Free the Grapes! wine shipping legislative updates for wineries and DTC teams
Most state legislatures are out of session right now, which usually means a quiet stretch for bill hearings. But "quiet" doesn't mean "nothing's moving." Three states have seen meaningful developments this quarter, regarding wine shipping legislative updates, that winery compliance and DTC teams should have on their radar: a deeply flawed new shipping law taking effect in Delaware, a stalled packaging program in Maine, and a court ruling on Oregon's extended producer responsibility (EPR) law. Here's what happened, and what it means for your business.
Delaware: A New Law, But Not a Workable One
Delaware's new direct wine shipping law went into effect on August 15. For Delaware wine lovers who've watched neighboring states enjoy direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping privileges for years, this should have been a moment worth celebrating.
Instead, the law remains largely unworkable in practice. Despite efforts to work with lawmakers to address the most restrictive provisions, no amendments have been made, and no clarifying regulations have been drafted. The Commissioner of the Alcoholic Beverage Control understands the problems with the law and has relayed those concerns to the Governor, but nothing has moved the needle so far.
The law's most significant issues for wineries include:
- Wholesaler-representation exclusion: Wineries currently represented by a licensed Delaware wholesaler — including subsidiary brands of larger wine companies — are prohibited from shipping direct to consumers in the state.
- Volume cap: A per-winery annual cap of 1,800 cases limits DTC volume regardless of consumer demand.
- Carrier burden: The law imposes data collection and training requirements on common carriers that go well beyond what's typical in other DTC-friendly states and have raised significant concerns among carriers like UPS and FedEx around issues of data collection and privacy.
Free the Grapes! continues to push for workable regulations and legislative fixes. Read more about our ongoing fight against this law, along with additional coverage from Wine Spectator and other industry perspectives.
Maine: EPR Program Stalls Again
Many wineries shipping into Maine are already familiar with the compliance load created by the state's packaging stewardship program and its extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements. That program hit another delay this quarter: no organizations submitted proposals to manage the EPR program on the state's behalf.
Maine's Department of Environmental Protection must now decide how to move forward, which could include statutory changes before new proposals can be solicited. If that's the path taken, any legislative fix would have to wait until the Maine Legislature reconvenes in January 2027 — meaning wineries shipping into the state should expect the current uncertainty to persist through the end of the year.
Oregon: Courts Weigh In on EPR Litigation
Oregon's EPR program has also been the subject of two separate lawsuits this year, both centered on the state's Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act.
In July, the parties in Lollicup USA, Inc. v. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) agreed to a stipulated deferral of enforcement through August 31, pending a ruling in a related case: National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) v. ODEQ, then before the U.S. District Court. Both lawsuits argue the Act violates the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause, though the Lollicup case represents parties not covered by the NAW suit.
On August 28, the Federal District Court issued its decision in the NAW case, upholding the Act — calling it "innovative" and rejecting claims that it violates federal law or improperly interferes with interstate commerce.
For wineries shipping into Oregon, this ruling signals that the state's EPR obligations are likely here to stay, at least for now, and compliance planning should proceed on that basis. As we have mentioned before, Extended Producer Responsibility issues are becoming an increasingly important part of any wine shipping framework, not just in Oregon.
Stay Ahead of What's Next
Legislative and regulatory shifts like these can change a winery's DTC shipping calculus overnight — whether it's a new state law, a volume cap, or a packaging compliance requirement layered on top of existing shipping rules. Free the Grapes! tracks these developments as they happen. For related reading, see our breakdowns on topics like:
