Frequently Asked Questions

Wine Questions

What is natural wine?

Natural wine can be simply defined as a wine that has nothing added and nothing taken away. It’s just grapes fermented into alcohol. Obviously there’s a lot more that goes into it than that! But it is no intervention winemaking, no tinkering, a showing of true mastery in the vineyard & the cellar to achieve balance, flavor & longevity. The reason why we identify natural wine is because conventionally/mass produced wine can have lots of sneaky sugars and manipulators added as well as a heavy usage of herbicides, pesticides & sulfur.

Are all the wines we carry natural?

Most of the wines we carry are natural wines, all are organically farmed but some do have a small addition of sulfur-- which is totally fine! Sulfur is naturally occuring in all wine, it’s what helps wine keep its form, but some people abuse their use of sulfur because they are starting with an unstable product and are trying to stabilize it.

What does biodynamic mean?

Biodynamics is a farming ideology developed in the 1920s by a philosopher named Rudolph Steiner. It is a farming manifesto & guide that follows the cycle of the moon through the constellations. Sounds trippy but there is power in how this earth spins! It’s a practice that goes beyond organic, it has a deep focus on the use of compost, natural pest deterrents & practices to bring energy to the soil & vines.

What is an orange wine?

Orange wine is the casual name for a skin contact or skin macerated wine made from white wine grapes. Orange wines have been around forever! If fact, orange wine style was more of the normal white wine style back in the day. White wine macerates with the skins for a matter of hours, 8 - 12 usually, whereas orange wines have extended maceration anywhere from hours to months. They can be made from any white wine grapes and are stylistically quite different depending on the grape, length of maceration, and who is making them. It’s as if you treated a white wine the way that red wines are made! The result is generally a fuller mouthfeel with more texture from the skin's tannins.

What is a pet-nat?

A Pet-nat is the street name for the french term referring to a certain style of sparkling wine: Petillant naturel. Pet-nats are part of the methode ancestrale sparkling wine technique (whereas Champagne is made in the Methode traditionnelle). It all comes down to how the second fermentation is handled, or not, when the rest of the sugars are converted to CO2 and the wine becomes sparkling. For pet-nats, they are sparkling but not too aggressively. The wine goes through the first fermentation and then gets bottled before it’s complete, so it kind of goes through 1.5 fermentations. Pet-nats are FUN! Unfiltered & can be explosively awesome!

Locations and Logistics

How do I shop at helen’s?

We have a store located in all Jon & Vinny’s locations. We also have an online marketplace where we ship wine and gifts nationwide. You can order in person or online at helenwines.com for pick up from our Fairfax location, delivery or shipping. For any custom order requests or corporate gifting, please reach out to orders@helenswines.com.

If I am dining at Jon & Vinny's, what kind of wine experience can I expect?

Helen's serves as the cellar for the restaurant, and each location has its own wine list, by the glass offerings, and trained somms to assist you. Helen's focuses on naturally-driven and organically farmed labels, small production vineyards, winemakers with integrity, lower intervention elevage & dynamic, thoughtful wines. The shop and wine list is a curation of allocated items, limited release, favorite gems & new finds in a constant rotation..

What is the price range of the wines you carry?

The majority of our wines are between $16 and $150 but we do carry a selection of wines between $150 - $2,000.

How many Helen's Wines shops are there?

We currently have four Helen’s Wines locations - Helen’s Wines Fairfax, Helen’s Wines Brentwood, Helen's Wines Slauson and Helen's Wine Bar Beverly Hills.

Where are they located?

Our flagship operation is located inside Jon and Vinny’s Fairfax restaurant. We also have locations inside Jon & Vinny’s restaurants in Brentwood, Slauson and Beverly Hills.

How do I order from the Brentwood, Slauson or Beverly Hills locations?

You can call the Brentwood location at (818) 324-2090.

You can call the Slauson location at (818) 601-3663.

You can call the Beverly Hills location at (310) 442-2323.

Order Pick Up

Where do I pick up my order?

The fastest way to place an order for Fairfax pick up is to give us a call at (213) 280-5118. You can also place an order through our website and we will have it ready in under an hour.

To place an order through our website, click the product you would like and add it to your cart. At checkout, you will be prompted to give both your shipping address and billing address but you will be able to select “In Store Pick Up” at either our Fairfax or Brentwood location after you provide that information.

How do I place an order for pick up?

To pick up from our Fairfax location, please pull up to the back of the Jon & Vinny’s Fairfax restaurant located in the alleyway between Rosewood and Oakwood. You will see a tent with a Jon & Vinny’s logo.

What do I do when I arrive to pick up my order?

Once you arrive, please give us a call at (213) 280-5118 and we will bring your order out to you.

If you have not paid for your order yet, we will bring out your check and walk you through our touchless payment process.

Delivery

How do I order wine for delivery?

You can order wine for delivery through our website or through our delivery partner, Doordash.

