Last week, on Valentines Day, House Bill 393 was read for the second time. Current Georgia law does not allow direct shipment of wine from in-state wineries to State residents unless the resident is physically present at the winery when the purchase is made.

When a Georgia resident is physically on a winery’s premises (either in-state or out-of-state), he or she can purchase up to five cases of wine while at the winery and have it shipped to their Georgia residence. The winery is not required to have a Special Order Shipping License, but it must verify that the consumer is 21 years of age or older and the winery cannot ship more than five cases to any one consumer or address in a calendar year.

The House Bill 393 legislation is of interest to the small wineries throughout the State of Georgia. Other States such as New York are allowed to ship their products across state lines as well as within their state.

Speaking with Karl Boegner, owner of Wolf Wineries just north of Dahlonega, passing this bill would end up leveling the playing field and allow them to reach their customers within our state.

Many of these wineries are small, family run operations. Under current law, sales are made directly to the public at the winery. This industry is growing each year, and the wineries would like to distribute Georgia grown and processed products within the state. Most family run wineries in Georgia bottle under 10000 bottles a year.

At present, the HB 393 is under current revision. You can read the latest version by clicking here .

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.4