We’re happy to report success in Arkansas! This state was one of two that maintained an on-site purchase requirement. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has recently signed legislation that will finally make the state open to winery-to-consumer direct shipping.
Arkansas’s On-Site Requirement
This requirement meant that consumers were required to visit the winery premises to complete the purchase before the winery could ship directly to them. Shipments were also required to go to private residences rather than business or office addresses. This requirement greatly frustrated chances for consumers to successfully receive and enjoy wines from wineries that they love, and which they may not have been able to purchase at retail. It also made membership in a wine club practically impossible, as a visit to the winery would be required for every wine club shipment. These regulations were essentially a penalty, a “winery visit penalty” if you will, and left Arkansas languishing behind the majority of other states where legal, regulated winery-to-consumer direct shipping was working well.
New Legislation for Arkansas and Direct-to-Consumer Shipping
But all this has now changed for the better. On April 16, 2025, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed HB 1476, which is essentially Wine Institute’s model direct shipping bill. Wineries will be able to ship up to 24 cases per year to any consumer without the requirement (currently) of being on the premises of the winery. Rulemaking should begin within the next several weeks and will provide for the particulars of the application process. With this, Arkansas will truly be open to direct-to-consumer sales.
Up Next - Rhode Island
The other state that still maintains an on-site order requirement is Rhode Island. Just like in Arkansas, consumers are required to make a visit to the winery premises before their orders can be shipped to them. With this change that Arkansas has made to come in line with the majority of other states, Rhode Island may re-evaluate its own requirements. As it stands, many Rhode Island residents have wine shipped to friends and family outside of the state, which isn’t as convenient and diverts needed tax revenues from the state. We hope that freedom of consumer choice will win out, and wine lovers in Rhode Island will be able to enjoy legal, regulated winery-to-consumer direct shipments, without an on-site requirement, in the near future.
