Alcohol Policy

Lowerland sells wine produced on our farm. Wine may only be bought by, and delivered to, a person aged 18 years or older. We verify your age before wine can be added to your basket, you confirm your age again at checkout, and an adult must be present to receive the delivery. This policy explains how that works and what we are permitted to do under our liquor licence.

At a glance

1. Our licence

Wine is sold by Lowerland (Pty) Ltd under liquor licence number [LIQUOR LICENCE NO — TO CONFIRM], issued in respect of Lowerland Farm, R386, Prieska, Northern Cape. We sell and deliver only within the Republic of South Africa, and only to the extent our licence permits.

2. The law we work to

Our sale of wine is governed by the National Liquor Act, 59 of 2003, by the liquor legislation and licensing conditions applicable in the Northern Cape, and by the Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008. Where the conditions attached to our licence are stricter than this policy, the licence conditions apply. Liquor legislation in South Africa changes from time to time; where it does, we update this page and, where necessary, require customers to verify their age again.

3. You must be 18 or older

It is unlawful in South Africa to sell or supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18. Accordingly:

• You must be 18 years or older to buy wine from us.
• The person who receives the delivery must be 18 years or older.
• You may not buy wine from us on behalf of, or for supply to, a person under 18. Doing so is an offence, and we will refuse and cancel any order where we believe this is happening.
• We do not sell wine to a person who appears to be intoxicated, and our couriers may decline a delivery on the same basis.

4. How we verify your age

Age verification happens before wine can be added to your basket, not afterwards. There are three checkpoints:

1. Browsing. When you open the Wine category or a wine product page, you are asked to enter your date of birth. If the date you give shows you are under 18, you cannot proceed to buy, and we will tell you why.
2. Adding to basket. Wine cannot be added to a basket until that verification has been completed.
3. Checkout. Where your order contains wine, you must tick a box confirming that you are 18 or older and that an adult will receive the delivery. Your order cannot be placed without it.

Your verification is remembered on your device for a limited period so that you are not asked repeatedly. We keep a record of each verification as evidence that we have met our obligations under our licence. Trade and wholesale accounts are verified by us directly when the account is opened, and are handled outside this process.

Entering a false date of birth in order to buy wine is a breach of our Terms of Use. We may cancel the order and close the account.

5. Delivery of wine

Wine is handed over only to a person aged 18 or older.

• An adult must be present at the delivery address to receive the order. Our couriers may not leave an order containing wine unattended, with a minor, or with a neighbour who cannot confirm their age.
• The courier may ask for proof of age. Acceptable proof is a South African identity document, identity card, driving licence or passport. The courier does not retain a copy.
• If no adult is available, or proof of age is refused, the delivery cannot be completed. A re-delivery may be arranged at your cost. Because the rest of your order may be perishable, please make sure someone will be there.

We may decline to deliver wine to an address where we are not permitted to deliver alcohol under our licence or under any applicable local restriction.

6. Returns of wine

We cannot accept wine back once it has been delivered. A licensed seller may not take alcohol back into stock when it has left our control and we cannot vouch for how it has been stored or handled. Wine is therefore excluded from returns and from the 7-day cooling-off right in section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.

This does not affect your rights if something is wrong with the wine. If a bottle arrives broken, or the wine is faulty or not what you ordered, tell us within 24 hours of delivery with photographs and we will replace it or refund you, in line with our Shipping and Returns policy and section 56 of the Consumer Protection Act. You do not need to send it back.

7. How we market wine

We do not direct any wine advertising at people under 18, and we do not present alcohol as a solution to problems or link it to driving, work performance or sexual success. We do not run behavioural remarketing or retargeting of any kind, so you will not be followed around the internet with adverts for our wine. See our Terms of Use.

8. Drink responsibly

We make wine to be enjoyed with food and with company, in moderation. Alcohol is not for everyone: do not drink and drive, and do not drink if you are pregnant, if you are on medication that interacts with alcohol, or if you have been advised against it. Not for sale to persons under the age of 18.

If you are concerned about your own drinking or someone else’s, help is available in South Africa from SANCA, the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

9. Your age information and your privacy

The date of birth you give us, and the record of your verification and checkout confirmation, are personal information. We hold them because we are legally obliged to be able to show that we verified age before selling alcohol, and we keep them only for as long as that obligation requires. What we hold, how long we hold it, and how to ask for a copy or a deletion is set out in our Privacy Policy.

10. If this policy is breached

We may refuse or cancel any order for wine, close an account, and refund the amount paid, where we are not satisfied that this policy has been met. Where we suspect an offence under the National Liquor Act has been committed, we may report it.

11. Questions

• Email: orders@lowerland.co.za
• Telephone: 066 124 1056
• Address: Lowerland Farm, R386, Prieska, Northern Cape, South Africa