terms & conditions

These terms and conditions contain boring-at-most and sometimes tricky legal obligations. While we’re happy for you to read through them carefully, you can rest assured we’ll treat you and everyone that books with us fairly. Unless otherwise stated, any purchases made through our website, our distributors, or our affiliates are subject to these terms and conditions.

 

1. Our contract

All bookings are made with Small Batch Wine Tours (us/we). By making a booking, the guest (you) is deemed to have agreed to these terms and conditions on behalf of all individuals included in the booking. The services to be provided are those in your booking confirmation invoice. No alterations or variations to these terms and conditions are in effect unless made in writing by and under the authority of Small Batch Wine Tours.

2. Pricing and payments

All prices quoted are in Australian Dollars ($AUD), include tax (GST), and are to be paid in $AUD only.

2.1 Pricing

a) Price changes — The prices appearing on the website are the current rates and can change without notice. Once a traveller has booked with us, the traveller will not be required to pay any difference in the event of a price increase. In any case, Small Batch Wine Tours will not refund the balance of any price reduction.

b) Per person — All prices listed are on a per person basis unless otherwise stated.

c) Inclusions — Prices include all inclusions as indicated on the tour description on smallbatchwinetours.com.au.

d) Exclusions — Prices do not include:
i. Tips and gratuities — Though not compulsory, if you are happy with the services provided by your local guides and drivers, a tip is appropriate. Tipping inspires service excellence and is of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels.
ii. Items of a personal nature — These may include snacks, meals, and drinks not outlined as an inclusion in the inclusions section of the tour description.
iii. Baggage and personal insurance — It is highly recommended that each traveller obtain adequate insurance for their travels.
iv. Wine to take away — Wine is supplied for you to taste during your experience with us at each winery. If you wish to take wine away with you, you can purchase wines at the winery, we may be able to help ship them to you, or you may even find them for purchase in your country of origin.

e) Promotional Codes & Limited Time Offers — Discount campaigns may be promoted from time to time however promotional codes must be redeemed at time of purchase. Discounts, limited time offers, and promotional codes may not be applied retrospectively and only one offer may be redeemed for any one booking..

f) Guests under the age of 18 years — Guests under the age of 18 years (children) are not permitted on any small-group tour. Children will be permitted carriage only on private tours and will be charged accordingly on a case by case basis. Under no circumstances are children allowed on tour without being directly accompanied by a parent/legal guardian. In South Australia it is illegal for anyone to supply alcohol to someone under the age of 18 years of age on a licensed premise, including at cellar doors or wineries. As such, no person under the age of 18 years of age will be allowed to consume/taste wine or any other alcohol at any stage of the tour, regardless of who supplies it. Valid identification may be requested and if not produced a portion of the booking will be cancelled with no right to refund. Should anyone on tour supply alcohol to a minor they will be reported to the police without hesitation.

If a guest who has claimed to be a child but is identified as not qualifying for a reduced child rate, the guest will be required to provide the balance of difference between the full rate and reduced rate for the tour before being permitted to start the tour.

2.2 Payment

a) Credit cards — we accept the following credit cards for payment:
i. Visa
ii. Mastercard

b) Credit card service fee —while we do not charge travellers a service fee on credit card payments; some banks have been known charge their customers a small fee for what they see as an international transaction. Please check with your bank prior to purchase if this will affect your payment.

c) Payment due
i. Consumer bookings – full payment is required at the time of booking.
ii. Agent Bookings – Invoices are due on the 14th day of the month following departure date. All payments to be made into the Australian bank account provided.

 

3. Cancellations and amendments

3.1 Cancellations by the traveller or agent

a) Cancellation fees – Any request by the customer to cancel a booking will be subject to the following refund conditions:
1. Up to 48 hours before departure – Right to a full refund
2. Between 48-24 hours from departure – Guests will be given the right to reschedule a departure within 6 months of original departure date without incurring any penalty. Any booking cancellation within this period and not falling into Category 3 will incur a fee equal to 50% of the retail rate.
3. Within 24 hours of departure including failure to board – Guests forfeit all monies paid with no right to refund.

