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Purchase bulk wine? Here’s how to document it to meet TTB & CA requirements
Bulk wine. That’s the wine industry term for wine that isn’t in a bottle yet. Instead it is sitting at a permitted winery site in some sort of container, be that a stainless steel tank, a barrel, a drum or a keg or these days perhaps a cement “egg”. Wineries will decide to sell some […]
Being smart about starting a new wine business
I came across this article recently about the “top 10” mistakes that US wineries make in the US market. It was focused on wine importers however I found it to cover several very relevant point for any new wine business. I have conversations every week with people who are in the beginning stages of starting […]
CA wineries: Time to renew your ABC licenses
Here in California if you are in business as a winery, which is known as a “Winegrower” with our Alcoholic Beverage Control agency by now you would have more than likely received a mailing with your type 02 license renewals. The CA ABC gives numbers to all the different types of licenses they issue, and […]
What the proposed alcohol range change means for your winery
Things are looking good for a major update coming for US wineries related to their excise taxes, 5120.17 report, and wine labels. The bill very appropriately named the wine excise tax modernization act currently under review by congress and now with the support of Congressman Mike Thompson if passed will change the alcohol percentage range […]
US Wineries: More savings may be coming for your TTB excise taxes
In January of this year came the announcement from the TTB that starting in January of 2017 many US winery TTB permit holders will no longer be required to maintain their TTB wine bond. See my blog post on this. Now just late last week comes another news update that offers even more significant excise tax […]
Wineries: Like to save $10,000 in taxes per year? (or more!)
Taxes. Always everyone’s favorite topic. Although when the topic is about things to do that result in dramatic savings on our taxes suddenly it becomes much more interesting. I recently gave a presentation at the Napa Valley Vintners Wine law forum where one of the topics that I covered was all about clarifying the specifics […]
US Wineries: Do your WINES qualify for the small producers tax credit: Part 2
In last week’s post I wrote about how to determine if your winery qualifies to file and pay your TTB excise taxes under the small producers tax credit (SPC). There are two main areas that need to be understood related to qualifying for the SPC, the first is whether your winery qualifies (the focus of […]
Interacting with the TTB part 2: Permit application filings
This post is number 2 following up on my blog from 3 weeks ago in which I shared my tips for successfully interacting with the TTB’s main office in Cincinnati if you have questions related to your winery’s TTB permit or reports. That area however is just one leg of the overall successful management of […]
Napa County wineries: Ready for required use permit reporting?
The annual reporting requirement for all Napa County winery use permit holders just took another step closer to being in effect. This reporting requirement is part of the APAC recommendations still being reviewed and finalized by the Napa County Board of supervisors and planning office. One of the results of the supervisors meeting last week was […]
Tips for wineries on interacting with the TTB
I am regularly emailing or calling or hearing from staff at the TTB offices. Most of this contact is with their national revenue center office in Cincinnati. This is the office that handles all of the TTB permit applications and all of their related follow up. (with the exception of label approvals) Back in my […]
When is a red blend not a red wine? In the TTB label approval process!
This week’s blog post comes to you courtesy of a recent contact I had with a winery compliance colleague. Their request was for a post on a topic related to wine label requirements, and specifically what the TTB calls a wine’s “class and type”. This is a required item on all wine labels but many wineries […]
US Wineries: Do your wines qualify for the small producers tax credit: Part 2
In last week’s post I wrote about how to determine if your winery qualifies to file and pay your TTB excise taxes under the small producers tax credit (SPC). There are two main areas that need to be understood related to qualifying for the SPC, the first is whether your winery qualifies (the focus of […]
US wineries: Does your winery qualify for the Small Producers Tax Credit? (part 1)
My most recent blog posts have been about the currently hot topic of TTB wine bonds. In today’s post I’m covering some in depth specifics on what the purpose of a TTB wine bond is all about: excise taxes. Within the topic of TTB excise taxes I’ll review the first part behind qualifying to pay those required […]
Does your winery qualify to cancel your TTB wine bond?
This is post number three following up on the TTB’s announcement related to updates in their wine bond requirements. This post is designed to help answer the question, will my winery qualify to no longer need a TTB wine bond? As is the case with winery compliance each TTB winery permit holder has their own […]
TTB wine bond update part 2: No wine bond does not mean no TTB permit
In last week’s blog post I explained the details behind the TTB’s recent announcement that starting in January of 2017 many US wineries will no longer be required to maintain their TTB wine bond. Not surprisingly I received a lot of follow up questions. There is no shortage of confusion around just this one topic […]
