Gov. Blagojevich signed a bill Wednesday that would restrict access to order wine from the Internet. The legislation, which goes into effect June 1, 2008, allows both in and out of state wineries to ship up to 12 cases of wine per year directly to a consumer. Wineries must obtain a winery shipper’s permit from [...]

Wine Institute has received an initial clarification from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control that should allow some wineries to begin shipments to Ohio consumers. In addition to the restriction on the size of wineries (under 150,000 gallons) that can apply for a permit, there had been confusion surrounding the “family household” limit of 24 [...]

Since July 19, 2005, wineries have enjoyed basically unrestricted access to Ohio consumers as the result of a judge declaring Ohio’s prohibition on direct shipping to be unconstitutional. That access will change significantly on Monday, when the Ohio Department of Commerce - Division of Liquor Control initiates the new permit system that was inserted into [...]

For Dave Robinson, wine is not only a passion, but a way of life.
A wine aficionado for some time, he has come to Lompoc to partake in the wine industry through a shipping and packaging business called Vintegrated Solutions.
In a business that he owned in Los Angeles, which specialized in warehouse logistics, Robinson shipped everything [...]

Wine.com, which bills itself as the nation’s top online wine store, said Wednesday it has entered the Connecticut market by acquiring Chatham Spirits & Fine Wines.
Terms of the acquisition of the East Hampton, Conn.-based wine retailer and shipper were not disclosed.
 
San Francisco-based Wine.com noted that since wine cannot legally be shipped into Connecticut by out-of-state [...]

Two years after wine lovers thought markets had been opened to them, a federal court in Indiana may have finally kicked down the doors.
In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled state laws that set different rules for shipping wine to consumers based on whether the winery was in state or out of state were unconstitutional. [...]

Just a reminder… Effective today, August 28, 2007, Missouri is requiring all wineries to have an approved direct shipping permit. There is no fee and the application is only 1 page! Wineries must have the application notarized and provide copies of its current state alcoholic beverage license and a copy of its winery license from [...]

Now that we’re at the end of most state legislative sessions, we thought it timely to provide an update on direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine direct shipping as of month-end July 2007. Here are some highlights, followed by a more detailed description.
Highlights:
o DTC legislation was considered in 23 states;
o Two states transitioned from reciprocal to a DTC [...]

SPRINGFIELD – How wine is bought and sold in Illinois could change under a proposal lawmakers approved Tuesday and sent to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.And while most Illinois wine makers appear to welcome the changes, some suburban wineries fear the changes could price them out of business.
The proposed law would limit to 12 cases a year [...]

The long battle in Illinois is coming to an end (well, at least for now). The Illinois Senate passed HB 429 today by a vote of 49-5. Governor Blagojevich is expected to sign the bill. More details of the legislation can be found in a previous post. If signed, Illinois would move from a reciprocal state for winery direct [...]

The Governor of Missouri has signed SB 299 transitioning Missouri from a reciprocal state to a permit state. As of August 28, 2007 wineries will be required to have a Direct Wine Shipper’s Permit issued by the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) and pay excise taxes in order to ship to MO [...]

Michigan’s wine industry wants to expand from its current 1,500 acres to 10,000 acres in the next 15 years. Key to this expansion will be the ability to ship wine to wine tourists who visit the Traverse Bay area or southwest Michigan from Lansing, or Dallas or wherever.
Yet, only a few short years ago, the [...]

On July 13th, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed into law SB 299. SB 299 changes Missouri’s current status as a reciprocal shipping state to a limited/direct shipping state. Beginning August 28th, 2007, in-state and out-of-state wineries may obtain a Direct Shipper’s permit and ship up to 2 cases per month, up from the previous 2 [...]

North Dakota has updated its Direct Shipping License Application and Alcohol Liquor Tax Report. Wineries are now required to file the direct shipping license application and renewal form electronically. The license must be renewed annually by January 1. Wineries that are unable to file the license application electronically may request permission to file paper reports [...]