For cancellations within 24 hours of departure, Small Batch Wine Tours may offer a full refund if circumstances are deemed to be exceptional.

b) Unused portions of tours – No refund is provided for any unused portion of a tour, including the entire tour in the event a guest fails to meet at the designated start time and point of the tour.

3.2 Cancellations by Small Batch Wine Tours

a) Operators right to cancel – At the sole discretion of the tour operator, we reserve the right to cancel any tour before departure if, due to terrorism, natural disasters, extreme weather, political instability, or any other external events out of our control it is not viable or possible for us to operate the planned itinerary. Customer will be eligible for a full refund or reschedule in such cases. We are not responsible for any incidental expenses you may have incurred as a result of your booking, including but not limited to accommodation, visas, vaccinations, travel insurance, or non-refundable flights.

b) Cancellation due to unlawful or unruly conduct – If your tour guide or any third-party provider deems you or your party’s actions to cause danger to other travellers or our staff, to intervene with other clients’ enjoyment of the trip, or to be offensive to the local communities and cultures, we reserve the right to remove you and your party from the tour effectively immediately. This includes but is not limited to a customer becoming overly inebriated, being refused service under Liquor Licensing Act 1997, inciting violence, displaying violent or offensive behaviour, breaking any State or Federal Law. Under such circumstances there will be no right to refund and you may be referred to the local police.

c) Pandemic, War, Natural Disaster, acts of God, or Government Intervention – Some things in life can not be foreseen or controlled. Under such events or circumstances where the usual tour capacity or conditions can not be met, the contract conditions will be voided. Operator will be under no obligation to honour any bookings made prior to the event for departures during such times of political or social unrest. Operator reserves the right to implement new temporary measures including new touring options at a different rate to previously offered products until such time that conditions have returned to their former state. Under such circumstances, any affected booking will be given a full refund or credit towards another experience, whichever you choose.

3.3 Amendments to bookings by the traveller

If a traveller wishes to amend an existing booking date more than 14 days before departure, there will be no charge to change the booking date. For amendments less than 14 days from departure, the amendment will be treated as a cancellation and as such any right to refund will be in line with our cancellation policy 3.1 Cancellations by the traveller or agent. If there is a change of rate between the original booking date and an amended departure date, Small Batch Wine Tours reserves the right to request the fare difference.

3.4 Amendments to itineraries by Small Batch Wine Tours

While we endeavour to operate all tours as described, we reserve the right to change the tour itinerary and inclusions. The itinerary provided for each experience is representative of the activities planned; however, the route, amenities, stops, and modes of transport may be subject to change without prior notice due to local circumstances or events. If we make a major change before departure, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible. Should you feel that any of changes made a significant impact on your enjoyment of the experience, please contact info@smallbatchwinetours.com.au in the first instance in an effort to reach a suitable resolve.

 

4. Confirmation

a) Booking Confirmation — Upon receipt of full payment, Small Batch Wine Tours will issue a confirmation via email for the booked tour.

b) Proof of Confirmation — The lead traveller must present the original confirmation (electronic or paper copy) issued by Small Batch Wine Tours at the start of the tour. Small Batch Wine Tours reserves the right to refuse service to any travellers not able to provide their confirmation to their guide at the beginning of the tour.

 

5. Your Experience

5.1 Timeliness

We rely on guests to be prompt at the start of the tour, to help facilitate an enjoyable experience for everyone onboard. Guests must adhere to the start time set out in the product information on their confirmation. If you know you are going to be late, please contact us on the phone number on your voucher and we’ll do our best to help you catch up. If a guest hasn’t arrived on time and without any contact, Small Batch Wine Tours will consider the guest to be a “no show” and the tour will start without them, with no refund to be provided.

a) Pick-up — Time will be listed in the booking confirmation (for example, 9:10-09:30am). The traveller should wait in the lobby or out the front of their accommodation during the designated pick-up times. It is recommended that you aim to arrive 10 minutes prior to the start of the tour to prevent being late.

b) Meeting point — This is generally out the front/lobby of your accommodation. In such instances where your accommodation is difficult to get to with our vehicle or outside of our pick up zone, we will contact you directly with a suitable alternative meeting point.

