The 2005 Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court decision was a watershed industry moment that allows wineries to sell wine directly to consumers across the country. As a result of that decision, direct shipping expanded from 27 states to 35 states, representing 80% of the wine market in the US. However, in practice, it has created an ever-changing and complex landscape of rules, forms, filings and fees. This is the result of distributors and retailers pressuring local legislatures to restrict direct sales.
While it is a burden for wineries, we strongly believe that ignorance of the shipping laws by consumers severely limits demand. Our internal research finds that consumers are often unaware of whether they can legally buy wine on-line. Our goal is to educate wine consumers that this channel does indeed exist, through targeted marketing strategies. We firmly believe that these efforts will help grow on-line wine sales substantially.
We believe that compliance is the Achilles’ heel of the industry, and therefore we have partnered with the leading shipping compliance service that delivers real-time compliance. Through a partnered approach we are integrated into automated real-time compliance and also have the ability to assist with license applications and filings.
