Terms & Conditions
of Use

Registration is free and open to any Swiss winemaker holding a legal authorisation to produce and sell wine.

The Winemaker undertakes to provide accurate, complete and up-to-date information at registration and throughout their use of the Platform. Identity and banking details are verified via Stripe Connect Express, in accordance with KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations.

Each cellar may hold only one winemaker account. Transferring or sharing an account is prohibited.

Real cellar prices: The prices displayed on the Platform must match the actual selling prices charged by the Winemaker. Any artificial markup intended to offset the commission is strictly prohibited. The Winemaker is solely responsible for the accuracy of the published prices.

Eligible wines: Only Swiss wines holding a Controlled Designation of Origin (AOC) and produced by the Winemaker themselves may be listed on the Platform. Foreign wines, table wines without an AOC and wines bought for resale are strictly prohibited. Any non-compliant wine will be removed without notice.

Minimum price: The minimum selling price per bottle is set at CHF 12.00. Any wine listed below this threshold will be automatically rejected or removed from the Platform.

Permitted bottle sizes: Only the standard bottle sizes of 50 cl, 70 cl, 75 cl are accepted on the Platform.

VAT: The prices displayed are inclusive of all taxes at the applicable Swiss VAT rate (8.1%).

Helvitic charges a commission on every sale made through the Platform. The applicable commission rate is communicated to the Winemaker upon registration and appears in their account area.

Guaranteed margin: For wines whose selling price is equal to or above CHF 15.00/bottle, Helvitic guarantees the Winemaker a minimum net margin of 77% per order. For wines between CHF 12.00 and CHF 14.99/bottle, the minimum guaranteed net margin is 72.5%. Depending on the delivery method chosen by the customer, the effective margin may be higher (in particular for cellar pickup). This margin is net of commission and transport costs. Card payment processing fees, signature-on-delivery and transport insurance are covered by Helvitic.

Bank payout fees: The fees charged for paying out funds to the Winemaker’s bank account (transfer/payout) remain the Winemaker’s responsibility and are deducted from their net margin.

Changes to conditions: Helvitic reserves the right to revise the commission rate as well as the minimum guaranteed net margin, with 30 days’ notice. The minimum margin indicated above applies as long as no notice of change has been given and may therefore evolve over time. In the event of disagreement, the Winemaker may terminate their account free of charge.

Triggered by the Winemaker: The proceeds of a sale are only credited to the Winemaker once they have confirmed dispatch of the order (carrier delivery) or validated the pickup code presented by the Customer (cellar pickup), from their dashboard. Until this confirmation is made, the order amount remains held and is not attributed to the Winemaker.

Bank payout: The amounts thus credited are paid out to the bank account registered via Stripe Connect Express as a grouped monthly payout, bundling all sales confirmed during the period. This grouping allows the bank payout fees to be pooled. Helvitic does not hold Winemakers’ funds beyond the time necessary for this processing.

To protect the Winemaker, an automatic release mechanism applies if confirmation of dispatch or pickup is not made within a reasonable period, so that any amount owed is guaranteed.

In the event of a customer refund, the corresponding amount is deducted from the next payout.

The Winemaker undertakes to prepare orders within 2 working days of the order notification. Collection is handled by Helvitic’s partner carrier.

If it is impossible to fulfil an order (out of stock, absence), the Winemaker undertakes to inform Helvitic within 24 hours. Costs related to order cancellation remain the Winemaker’s responsibility.

The Winemaker retains the intellectual property of their photos, descriptions and content published on the Platform. They grant Helvitic a non-exclusive licence to use them for the purpose of promoting the Platform.

The Winemaker warrants that the published content does not infringe any third-party rights and complies with the Swiss law in force.

The Winemaker may terminate their account at any time, without notice or charge, from their account settings. Orders in progress remain subject to these Terms of Use until they are completed.

Helvitic reserves the right to suspend or terminate an account in the event of a breach of the Terms of Use, prices that do not match the real cellar rates, or conduct harmful to the Platform or to customers.