5.2 Acceptance of risk

While Small Batch Wine Tours holds a Public Liability Insurance Policy, travel insurance is not included for customers in any of our services. By joining us on tour you acknowledge that your experience may involve a degree of personal risk. Customers travel entirely at their own risk and we take no responsibility for the security of personal belongings. Customers accept all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly while on tour. We kindly suggest taking out private travel insurance prior to any travel occasion.

5.3 Private Nature of Tours

Whilst your tour may be private and we make every effort to avoid the crowds, tastings and experiences at our providers may not be exclusive of others, especially during paek times (November through March). Experiences provided by our third-party provider partners are subject to their own Terms and Conditions.

5.4 Language Service

(Private Tours only)

While our small-group tours are exclusively conducted in English, if you wish to provide a translator, we will be more than happy to work with them. We may even be able to find one for you – just ask.

 

6. Complaints

Should you have a complaint about your experience with Small Batch Wine Tours, we urge you to discuss this at the time with your local guide. In the event your issue is not immediately resolved or not resolved to your liking by the local guide, please contact Small Batch Wine Tours in writing at info@smallbatchwinetours.com.au as soon as is convenient. We like to address any issues that may arise in a timely manner.

 

7. Photos and marketing

Unless we receive a written request otherwise, guests consent to us using images taken during their tour for advertising and promotional purposes in any medium we choose. You grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable licence to use such images for publicity and promotional purposes. We can assure you that no unflattering footage or strange editing practices will be used.

 

8. Privacy policy

Any personal information that we collect about you may be used for any purpose associated with the operation of your experience or to send you marketing material in relation to our events and special offers. The information may be disclosed to our agents, service providers, or other suppliers to enable us to operate your tour.

We may collect and hold personal information such as:
• your name, telephone number, email address, medical information, country of residence
• details of the products and services you have purchased from us or which you have enquired about, together with any additional information necessary to deliver those products and services and to respond to your enquiries

Health information that we collect may be considered “sensitive information” under the Privacy Act. We collect it to provide you with our services, cater to your needs or act in your interest, and we are only prepared to accept sensitive information on the condition that we have your consent.

If you visit our website, we may also collect information that is not personal in nature to improve the experience and better market to our customers. This information may include the pages you visit, your IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of your visit. We cannot identify you individually from this information. Some of this information is collected using cookies.

When you are travelling with us, we may take video and images of you that may be used in brochures, in our advertising, on our social media, or on our website. All guests authorise us to use his/her image (such as a photograph, videotape, film or pictorial representation or recorded voice). If you do not wish for this to happen, please notify us in writing at info@smallbatchwinetours.com.au.

 

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend and indemnify Small Batch Wine Tours, our affiliates, and distributors, and any of their officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, causes of action, demands, recoveries, losses, damages, fines, penalties, or other costs or expenses of any kind or nature, including but not limited to reasonable legal and accounting fees brought by third parties as a result of:

a) Your breach of this agreement or documents referenced in this agreement;

b) Your violation of any law or the rights of a third party; and/or

c) Your use of this website or any of Small Batch Wine Tours affiliate websites.

 

10. Severability

In the event that any term or condition contained here is unenforceable or void by operation of law or as being against public policy or for any other reason, then such term or condition shall be deemed to be severed from this contract or amended accordingly only to such extent necessary to allow all remaining terms and conditions to survive and continue as binding.

 

11. Updating of terms and conditions

Small Batch Wine Tours reserves the right to update and/or alter these terms and conditions at any time. The latest terms and conditions can always be found on the website smallbatchwinetours.com.au and will supersede any previous versions.