From your bonded winery permit to direct-to-consumer shipping across dozens of states, we manage the licensing and compliance that let your winery produce, sell, and grow.
Wineries, cideries, and meaderies all operate under the TTB's bonded winery framework, and wine has some of the most active direct-to-consumer shipping opportunities in the industry, along with the compliance that comes with it. Getting the bonded winery permit is the start; managing DtC across states is often where the real complexity lives.
Alcohol Industry Associates handles winery compliance from the ground up: bonded winery permitting, state licensing, label approvals, excise tax and operational reporting, and the multistate DtC shipping compliance that expands your market. Our team's background on the regulatory side means we know how these applications are actually evaluated.
Wineries carry a distinct set of federal and state obligations, plus real DtC opportunity. We handle:
Wine has the broadest direct-to-consumer shipping landscape in beverage alcohol, but every state sets its own rules for licenses, taxes, volume limits, and reporting. Getting DtC right can meaningfully expand your market; getting it wrong creates compliance exposure across multiple states at once.
We map DtC eligibility for your winery across the states you want to reach and manage the licensing and ongoing reporting, so you can ship compliantly and scale.
Common questions from wineries about licensing and compliance.
To produce wine commercially you need a federal Bonded Winery or Bonded Wine Cellar permit from the TTB under 27 CFR Part 24, sometimes called a bonded winery premises. A bonded winery can produce, blend, store, and bottle wine; a bonded wine cellar (or bonded wine warehouse) blends, stores, and bottles but does not produce from scratch. You also need the FAA Act basic permit for wine producers who sell at wholesale. On top of the federal permit, your state requires a winery or farm winery license through its ABC authority, and many states offer farm-winery privileges tied to in-state grape or fruit sourcing. Local zoning and agritourism approvals often apply too. We determine which federal permit fits your operation and file the coordinated federal, state, and local package. See TTB.gov wine guidance.
In most cases yes, but direct-to-consumer (DtC) wine shipping is governed state by state, and you need a shipping license or permit in each destination state that requires one, plus ongoing sales-tax and reporting compliance in those states. Roughly 47 states allow some form of winery DtC shipping, but the rules, volume caps, permit fees, and reporting obligations vary widely, and a handful still restrict it. Your federal 27 CFR Part 24 winery permit does not by itself authorize interstate shipping, the destination state controls. We handle multistate DtC licensing, register you for the required state permits and tax accounts, and set up the recurring reports so each state stays compliant. This is one of the most common areas where wineries unknowingly fall out of compliance as they grow.
Usually yes. Under federal rules, hard cider and mead are generally classified as wine and are produced under a 27 CFR Part 24 bonded winery permit, not a brewer's notice, even though many cideries feel more like breweries operationally. There are important thresholds: "hard cider" has a specific TTB tax definition (based on carbonation, alcohol content, and fruit source) that carries a lower excise rate, and mead/honey wine has its own parameters. Getting the classification right affects your permit, your labeling, and your tax rate. Some low-alcohol products can fall under different rules. We confirm how your specific product is classified, file the correct bonded winery permit, and make sure your excise tax treatment matches the category so you neither overpay nor underpay.
Both are ways to make wine without building your own fully licensed facility. In a custom crush arrangement, a licensed winery produces wine for you under its own 27 CFR Part 24 permit. In an alternating proprietorship (AP), two or more separately permitted wineries share the same physical space and equipment on an alternating basis, each holding its own bonded winery permit and bonded premises for its production periods. TTB has specific requirements for how APs are structured, documented, and recorded so each proprietor's activity and tax liability stays distinct. Done wrong, an AP can look like a single operation to the TTB and create liability problems. We structure and file APs and custom crush arrangements so the paperwork, premises diagrams, and records satisfy TTB scrutiny.
Most wines sold in interstate commerce need an approved Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) before bottling and sale, and some wines require formula approval first, for example wines with added flavors, colorings, or certain treating materials, or specialty and formula wines. Standard grape wines within specified parameters may qualify for exemptions but still need a COLA for interstate sales. Your label must carry all mandatory statements: brand, class/type, alcohol content, appellation where claimed, sulfite declaration, net contents, and the government warning. Wine labeling has category-specific rules under 27 CFR Part 24 and TTB labeling regulations. We prepare and file formulas and COLAs, verify appellation and varietal claims are properly supported, and clear common rejection issues before submission. See TTB labeling guidance.
A bonded winery files recurring operational reports and federal excise tax returns under 27 CFR Part 24, along with state reports. Federally, wineries generally file the TTB Report of Wine Premises Operations (TTB F 5120.17) on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis depending on volume, plus excise tax returns tied to removals, taking into account the wine tax credits available under the CBMA. Wineries must also maintain detailed records of production, blending, additions, losses, and inventory. Reporting frequency and eligibility for credits depend on your size and history. Late or inconsistent filings are a leading cause of TTB inquiries. We manage the operations reports and excise returns, apply the correct tax credits, and keep federal and state filings reconciled so nothing surfaces as a discrepancy later.
Yes, this is core to what we do. As a winery grows beyond its home state, the compliance surface expands fast: direct-to-consumer shipping licenses in each state, distributor and brand/label registrations for three-tier wholesale, sales-tax registrations, and recurring state reporting, all layered on top of your federal 27 CFR Part 24 obligations. Each state has its own forms, fees, bonds, and filing calendars, and franchise laws can affect distributor relationships. We build and manage the multistate footprint: determine which licenses each target state requires, file them, set up the tax and reporting accounts, and run the recurring compliance so expansion does not outpace your paperwork. We also advise on the sequencing so you enter states in the order that best fits your growth.
A change in ownership or control almost always requires action with the TTB and your state. Federal permits under 27 CFR Part 24 are generally not freely transferable, depending on the structure of the transaction (asset purchase vs. stock purchase, change in actual or legal control), you may need to file a new application, an amended application, or ownership-change documentation within specific timeframes. Operating on the prior owner's permit without filing correctly can put you out of compliance from day one. States have their own change-of-ownership and license-transfer rules. We assess how your specific transaction affects the permits, file the required federal and state changes on time, and make sure there is no gap in authorized operations during the transition.