Why it's Difficult to Get Wine Shipped to You

  About 15 years ago the Supreme Court said if you let local state alcohol companies ship to consumers, you have to let out-of-state do the same. This started a trend of more and more states allowing wine shipping, with some caveats.

  Since the end of Prohibition the three-tier system has controlled alcohol movement around the country. The three are producers, wholesaler, and retailer, with the wholesales end having way too much say to protect their jobs that don't really add much value. 

  Wholesalers have always seen any direct-to-consumer sales as eating into their business and they spend plenty lobbying at the state and federal level to stop this. So the Supreme Court decision  hit them in the gut, but they still find ways to hit back. 

  Recently Alabama became one of the last holdouts to make direct-to-consumer shipping legal. Only Utah and Mississippi are still stuck in the Dark Ages. However, if you want to ship to AL customers you pay a one-time set up fee and a yearly renewal fee and you can only ship a limited amount during a 12-month period. A winery has to ship enough to make a profit after paying the fees. For smaller wineries and the limited business you might get from Alabama, it won't be worth it. Plus, you have to watch the history of previous shipments, so you don't send them (gasp!) too much wine.

  Other states have similar roadblocks. These might include requiring the person to be actually at your winery to make the purchase and sign a form saying they were there (a form the winery has to store somewhere). A state might not allow bottles bigger than 750 ml for some reason. They might allow only a tiny number of bottles to be shipped; some are as low as five. This could be the number you can ship at one time, or the number you can ship in a calendar year, or the maximum in a 12-month period. Other states expect you to collect and disburse to them their state sales tax. Others expect you to know their dry counties. Yes, roadblocks. These roadblocks are usually brought to you by wholesalers paying off (sorry, donating to) state legislatures.

  There is a whole business built up around helping wineries stay legal with all the different state laws. This all costs money, of course, which gets passed on to you.

  So don't blame the winery if they can't get wine to you. Write your state reps instead. Also, don't necessarily blame the retailer if they won't carry a certain wine -- because they are at the mercy of the wholesalers.