Winery Compliance

This four-part series evolved from my 25-year career in the wine industry, realizing there are limited resources to learn about winery compliance.  

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​What are some of the elements of winery compliance?

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- Getting a winery licensed to produce and sell wine in California.

- Obtaining licenses and permits from the CDTFA and CDFA.

- Designing a compliant label and obtaining a TTB Certificate of Label Approval.

- Navigating blend and American Viticultural Area requirements.

- Navigating alcohol by volume restrictions.

- TTB Operational Reporting.

- Sweepstakes, coupons, and trade incentives.

- Out of state licensing and tax support.

 

Lawyer note: This is not an all-inclusive list. Summarizing 50 states’ worth of rules would mean more lists than you want to read.​

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After years of discussions with coworkers, industry friends, and those in the trenches, four themes emerged out of the complex world of winery compliance:

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• Licensing - How do you obtain a TTB Bonded Winery permit (also called a ‘Basic Permit’) and a CA ABC Type 02 Winegrower license? When do you update regulators about changes to winery ownership or operations?

• Operational Reporting – What are TTB and CA ABC requirements for reporting what happens on the licensed premises? Are there other agencies that require you to notify them about wine production and sales related activities?  Hint – YES. 

• Out of State Licensing – From learning how to balance business priorities with compliance costs to breaking down the different out of state sales channels, this topic is about where is the best return on a winery’s compliance dollars. Should a winery obtain every type of out of state license available to them? It depends on their goals, available budget and appetite for ongoing reporting obligations. NOTE: Don’t sell in state where you do not have the appropriate licenses.  Just don’t.  

• Trade Practice – The art of promoting wine to consumers and trade alike. This includes coupons, sweepstakes, incentive programs, loyalty programs, and more.  Come away from this class with a better understand of why designing a one size fits all promotion might be an industry unicorn.​

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For those who want to gain a better understanding of winery compliance from ‘grape to glass’, these classes are designed to build upon each other. For those that need a refresher or overview of a single topic, the classes can be taken independently of one another.

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Looking forward to seeing you in class!

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Alicia