If you are manufacturing wine in New York State for resale, you must be licensed by the State Liquor Authority (SLA) as well as have a winery permit through the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). 1 https://www.ttb.gov/wine.
Statutory Disqualifiers
The following are the five categories of person who cannot hold an SLA license:
Additionally, the “tied house law” prohibits any person who holds a direct or indirect interest in any retail establishment selling alcoholic beverages (whether in New York State, another state, or abroad) from holding a wine maker’s license (or any other manufacturing or wholesaling license) in New York State. 2
In order to be licensed as a wine maker in New York State, you must actually produce wine (not just contract out production) and have your own facility or have a tenancy at the facility of another where such production occurs.
Tenant manufacturing otherwise known as alternating proprietorship is permissible in New York. In such an arrangement, two or more licensees share the same facility with all the same rights and responsibilities with regard to the premises. Each manufacturer must themselves produce the annual statutory minimum amount of product at the facility. Under such an arrangement, overhead can be reduced, as costs can be shared.
An unlicensed person/entity in New York may not contract with a licensed wine maker to have a product made that the unlicensed person/entity would own the brand of and/or participate in the resale of.
Winery License – a winery may produce wine, wine products, and mead, has no cap on production volume, and no New York State ingredient requirements as to its products. A winery may sell their own wine and wine products, and any New York State labeled wine, any New York State labeled wine products, and any New York State labeled cider for consumption on the premises and to go. Initial application cost is $3,025 for a 36-month license.
Farm Winery License – a farm winery may produce wine, wine product, cider, and mead, has a 250,000 gallon limit on annual production, and requires the licensee to use 75% New York State grapes or other fruits in its wine and wine products, 100% New York State apples/pome fruits in its cider, and 100% New York State honey in its mead. A farm winery may sell its own and any other New York State labeled products (e.g., beer, cider, wine, mead, braggot, liquor) at the licensed premises and to go. A farm winery must be located on a farm. Initial application cost is $525 for a 36-month license.
If time is of the essence in beginning production and opening your doors (and we know it usually is), you should first check with SLA to understand processing times and to be able to plan accordingly. Email [email protected] . Additionally, you should apply for your winery permit with TTB as soon as possible. Lastly, before applying you should get a filing receipt from the Secretary of State after registering your corporation or LLC or obtain a business certificate from your county clerk for your sole proprietorship or partnership.
From our homepage: www.sla.ny.gov, visit Licenses -- Get a License. From there you will find the Application Wizard, which will guide you to the correct application.
Once you have downloaded (or emailed yourself) the correct application and instructions, you will also be given a checklist of all necessary items and a coversheet including the correct amount to submit along with the application.
Yes. The Temporary Operating Permit Application for Manufacturers should be used by applicants to obtain a permit to operate while the application is pending.
From our homepage: www.sla.ny.gov, visit Forms Quick Find in the footer. Use the search function to find the application. Please include the temporary permit application with your main license application
Once you’ve received approval of your application and your license certificate. A conditional approval is not sufficient – as you must meet the conditions set forth before final approval may be granted.
A winery may make wine, wine products, and mead.
A farm winery may make New York State labeled wine, New York State labeled wine products, New York State labeled cider and New York State labeled mead.
All manufacturing licenses come with the right to self-distribution.
Terms of sales and distribution out of state are governed by the laws of the importing jurisdiction.
A winery may sell for consumption at the licensed premises:
A farm winery may sell for consumption at the licensed premises:
If you are selling alcoholic beverages for on premises consumption, you must make food available. A diversified selection of finger foods, such as cheeses, fruits, and crackers is sufficient.
A winery and farm winery may sell other items such as food, wine supplies, souvenirs, etc. See §76 (11) and §76-a (4) of the ABC Law for a complete list.
Yes, you may apply separately for an on premises license which permits the sale of any type of alcoholic beverage (i.e., not strictly New York State labeled products). Please note the food requirement at an on premises establishment is greater than that noted above and requires soups, sandwiches and the like for a tavern, a menu containing full entrees for a restaurant, etc.
A winery may sell for consumption off the licensed premises:
A farm winery may sell for consumption off the licensed premises:
Yes, wineries, unlike other types of alcoholic beverage manufacturers in New York State, have the right to direct to consumer shipping. See §79-D of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law for relevant requirements.
A branch office is a privilege of a farm winery and is an off-site location at which all activities of the licensed premises may be carried out (production, product sale, on premises license, etc.). A farm winery is entitled to up to 5 branch office permits. There is no fee required to obtain a branch office permit.
At the licensed facility, you must produce at least 50 gallons of wine, and/or wine product, and/or cider, and/or mead annually. You cannot rely on a contract manufacturer to produce the annual production minimum for you. If you are producing at a branch office as well as your licensed facility, you will still need to produce at least 50 gallons at the licensed facility.
Yes, you may contract to produce for another manufacturer any product that both you and the other manufacturer may produce. If in New York State, the other manufacturer must also be licensed. Any product you produce for another manufacturer will count against your production cap (if you have one) and any product purchased by another licensed New York State manufacturer will also count against its cap (if it has one).
Not if the other entity is in New York State.
Wine which is 7% or more requires only a TTB COLA, and does not require brand label registration with New York State.
For all other products (wine which is less than 7%, wine products, cider, and mead), you must register the brand labels before selling them – this is in addition to obtaining a TTB COLA.
Selling product which is not labeled is a health and safety issue and is against the law.
Yes, see above for standards.
For farm manufacturers, yes, provided the other business (e.g., food truck, food concessionaire, etc.) does not hold a retail license. Please note that a food truck (or any other business) may operate on any part of your property that is not licensed (e.g., a parking lot or field).
No, multiple manufacturers may operate at the same premises – see alternating proprietorships/tenant manufacturing above.
One entity may also hold more than one license at a single premises – e.g., a farm winery and micro brewery.
Yes, see ABC Law See §76 (11) and §76-a (4) for what items are permissible.
Yes, if you plan to take on or remove owners/investors, change shares of ownership, or appoint or remove officers/directors/members, before making those changes, you must submit and wait for the approval of a corporate change application. A corporate change application can be found here.
Yes, where a corporation/LLC or has 10 or more stockholders/members and a change involves less than 10% of the stock holdings/ownership of the corporation/LLC and no stockholders/members total holdings/ownership are increased to 10% or more.
Yes, if you are a winery (not a micro or farm winery), any significant change requires the filing of an alteration application before renovations begin. The form may be found here. A significant change includes:
Yes, if you are a winery (not a micro or farm winery), you must file an affidavit request for any change costing less than $10,000 which does not affect the character or structure of the premises. If the request is not denied within 20 days, it is deemed approved on the 25th day from after filing.
An endorsement application, found here, is used for minor changes such as the following:
1 Wine manufactured for personal consumption and not sold commercially does not require licensure. Check with TTB for limits.
2 Note that a restaurant brewer license is not a brewing license, it is a retail license, and cannot be held along with a wine maker’s license.
