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Compliance webinar: Napa County winery use permit reporting

This post is for all Napa County wineries that hold a use permit issued by the Napa County Planning Office. Required annual reporting is now in effect and your first annual report is due by July 1st 2019. My office is hosting a three part webinar training designed to walk you through understanding each step […]

Winery compliance workshop – Saturday December 8th – Sonoma State University

I will be one of three instructors in this all day wine business compliance workshop being offered on Saturday, December 8th through the Wine Business program at Sonoma State University.            Sign up hereTopics covered will include:I will cover:                         […]

Compliance how to’s for listing an out of state AVA on your wine label

My last post and video were on the Elouan Oregon Pinot Noir label and specifically whether its use of three Oregon AVAs would be be kosher with TTB regulations. After sharing that post and reading others that followed also on the Elouan label I took another look at the TTB wine label regulation on Appellations […]

Are the AVAs on the Elouan back label OK? (from a TTB viewpoint)

I get Lew Perdue’s daily Wine News fetch email which helps keep me in the loop on the stories in the wine business world and often inspire my blogs/videos. A story in one of those headlines caught my eye this week- since it covered a topic I am waist deep in on a steady basis. […]

Filing requirements for the TTB 5120.17 report for all US wineries

Running a winery is a a lot of work. Growing, making, storing, bottling and last but by no means least selling the product. It’s no wonder that keeping up with their TTB compliance is often little understood. US wineries are required to file certain reports to the TTB, and one of those reports, the 5120.17 […]

Pre 2011 wineries- here’s how to access your TTB permit file online

Was your winery established before 2011? That will then mean that your application for your TTB permit was filed the “old school” route, which meant on paper, in duplicate and via snail mail to the TTB offices in Cincinnati.Good news for all of you today! One of the new features on their just released version […]

The downs and ups of TTB Permits Online

The TTB’s platform, Permits Online is about to come out with an updated version. This platform was first launched in 2011 and is used (in the wine world) by any business that is filing an application to start a new wine business or to file amendments beyond that.My office uses it on  a close to […]

When bulk wine hurts or helps your winery’s TTB excise taxes

Here we are already half way through 2018- which I recently described as a very unique year for TTB compliance. The other terms I’d considered before settling on unique were confusing and frustrating. This confusion, frustration and overall uniqueness are all as a result of the tax laws which went into effect on January 1st […]

TTB alternate procedure- Extended through Dec 2019- good news (sort of)

Nothing makes me happier in the work that I do than being able to share good news with US wineries. The TTB released an updated version of one of their industry circulars yesterday which will mean good news, of sorts for US wineries. This good news is specific to an unintended bad news result that […]

Purchase bulk wine & bottle it? Sorry- no TTB excise tax credits allowed!

It is already May and looking back over all the posts I’ve shared this year it isn’t too surprising they are all focused on the changes impacting US wineries specific to their TTB reporting and excise taxes. Because these TTB changes are rather involved I’m finding more topics continue to come to mind to create […]

Wineries- Are you submitting the wrong TTB report?

Many US wineries have gotten a bit of a scare in the mail lately. The scare is not a real one however, but rather a notice sent to them addressed from the “Department of the Treasury” which has a general tendency to get the heart rate going. These letter notices are informing  wineries that they’ve […]

TTB Alternate procedure for US wineries & their warehouses

Wine warehouse storage facilities in the US are jumping for joy these days. Why? They no longer (since Jan 1 2018) have to fiddle around with deducting credits off their winery clients TTB excise tax payments. Why? Plain & simple, they cannot. This change is just one of the  results of the new tax law […]

What all US wineries need to understand about “produced” and their excise taxes

Since early this year all my posts, videos and trainings have focused on the range of changes affecting US wineries specific to their TTB compliance. These changes resulting from the tax law which went into effect January 1st. One of those key areas for winery management and staff to fully understand is the connection between […]

TTB Excise tax updates US wineries need to know NOW

If you are a regular reader of my blogs and/or viewer of videos on my Youtube channel you’ve seen the info I’ve been sharing about all the changes impacting US wineries specific to their TTB compliance which went into effect on January 1st of 2018. There was one area that had not been made entirely […]

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