Complain to Groupon and Vintage and let us know what they say.
Groupon says exactly what it is supposed to be in the description and has a good photo, so really there should be no issue. And it’s still up on their website. Mine is due to arrive on the east coast on Monday…trick or treat I wonder.
Hell hath no fury like wine nerd burned by inaccurate information. Still waiting on mine in Virginia–taking the world’s most circuitous route out of the West Coast, per Fedex.
I mean they did advertise it as 2016 at bare minimum, put the screws to 'em Nate!
I ordered two six-packs since the cases were sold out. Got the 2016 Bien Nacido Hillside Estate in both. Although mine do not say “Estate Bottled” on the front label.
As far as I can tell, the FTC has made it clear that you do not have to pay for or return unordered merchandise. Incorrect merchandise is less clear to me.
I assume the initial purchase agreement is valid, they are required to send you the described item and you are required to pay them the purchase price. But I see conflicting statements about how the incorrect merchandise is treated, whether it has to be returned at the sellers expense or whether it can be legally kept by the buyer. If I were in this situation, I would do what the seller requested, but I would expect the initial contract to be honored and I would not pay for return shipping. This happened to me once with a winery, the winery suggested I keep 1 of the incorrect bottles and return the rest at their expense, which I did, and they sent me the correct wine.
This is not legal advise. 
Oh, I definitely purchased the '16, and it’s printed on the shipping receipt in the box.
Groupon, from what I can see, has a very generic refund page where you can print a shipping label and return at no charge. At only $99, my ardor for pursuing this is admittedly low, though I’m still pissed. Perhaps I should contact Vintage?
Thanks! It’s rare that I’ve had such mix-ups, but when I have experienced this, it’s been with the winery or an actual specialty wine retailer. Those situations were promptly and satisfactorily resolved.
Not sure Groupon is going to offer that level of service. I will give it a go, nonetheless.
That would be disappointing . . .
One other thing to note - I don’t believe that 2018 was made by Bob but instead whomever Vintage put in place after the purchase. It would include vineyards from SBC, Edna Valley and SLO . . .
Keep us posted please.
I would 100% contact Vintage. At the very least, they got the order request from Groupon and were responsible for filling the order. They filled the order incorrectly.
This edit/addendum is made on 11.11.20: As a result of this WB Qupe thread I reached out to Vintage Wine Estates about my summer Groupon issue. Nikki at VWE responded immediately and committed to look into it. And then she did just that, updating me as she went and finally offering a resolution of which I am more than satisfied. The response, customer service and followup has been outstanding. I’m very grateful to VWE and will buy from any of their wineries with complete confidence.
Hello everyone. A first post that I think you’ll find interesting.
This past summer I bought a case of Cameron Hughes 643 cabernet off of Groupon at a steep discount. I previously purchased the same product directly from CH, which was a 2015 Paicines which was a nice, daily drinker. It was my first ever Groupon purchase. I would just add that I thought the 2015 Paicines was a bargain at the original CH price – double Groupon price – so told friends about it, some of whom bought.
What arrived was a 2018 Santa Barbara. I opened it and it was sh_t.
Not knowing how the whole Groupon thing worked, I emailed Cameron Hughes customer service and had a back and forth which I’ll briefly summarize. First, I was told that CH was bought by Vintage Estates. Vintage Estates had licensed a “retired” CH number to Groupon. Groupon sourced its own juice and marketed that product. CH, I was told, had nothing to do with it.
But the big news from the exchange, CH told me that they saw Groupon marketing the 2015 Paicines and told Groupon to stop. 643 Santa Barbara whatever year was kosher, 643 2015 Paincines was not.
I next visited the website and saw that the website had, indeed, been changed and now promoted a 2018 Santa Barbara.
(One has this sort of available time during a pandemic)
So I hopped online with Groupon Customer service who told me that they would not accept the return because the website displayed exactly what I received.
The endnote on the disreputable nature of this skulduggery is that the product description on the old CH product page is the same as the product description on the Groupon page. Here, let me show you.
CH Website (https://chwine.com/lot-643-2015-paicines-cabernet-sauvignon)
Aromas of dusty black cherry and blackberry are framed in toasty oak. Supple entry with perfect balance. Well-defined blackberry and blackcurrant fruit is beautifully delivered in a ripe, juicy, yet nuanced and balanced framework, amply supported by an invigorating and lively structure. The tannins are fully integrated throughout and support a beautiful, pure, lengthy finish.
Groupon 643 Webpage from summer…
Distinctive aromas of dusty black cherry and blackberry in toasty oak
Supple entry with a perfect balance
Well-defined blackberry and blackcurrant delivered in a ripe, juicy, yet balanced framework
Invigorating and lively structure
Fully integrated tannins support a pure, lengthy finish
And, to finish things off, Groupon is right now selling a Cameron Hughes 643 that indicates an AVA from the Central Coast…no longer Santa Barbara and the product description is as follows:
Distinctive aromas of dusty black cherry and blackberry in toasty oak
Supple entry with a perfect balance
Well-defined blackberry and blackcurrant delivered in a ripe, juicy, yet balanced framework
Invigorating and lively structure
Fully integrated tannins support a pure, lengthy finish
I don’t think I have to point out that Groupon and Vintage Wine Estates are a common thread on all of this. I’d be dubious about any difference in label (e.g., "does not say “estate bottled”)
One obvious issue with the Qupe offer is that it explicitly promoted a $540 value. The 2016 Syrah on the Qupe website retails for $20 btl/$240 case. That falls $300 short which is fraudulent.
They(Qupe) removed the 2016 Bien Naciendo Hillside wine from their website. This is likely an isolated incident that will work itself out with minimal effort.
I also received 2018 Central Coast just a few minutes ago 
Trying to follow up with Groupon and VWE…
Curious if the difference in wine actually received is in the 6 vs 12 pack.
Only 6 was left when I ordered but mine doesn’t come until MOnday
Very interested to see how they respond…still waiting on my case. For those who don’t get the 2016 Bien Nacido I don’t see how they can not either 1) send the correct wine from the Groupon picture (and with the $45 list price) or 2) fully refund the purchase. Only issue is I don’t know whether it’s Groupon or VWE who bears responsibility
My order allegedly comes Tuesday. Did they change the value that is crossed out in the photo?
For those that got the wrong bottling, did you have the case or the 6 pack?
Same question for those that got the right bottling?
Wondering if the 6 packs got the right bottles and the cases got the wrong ones.
I ordered early (first 100 purchases) and bought a 12 pack, so I don’t know if when the order was placed matters. FWIW I’m in So Cal and the package shipped Tuesday. Maybe the first cases out were Hillsides and the rest are filled in with Central Coast.
I tried contacting VWE customer service, but they were unavailable so I left a voicemail with the order info. I then followed up with Groupon and they said there was nothing that could be done, the offer is sold out, all sales are final. They specifically said not to follow up with VWE. They did offer to refund the order in “Groupon Bucks”, and stated their policy is no cash refunds. Great, now $100 to spend on more junk i don’t need.
I got 2 12 packs so I’m hoping they got it right. It just shipped today.