsifying, forging or altering the origin of any email in connection with the Company, and/or its products and services. The Company prohibits engaging in any of the foregoing activities by using the service of another provider, remailer service, or otherwise.
You agree not to interfere or take action that results in interference with or disruption of the Website or servers or networks connected to the Website. You agree not to attempt to gain unauthorized access to other computer systems or networks connected to the Website.
Receiving Merchandise and Passage of Title
Laws regarding the sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages are complex and constantly changing. The politics, policies and procedures regarding such sales and transportation are different in every state. That being said, Title to the alcoholic beverages passes to you upon purchase in California. In the event that Golden Gate Wine Cellars may ship wine or other alcoholic beverages to your state in accordance with a state privilege requiring the payment of state taxes, you may be charged the state taxes (including the sales tax), if any, assessed by your state for that transaction; otherwise either California sales tax may be assessed on the sale. If California or other applicable taxes are not charged on the sale, you are responsible for paying the applicable taxes, fees, or levies to the appropriate agencies in the jurisdiction to where the purchase is shipped.
When your order is approved by your credit card company, you own the goods. If you choose shipping as a delivery method, you are asking us to engage a common carrier to deliver your order to you. We make no representations about the legality of shipping alcoholic beverages. Our site lists those states where common carriers will deliver alcohol. You are responsible for compliance with all laws regarding such shipments.
By arranging for transportation of the alcoholic beverages, Golden Gate Wine Cellars is providing a service to, and acting on behalf of you. By utilizing this service from Golden Gate Wine Cellars you are representing that you are acting in compliance with your local and state laws regarding the purchase, transportation and delivery of alcoholic beverages. You further represent that you have obtained any required permission, paid any required fees, are working through properly licensed intermediaries where required, are legally entitled to take possession of the alcoholic beverages, are legally entitled to take quantities ordered and that you and the person accepting delivery of the alcoholic beverage products are at least 21 years of age. If, between the date of order and date of arrival, the laws of your state change so as to make it illegal for you to import your shipment, you may return the order for a full refund.
All returns must be made in accordance with California law and returns across state lines are normally not permitted. In the event of a return from across a state line please contact customer service to make a claim for a refund.
Receiving product from GoldenGateWineCellars.com
There are two ways to get your product from GoldenGateWineCellars.com:
a. You can pick up your products at our store; or,
b. You can ship your products to yourself or another recipient via common carrier. Any recipient of alcoholic beverages must provide proof of age (over 21 years of age)
All orders are shipped out Monday and Tuesday according to the following schedule:
• All Orders will be shipped out on either MONDAY & TUESDAY
• Orders placed on the weekends and major Holidays will be shipped out within 1-3 business days of the next business day
• We reserve the right to hold shipments if we believe weather conditions (extreme heat or freezing cold) may impact the quality of our product.
• If you have particular requests, please note those in the “Special Instructions” box.
Please refer to our Shipping and Returns Policy page for more information.
Identification will be required for pickup, shipping, and delivery, as follows:
When picking up your product at our store, you must positively identify yourself as the person who placed the order on the Website. This also includes providing legal proof that you are over 21 years of age (California or other acceptable state’s Driver’s License or Passport). We also require that you produce the credit card used to purchase goods on the Website.
Disclaimers of Warranties
THE MATERIAL CONTAINED IN THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN CHECKED FOR ACCURACY; HOWEVER, THERE MAY BE INADVERTENT TECHNICAL OR FACTUAL INACCURACIES AND TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. THE COMPANY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN, OR THE MISUSE OR MISINTERPRETATION OF, ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE. INFORMATION PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE MAY REFER TO PRODUCTS, PROGRAMS OR SERVICES THAT ARE NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR STATE OR COUNTRY. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OF IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
Limitation of Liability; Indemnification
EITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING OR DELIVERING THE WEBSITE WILL BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF THE WEBSITE, EVEN IF THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
THE COMPANY MAY CHANGE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE WEBSITE AT ANY TIME. ALL USERS OF THE MATERIAL AGREE THAT ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE MATERIAL IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS STATED IN THIS LEGAL NOTICE, AS WELL AS ALL APPLICABLE LAWS. YOU ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH THE WEBSITE OR ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE, YOUR REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THIS SITE.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS, YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY CLAIMS WITH RESPECT THERETO, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACTUAL, TORT, OR OTHER GROUNDS, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW FOR LIMITED LIABILITY OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO NOT ALL OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY APPLY TO YOU.
YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, INDEPENDENT CONSULTANTS, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITIES, CLAIMS, EXPENSES AND DAMAGES, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE, ANY SALE CONDUCTED HEREUNDER, OR INFORMATION REGARDING COMPANY PRODUCTS, OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT OR ANY OTHER PERSON’S USE OR ACCESS TO THIS SERVICE BY OR THROUGH YOUR ACCOUNT, WITH OR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CLAIMS OF NEGLIGENCE, LIBEL, DEFAMATION, VIOLATION OF RIGHTS OF PRIVACY OR PUBLICITY, TRESPASS, AND INFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL OR OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS.
Copyrights, Trademarks and other Proprietary Rights
The contents of this Website, such as trademarks, designs, text, logos, and icons, or other intellectual property are owned by and proprietary to the Company. You may not display, reproduce, distribute, modify, transmit, or otherwise use the contents of the Website in any way for any public or commercial purposes, without the Company’s written permission. You are authorized to use this material only for personal, non-commercial purposes.
Links
As a convenience to you, our Website may display links to other sites which are not maintained by the Company. The Company is not responsible or liable for the content or operation of third-party sites, and the presence of such links does not imply that the Company is affiliated with such sites or third parties. We try to include only links to those sites which are in good taste and safe for our visitors.
