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
STATES STEPPING UP COMPLIANCE CHECKS Many states are conducting sting operations and compliance checks to ensure wineries are following their DTC shipping rules. Missouri has sent cease and desist letters to several wineries for violating the 2 cases/month/person limit. While the vast majority of wineries are following these rules to the letter – assisted by ... Read more
Spring is a very busy time in many state capitols. Here’s an update on the “hot” states that could use winery help, plus additional states with legislative activity. LEGISLATIVE UPDATES: Hot States ALASKA: Reasonable Limits SoughtAfter it passed the Senate on 2/8, Senate Bill 9 was amended in the House to include spirits and beer, ... Read more
March 1, 2022 LEGISLATIVE UPDATES NEW JERSEY: Two Favorable Bills Introduced to Remove Capacity Cap Assembly Bill 2432 and Senate Bill 549 were introduced in the new, 2022-23 legislative session. Like last session’s Assembly Bill 1943, the new bills would create a license for wine companies whose aggregate production exceeds 250,000 gallons per year. In ... Read more
November 1, 2021 One can never say that DTC shipping legislation is boring. Here are some highlights from 2021 (so far): Ohio now allows DTC shipments for wineries producing more than 250k gallons/year; Alabama became the 47th state to allow winery-to-consumer direct shipping although the application process is challenging; New Jersey’s Commerce Committee heard a ... Read more
