Blog
What wineries want and need to keep doing if the government shuts down
As of this writing there is still the possibility of a government shutdown going into effect on October 1st. If that does happen it would mean that TTB staff won't be working reviewing permit applications, label approval applications or available to respond to...
7 No Nos on Weigh Tags
The grape harvest continues to be a slow one to kick into gear this year. For wineries one thing that means is they haven't filled out many "weigh tags" yet. To clarify, whenever I write or speak about "weigh tags" what I am always referring to is the document whose...
Video: Wineries don’t do this on your weigh tags!
Once again it’s game on for harvest ! Once the grapes start rolling in things heat up pretty fast. (No fermentation-related pun intended) Things can also quickly become rather chaotic when it comes to harvest related recordkeeping. Specifically your weigh tags. If you are someone who fills out weigh tags- I’ve got a warning […]
Just in time! Harvest compliance training for wineries
What is the most common missing link for wineries with their compliance? Plain and simple, the missing link is effective training. This results in records being kept incorrectly (or not at all!), reports being completed incorrectly and winery staff having a...
Wine labels start at harvest
The grape harvest of 2023 will be starting soon in California. But before grapes roll into wineries and are weighed and documented, wineries need to be thinking down the road to the labels that will be put on the wines from those grapes. This is because several items...
How Confident are you about your TTB harvest records?
Harvest 2023 is not too far off wineries! Let me ask you this, how confident are you about your compliance specific to harvest? Here's a few questions to give you an idea what I'm talking about and see if you respond with either a definite "yes!", or a "hmmm, I think...
Ann Reynolds interviewed on The Wonderful World of Wine podcast
Ann Reynolds, the owner and founder of Wine Compliance Alliance was recently a guest on the podcast, The Wonderful World of Wine. Topics covered include a deeper dive into Ann's 30 year background in the wine industry, her book The Inside Story of a Wine Label, and...
What the TTB gets wrong in label approvals
Over the past 20 plus years I guesstimate that I have submitted around a thousand label approval applications to the TTB. (COLAs) Not surprisingly, to anyone familiar with these applications, I've had a wide range of experiences, and some of those have been concerning...
Cautionary info for wineries on using 3rd party shipping
You've seen me share all sorts of info, updates and tips specific to TTB & CA ABC compliance, but this time I'm sharing a recent blog post from Sovos ShipCompliant about a topic that is surrounded by a CRAZY amount of misinformation and confusion. Direct to...
The TTB is exploring combining two winery reports
All US wineries are required to file two primary reports with the TTB, the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau. One of those reports, which must always be filed by wineries regardless of their activities, drives whether wineries are required to also file the...
If a winery’s reports aren’t up to date the TTB won’t process their permit applications
If I asked you "is your winery up to date in filing all your TTB reports?", would you have a confident yes as a response? Or would you pause, and respond with an unsure "uhhhhhhh" or worse yet "what TTB reports?". Well US wineries the TTB is now starting to catch up...
Question: Who is always responsible for filing TTB label approvals?
OK wine industry folks, let’s clear this up once and for all. When a TTB label approval (COLA) is required for the bottling of a wine who is the responsible party? A. The winery that bottles the wine B. The winery that bottles the wine C. The winery that bottles the wine D. All of […]
What wineries are getting wrong on their labels
I've said for years that there is a lot going on behind a wine label. A lot of compliance that is. When an average consumer picks up a bottle of wine they would probably be very surprised to know all the requirements that wine labels must meet, and the minimum...
All US wineries are bonded but not all of them have a bond
According to the internet gods this phrase, "what is a bonded winery" is a common wine related search. The term bonded, or just simply the word bond are commonly thrown around in the winery world, however few people could accurately tell you exactly what they mean....
Wine Label Compliance Class in Napa April 19th
Wine Compliance Alliance, based in Napa CA will be hosting an in person course on wine label compliance. The course will be held on Wednesday, April 19th from 9 am to 1 pm. This will be an in person course. A webinar version of the course will also be offered later in...
