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 [...]

Gene Clifton, owner of Canadian River Winery & Vineyard near Norman, has more on his mind than this year’s grape harvest.He’s worried his business will go belly-up because of a recent court ruling prohibiting wineries from selling directly to retailers and restaurants. For Clifton, direct distribution makes up 65 percent of his sales.
“Like most wine [...]

A new law intended to fix a state wine statute widely seen as unconstitutional satisfies at least one of the groups involved in two lawsuits attacking Arkansas’ alcohol policy.
Act 668 of 2007 repealed marketing preferences granted to in-state wine makers and allowed small wineries anywhere in the country to sell their beverages in grocery stores [...]

Two years ago, White Hall Vineyards hired Shannon Rooke as its new sales manager with the goal of increasing sales over the Internet of its chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and other wines.
Rooke, who had previously designed Web sites for several Washington-area restaurants, focused her efforts on streamlining the 6-acre winery’s e-commerce site.
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Here’s a new take on arguing about who pays for a wine bill.
A group of Illinois wineries, dissatisfied with proposed state legislation it says threatens their growth, is splitting from the state wine industry group supporting the bill.
The new Illinois Winemakers Alliance will consist of the state’s largest wineries, said Fred Koehler, president of Roselle-based [...]

The State House passed legislation on Tuesday designed to bring Illinois into compliance with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling by limiting the amount of sales an Illinois winery can directly ship to a customer to 12 cases a year. The 5-4 decision in Granholm v. Heald ruled that laws in Michigan and New York [...]

The Illinois House of Representatives passed Illinois HB 429, which allows direct to consumer shipping by out-of-state wineries, by a vote of 92-6 yesterday. If passed by the Senate and signed by Governor Rod Blagojevich, the bill will afford individual Illinois residents the opportunity to receive up to 12 cases of wine per year from [...]

We previously reported that Florida took down their direct shipping website after warning that the “website will remain as a resource until the last day of Session, May 4, 2007.” Since they took the site down, the DBPR has not given any guidance on a change in policy even though the legislature did not pass [...]

The West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration recently posted a “Direct Shippers Q&A” document on their website. Though somewhat helpful, the answers in the document are mostly a copy and paste from the new statutes. A few questions remain about some specifics on the permit process as well as the audit requirements.
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Costco’s ongoing fight with the Washington State Liquor Control Board hinges on two federal laws. The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives states the right to regulate alcohol. And the Sherman Act—the law Costco is citing to back its claims—prohibits restraining interstate trade. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is currently reviewing the case [...]

esus turned water into wine, they say. Lisa Truitt does the opposite - disguising wine as “grape juice” so she can ship bottles home from her travels.
Massachusetts started allowing small wineries to ship directly to consumers last year, but that law doesn’t do enough for Truitt, who calls it “archaic.”
Paul Kronenberg of the Family Winemakers [...]

Illinois House Bill 429, which would move Illinois from a reciprocal state to a limited direct state for winery direct shipping, did not see a vote by the May 10th deadline, but the deadline for third reading and final action was extended until May 18th. The bill would create a permit system, establish a 12 [...]

Florida removed their direct shipping website late Friday night or early Saturday morning. However, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation has given no official notice of any change in policy. Stay tuned for any developments.
Below is an archive of the direct shipping site that was removed by Florida…
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AT LEAST a dozen companies are now shipping beer by mail, directly to Pennsylvania consumers, bypassing both wholesalers and state regulators.State officials say the unregulated sales thwart the collection of excise and sales taxes and provide few controls to prevent minors from purchasing alcohol.
Moreover, the beer shipments place consumers in the position of unknowingly violating [...]