Governing Law
This Agreement will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California without regard to any conflict of laws principles.
Arbitration Agreement
THIS SECTION LIMITS CERTAIN RIGHTS THAT YOU AND WE MIGHT HAVE, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO MAINTAIN A COURT ACTION, THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORM OF CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CLAIM, THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN JAMS RULES, AND THE RIGHT TO CERTAIN REMEDIES AND FORMS OF RELIEF. OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU OR COMPANY WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION.
A. You and Golden Gate Wine Cellars agree that they will resolve any disputes through binding and final arbitration instead of through court proceedings. All controversies, claims, counterclaims, or other disputes arising between you and Golden Gate Wine Cellars relating to the Service or this Agreement (each a “Claim”) shall be submitted for binding arbitration. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of the agreement to arbitrate in this Section. Arbitration shall be initiated through JAMS, Inc. (formerly Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services), an established alternative dispute resolution provider (“ADR Provider”) that offers arbitration as set forth in this Section. If JAMS is not available to arbitrate, the parties shall select an alternative ADR Provider. The parties may also mutually agree on an alternative ADR provider. The rules of the ADR Provider shall govern all aspects of this arbitration, including but not limited to the method of initiating and/or demanding arbitration, except to the extent such rules are in conflict with the Terms (“Arbitration Rules”). The JAMS rules governing the arbitration are available online at www.jamsadr.com or by calling JAMS at 1-800-352-5267. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single, neutral arbitrator. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
B. If you demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, Golden Gate Wine Cellars will pay as much of the administrative costs and arbitrator’s fees required for the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of the arbitration from being prohibitive. However, Golden Gate Wine Cellars will not pay your share of the arbitration fees if the arbitrator finds that either your claim or the relief sought is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose, as measured by the standards of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b).
C. This arbitration agreement does not preclude you from seeking action by federal, state, or local government agencies. You and Golden Gate Wine Cellars also have the right to bring qualifying claims in small claims court. In addition, you and Golden Gate Wine Cellars retain the right to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for provisional relief, including pre-arbitral attachments or preliminary injunctions, and any such request shall not be deemed incompatible with this Agreement, nor a waiver of the right to have disputes submitted to arbitration as provided in this Agreement.
D. NEITHER YOU NOR GOLDEN GATE WINE CELLARS MAY ACT AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, NOR PARTICIPATE AS A MEMBER OF A CLASS OF CLAIMANTS, WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM. CLAIMS MAY NOT BE ARBITRATED ON A CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE BASIS. The arbitrator can decide only your and Golden Gate Wine Cellars’ individual Claims. The arbitrator may not consolidate or join the claims of other persons or parties who may be similarly situated.
E. If any provision of this Section is found to be invalid or unenforceable, except for subparagraph (d), then that specific provision shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed, but the remainder of this Section shall continue in full force and effect. No waiver of any provision of this Section will be effective or enforceable unless recorded in a writing signed by the party waiving such a right or requirement. Such a waiver shall not waive or affect any other portion of this Agreement. If subparagraph (d) is found to be invalid or unenforceable then neither you nor Golden Gate Wine Cellars shall be entitled to arbitration.
F. This Arbitration Provision shall survive termination of your relationship with Golden Gate Wine Cellars.
G. If you do not want to be bound to this Arbitration Agreement, you must opt out of it within 30 days of it first becoming applicable to you (i.e., within 30 days of you first agreeing to a version of these Terms of Use containing the Arbitration Agreement). To opt out of this Arbitration Agreement, you must send a letter or postcard to Golden Gate Wine Cellars and state that you do not want to be bound by this Arbitration Provision. Golden Gate Wine Cellars’ address is 1559 B Sloat Boulevard #443, San Francisco, CA 94132.
H. In any circumstances where the foregoing Arbitration Agreement permits the parties to litigate in court (including but not limited to in the event you opt out of arbitration pursuant to subparagraph (g)), the parties hereby agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located in the Northern District of California, for such purpose.
Waiver
No delay or omission by either party hereto to exercise any right or power occurring upon any noncompliance or default by the other party with respect to any of the terms of this Agreement shall impair any such right or power or be construed to be a waiver thereof. The terms and conditions of this Agreement may be waived or amended only in writing and only by the party that is entitled to the benefits of the term(s) or condition(s) being waived or amended. Unless stated otherwise, all remedies provided for in this Agreement shall be cumulative and in addition to and not in lieu of any other remedies available to either party at law, in equity, or otherwise.
Unenforceability
If any provision of this Agreement or any word, phrase, clause, sentence, or other portion thereof should be held to be unenforceable or invalid for any reason, then provided that the essential consideration for entering into this Agreement on the part of any party is not unreasonably impaired, such provision or portion thereof shall be modified or deleted in such manner as to render this Agreement as modified legal and enforceable to the maximum extent permitted under applicable laws.
Order Cancelation, Return, and Restocking fee
A 15% restocking fee will be charged on any canceled or returned order, no exceptions.
Authority
The party entering into this Agreement hereby acknowledges, represents and warrants that he or she is expressly and duly authorized to enter into this Agreement and to legally bind said party to this Agreement.
Notices
You may contact us by writing us at the address listed below:
Golden Gate Wine Cellars
1559B Sloat Blvd # 443
San Francisco, California 94132
PLEASE PRINT A COPY OF THIS AGREEMENT FOR YOUR RECORDS AND PLEASE CHECK THE WEBSITE FREQUENTLY FOR ANY CHANGES TO THIS AGREEMENT.
If you are a California resident, please review the California Proposition 65 Warning.