Navigating Wine Shipping Laws

“UPS does not accept shipments containing wine to or from Massachusetts.”

This is a quote directly from the UPS webpage on Shipping Wine (www.ups.com/wine). 

If this sounds simple for those who wish to ship or receive wine in any other of the 49 states, it’s not.  In fact, this is probably one of the simplest guidelines, from UPS anyway, with respect to wine shipping laws that vary from state to state.  Actually, FedEx does not ship to Massachusetts either, even though it is legal in the state to ship to consumers who have a permit.

For instance, in Arkansas, unlicensed individuals cannot bring wine or brandy into the state, let alone order from a winery and have it shipped to their homes. 

Live in Hawaii?  It’s not a problem as long as you don’t exceed 6 cases per year to your personal residence. 

How about if you reside in Washington D.C.?  You may buy one case per month to be shipped to your home. 

Want to ship wine to a friend?  It’s illegal without a permit and a federal crime if the United States Postal Service is used for shipment.

In some states, it gets even more complicated.  For example, some states such as Alaska only permit wine shipments to certain zip codes as Alaska still has communities that are “dry”. 

It is a felony in Alabama to have wine shipped to your home, even if there are no minors living there!

What is a bit ironic is that the United States is one of the premier wine producing nations on the planet.  There are wines produced in all 50 states.  There are wine drinkers in all 50 states.  There are restaurants that serve wine in all 50 states.  So, what happened?

In short, after the years of prohibition, laws governing the transport of alcohol were left to each state.  There really isn’t a standard for all states to abide by.  This leaves consumers and wineries across the country in a state of disarray when it comes to ensuring maximum flexibility for the wine industry to grow and thrive as well as the consumers’ ability to explore and enjoy wines from all over without being limited to the selections at local markets which are usually dictated by the bottom lines at major distributors. 

Of course, this makes a wine drinker such as me, glad to live in California – a state with abundant wineries and a wine culture that is forward thinking and supportive of this vibrant industry.  In addition, there are no volume limits in California. 

The state of Oregon is somewhere in the middle which limit a wineries shipments to 2 cases per individual per month for combined onsite and offsite sales. 

All told, 37 states now allow residents to order wine and have it shipped directly to their homes. 

In other words, there is progress being made.  And in the face of this is looming a new challenge that could affect wineries and wine lovers all over the country.  I’m referring to bill H.R. 1161, euphemistically called the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness act (CARE), which would reduce and, in some cases, eliminate direct to consumer shipping of wine.  This would force wineries to ship through wholesalers who, incidentally, are the architects and aggressive lobbyists for the bill’s passage. 

To gain some insight into the potential impact if this bill passes, look no further than the local grocery chains in your own neighborhood.  Have you ever noticed how they all seem to have the same wines on their shelves with very little variation between them?  Have you also noticed that it is very rare to see wines from small boutique producers on these shelves?  Many of these small wineries depend to a great extent on the ability to sell directly to customers.  Reciprocally, direct shipments are sometimes the only way customers are able to obtain hard-to-find wines that aren’t carried in the local supermarkets. 

Can it get more complicated than this? 

Of course, it can. 

The nuances that already exist from state to state are cumbersome enough for the wineries.  For the consumer, it’s a little simpler as one must abide and are limited by the laws where they live.  In our previous example, if you live in Arkansas and try and order wine, nobody is going to legally ship it to you anyway.  But the wineries and retail stores that conduct interstate shipping, they must keep track of the laws governing each state that their existing and potential customers live in so that they do not risk losing their licenses.  This is why, when you go to a website the offers wine for sale and shipment, you are asked which state you live in as this determines the policies that affect both the seller and the buyer.

There are several websites with detailed information on individual states.  For your convenience, I’ve provided a list of a few that seem to be well organized and updated.  However, there are many more places to go for this information.  Here are some of the sites I found:

Free The Grapes - http://www.freethegrapes.org

California Wine Online - http://www.california-wineonline.com/shipping.htm

Wine Institute - http://wineinstitute.shipcompliant.com/WhoShipsWhere.aspx

Wine Intro - http://wineintro.com/regions/us/

FedEx Wine Shipping Pairing Guide - https://www.fedex.com/cgi-bin/wineShipping.cgi

UPS Shipping Wine - http://www.ups.com/wine

Wine is part of the Harvard Food Pyramid.  The health benefits related to moderate consumption of wine are being discovered and published regularly.  The culinary aspect of wine is, at least for people who love wine, inseparable from the rest of a meal.  The United States is now producing some of the finest wines on the planet.  These are exciting times for wine making and the enjoyment of wine and it’s a ripe time to look toward the future and not get stuck in the past.

Cheers!