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Out of state shipments of grapes or bulk wine and the TTB labeling regulation updates
Strike that! Reverse it! This blog post has been edited to correct a misstatement that was listed related specifically to the use of a vintage or varietal on a wine label for a wine blend made from out of state grapes. See below areas in bold where corrections have been made to the original post. […]
New drop down menu for varietals on TTB wine label approvals
The TTB continues to tweak their various online filing websites. Their COLAs Online website, which is used for submitting label approvals for all alcoholic beverages has recently made changes to the varietal field. For an office like mine that regularly files a lot of TTB label approvals I’m usually pleased to see the improvements they […]
More specifics on Napa County winery use permits now available online
The folks at the Napa County planning office have been busy. It is actually a pretty busy place no matter what, but especially lately around the topic of winery use permits. They have long maintained a downloadable spreadsheet on their website which listed all the approved winery use permits and a very limited amount of […]
TTB updates on label approval exemptions and the bulk wine market
Wine labels and their TTB approvals. There is never a shortage of discussions, questions, and confusion. The latest TTB announcement last week regarding potential regulation changes to wine labels that file for a certificate of exemption from label approval (which alone is one weird contradicting statement) took some time for me to chew over and be […]
The TTB is working weekends! Who knew?
Guess what US winemaking world? Our friends at the TTB are now working on weekends! This applies specifically to the always popular area of wine label approvals, otherwise known as COLAs. How do I know this? Fairly frequently I’ll receive either an approved COLA application or a request for correction on a weekend day. If […]
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 […]
