DTC SHIPPING LEGISLATIVE UPDATES An alphabetical update on recent actions in select states: ALASKA: Resolution reached As of June 28, 2024, the AMCO Alcohol Board finally approved the MDSL/Package store shipping rules – and these have just been confirmed to go into effect August 23, 2024. These rules clarify the outstanding issues that have caused ... Read more
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES An alphabetical update on recent action in select states: ALASKA: Continued progress on changes to permit lawsAs you will remember, taking effect at the start of 2024 was a rewrite to current rules governing the Manufacturer Direct Shipment License (MDSL), which is a license that the Alaska Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) ... Read more
As you may know, Delaware is one of only three states that continue to ban all winery-to-consumer direct shipping. The other two are Mississippi and Utah. A new bill, House Bill 262, would allow American wineries licensed by Delaware to ship a limited amount of wine directly to your Delaware based home or office. And we ... Read more
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES This is an update on recent actions in select states, and recommendations on how to navigate as we head into 2024: ALASKA: New Permit Law Effective 1/1/24 – Recommendation is to WAIT to apply The Alaska Title 4 Rewrite law (SB 9) which provides for limited, regulated, tax-paid wine shipping by wineries of ... Read more
October 25, 2023, Napa, CA – The directors of Free the Grapes!, a national coalition of wineries and wine lovers, announces a transition in the Executive Director position. Jeremy Benson, Founder of Benson Marketing Group who has held the executive director role at Free the Grapes! since its inception in 1998, will be stepping down ... Read more
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES As many state legislatures adjourn for 2023, we can provide an update on recent actions and results. ALASKA: New Permit Law Effective 1/1/24 A reminder that, effective January 1, 2024, the 2022 liquor omnibus bill replaces the “reasonable amount” provision with a permit allowing up to 12 cases annually and no more ... Read more
Often misunderstood, Fulfillment Houses play a key role in meeting consumer demand for winery-to-consumer direct shipping. These logistics centers provide both economic and environmental benefits to their clients, wineries. Here is a summary. WHAT A Fulfillment House provides winery direct-to-consumer shipping services to its clients, wineries. FHs do not buy or sell wine; they do ... Read more
Two bills in Oklahoma threaten winery direct shipping to wine lovers in the state.
House Bill 2640 and its companion, Senate Bill 796, recommend unnecessary and unworkable reporting requirements on wineries and the common carriers.
Subscribers to the Wall Street Journal may have seen wine editor Lettie Teague’s article March 2nd which, among other things, highlighted consumer support for Free the Grapes! and our role in helping to support legal, regulated direct wine shipments. Here’s a link to the article: [Paywall] https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-is-it-so-hard-to-get-wines-out-of-state-3a2e6825 She mentioned that several states are about to ... Read more
DTC WINE SYMPOSIUM 2023: IN-PERSON AND LIVESTREAMED Presented by and the chief fundraiser for Free the Grapes!, the 16th annual conference held in January brought the DTC community back together in person for the first time in three years. All Sessions were livestreamed, and their recordings are available to view on demand via the Whova ... Read more