We are currently unable to process delivery orders over the phone but if you have a delivery question or would like to place a custom delivery order, please email us at orders@helenswines.com.

What is the turnaround time once I place an order for delivery online?

For most orders, we are able to offer same day delivery in under an hour if desired. But if you would like to guarantee same day delivery, you have the option to pay for it at checkout.

Can I order delivery for Helen's Wines and J&V food together?

Yes! There are a few different options. You can order J&V food through DoorDash and choose from the limited selection of Helen’s Wines bottles offered through the platform.

If you have a specific bottle in mind or would like more options, you can email us at orders@helenswines.com and we can coordinate a food and wine delivery. If it is a large food order for over 4 people, please email maitred@jonandvinnys.com and let them know you would like to add wine to your order.

How do I schedule a gift order for delivery?

The best way to schedule a gift delivery is through our website. You can either purchase a gift box on our gifting page or select a specific bottle and click “add gift wrapping” before adding to your cart.

Once at checkout, please provide the shipping/delivery address and phone number of the recipient. We will use the phone number to schedule a delivery with the gift recipient (without providing details so the gift can remain a surprise!)

If you would like to schedule a custom gift delivery, please email us at orders@helenswines.com.

What does the [Delivery Window Required] at checkout mean?

We use DoorDash as our delivery partner and they require the recipient of any wine delivery to show a valid ID. Otherwise, they will return the package to us and we will have to charge a second delivery fee. If you are purchasing wine to be delivered directly to you, we ask that you provide a one hour time window in the notes section at checkout so we know when you will be available to receive it.

For a gift delivery, please provide the recipient's phone number so we can schedule a delivery when they are home. We will keep all details confidential so the gift can be a surprise.

Shipping & Returns

What are the shipping options?

We currently offer shipping to 45 states! We unfortunately cannot ship to Mississippi, Kentucky, Utah, Arkansas, Alabama or any address outside of the United States.

What is the return/exchange policy?

We are not accepting wine or product returns and exchanges at this time.

When will I receive my order?

Once we have received your order and responded with a confirmation, we will begin the process of shipping your wine. In-state orders are sent out within one business day and out-of-state orders are sent on Tuesday and Friday every week.

Shipping within California takes approximately 1-2 business days to arrive. Shipping out of state takes 4 - 10 business days, depending on the address.

We are legally required to send wine shipments temperature controlled to Texas, Oklahoma and Illinois. Temperature controlled shipping takes approximately 14 business days to arrive.

What do I do if I never receive my order?

If you do not receive a confirmation or have not received your order in the above time frame, please email us at orders@helenswines.com.

How can I make changes to an order I already placed?

If you would like to make a change to an online order, you can email us at orders@helenswines.com or call the shop at (213) 280-5118. Please include or have your order number available.

What do I do if I think my bottle is bad/corked?

If you open a bad bottle or a corked bottle, please email us at orders@helenswines.com.

Wine Club

When will I receive my wine club shipments?

Your wine club will ship the first week of each month. Shipping within California takes approximately 1-2 business days to arrive. Shipping out of state takes 4 - 10 business days, depending on the address.

We are legally required to send wine shipments temperature-controlled to Texas, Oklahoma, and Illinois. Temperature controlled shipping takes approximately 14 business days to arrive.

When will I be charged for my recurring subscription?

You will be charged on the 1st of each month that you receive your wine club.

How is the wine club priced?

We offer three club tier levels ranging from $55 - $300/ month based on the tier and # of bottles you want to receive. We also offer seasonal six-packs and cases from $150-$600 depending on what type of wine you’d like to receive.

How do I pause or cancel my membership?

You can skip, pause or cancel your membership at any time by logging in to your account here and managing your subscription.

How are the wines in my club selected every month and by who?

Helen hand-selects the monthly wine picks based on what is seasonally available, delicious, and most exciting and interesting to our team at the time!

Why can’t I pick up my wine club from a Helen’s location?

Due to space constraints at these locations, we are not able to arrange for pick-up.

What happens if I'm not home to receive my delivery? Or if my delivery is returned?

FedEx/UPS will make 3 attempts on consecutive days. After three failed attempts, the package will be held at a local FedEx/UPS location for 5 days for pickup. If it isn't picked up, it will be returned to us. You can also sign up for FedEx/UPS alerts to manage your deliveries and place packages on hold if you know that you won't be home to accept the delivery.

What is the difference between the wine club tiers?

Step Into the Realm is our base club tier and is a great introduction to what our club offers. It includes two of four easy-to-drink, small-production wines. Low stakes - high reward!
2 Dope Wines is the next step up for those that are looking for rare finds from exceptional producers!
The S&P Club is for the person who is MAD serious about wine! Allocated gems from renowned producers and elevated terroir. For the discerning connoisseur who wants to impress.

Can I gift Helen’s wine club?

Absolutely! Wine Club makes an incredible gift for someone that loves wine and is looking to expand their wine knowledge. Any tier can be gifted for 3 months, 6 months, or a year!