Legislative Updates KENTUCKY: DTC Permits PostponedKentucky’s new law allowing licensed shipments of wine, beer and spirits goes into effect today, July 15. But as Wine Institute reported Monday: “Wine Institute had hoped that the state would allow licensing and shipping to take place in parallel with the process of drafting and enacting the regulations. However, ... Read more
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES Even with the Coronavirus pandemic dominating the news, and state legislatures, there is still news to report on wine direct shipping. KENTUCKY BECOMES 46TH LEGAL STATE FOR WINERY DTC SHIPPING As reported by Wine Institute, April 8:Kentucky’s New DTC Shipping Rules Become LawKentucky’s new law to allow for the direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping of ... Read more
DTC Wine Symposium: Jan 22-23, 2020Hilton Concord Hotel Concord, CA The national summit on DTC sales and marketing – and the primary fundraiser for Free the Grapes! – returns this January. Registration is now open. Workshops, Town Halls and Sponsor Sessions will offer practical solutions to common challenges and opportunities, such as club member retention, ... Read more
DTC Wine Symposium Update Yes, we are six months away from the January 2020 DTC Wine Symposium but the Steering Committee has been hard at work this summer. Workshop Sessions: Want to speak?The Steering Committee has identified several potential topics. Check out the Request for Proposal. Roundtable and Town Hall Sessions: What topics should we cover? ... Read more
Hot States It’s a busy year for DTC fix-it legislation as well as efforts to overturn capacity caps and open new states. Delaware: Senate Bill 49 was introduced March 19 to open the state for winery DTC. Unfortunately, like it’s 2018 predecessor House Bill 165, SB49 allows winery shipping but bans shipments of any ... Read more
The Hot States We have a lot to report since our last update in mid-January. New Jersey: We continue to aggressively leverage local press coverage and consumer support for two favorable bills which, if passed, will allow wineries producing more than 250,000 gallons of wine each vintage to ship. We strongly encourage you to include ... Read more
January 11, 2019 2018: YEAR IN REVIEW On January 3, Free the Grapes! and Wine Institute presented a status update on FTG actions to the public policy committee of the Napa Valley Vintners. We want to share highlights from that meeting because it provided a good overview of the role of Free the Grapes!, where we ... Read more
November 7, 2018 NEW JERSEY PRESS CONFERENCE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO REMOVE CAPACITY CAP Free the Grapes! launched its campaign in Trenton on October 17 with a successful press conference to support two favorable bills that would remove the 250k gallon capacity cap. TV, radio and print media outlets covered the issue, including local nightly ... Read more
DTC WINE SYMPOSIUM: INTERESTED IN SPEAKING? The Workshop Sessions committee is looking for qualified speakers for the DTC Wine Symposium, January 23-24, 2019, at the Hilton Concord Hotel in Concord, CA. The Committee has created a Request for Proposal with suggested topics and info: see the pdf file link at the top of this page. ... Read more
FREE THE GRAPES! BLOG Free the Grapes! recently started a blog to address key issues for wineries. Current posts on our blog page include: WSWA Comments on Retailer DTC: A Little Fact Checking is in Order Why is Retailer DTC Shipping So Restricted? What is DTC Shipping? Outside the wine industry, the definition gets a ... Read more
