Massachusetts - US Wine Shipping Laws



No Wine Shipments In a country that produces Napa Valley Chardonnays, Washington Rieslings, Long Island Cabernets and great wines from almost every other state, it can be a felony to ship one of these wines between two states. The laws are different for every single state. What are the Massachusetts laws?


I've been trying to keep track of the laws that affect Massachusetts wineries. If you live in Massachusetts, please contact your reps to help us free up the wineries here!

IN PROCESS


The Joint Committee on Government Regulations will conduct a public hearing on all pro and con direct ship legislation pending before the Committee on Tuesday March 13, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. in room B-1 at the State House in Boston. The following direct shipping bills will be heard at that time: H. 1580; H. 434; H. 803; H. 3706; and S. 403.



These bills would finally allow residents to have wine shipped to their homes! CALL YOUR REP IN FAVOR OF IT!! We have to drag it out of committee somehow.



House 960


1 Chapter 138 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
2 inserting after section 15E the following section:-
3 Section 15F. A resident of the commonwealth who is not in the
4 business of selling alcoholic beverages may purchase wine in
5 person from a winery outside the commonwealth for personal use
6 and consumption only; provided, however, that such purchase is
7 made in person by said individual; provided, further, that the pur-
8 chased wine shall be shipped to said individual's residence in the
9 commonwealth only; provided, further, that such purchase does
10 not exceed more than two cases; provided further, that any
11 package shipped under this provision shall be shipped only to a
12 person of sufficient age to legally consume alcohol in the com-
13 monwealth and that such package is marked: "This package con-
14 tains alcohol. Adult signature and proof of identification that
15 recipient is 21 years of age or older is required for delivery."


Senate 371


"Nonwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, a person holding a farmer-winery license under the provisions of section nineteen B of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight of the General Laws may receive orders for the sale and the delivery of wine within and outside of the commonwealth and may ship wines to the purchaser"

In addition to H960 and S371, there is a third bill out that will let wineries sell at festivals. I'll track down the text of that one and post it when I can.



PASSED AND NOW A LAW (1998)


S437 -> S2094 (see below)

H1484 - S2094 - S2179:
Petition of John F. Quinn and Richard T. Moore relative to the issuance of permits for farmer-breweries and farmer-wineries. This one was signed 5/7/98.

Comments from Nashoba Valley



A Farmer Winery License allows the winery to produce and sell products on site or to others that hold a license such as a package store or restaurant. A Massachusetts winery cannot sell wines offsite unless it gets an additional license separate from its Farmer Winery License. A fair or festival can receive a one or two day liquor license and allow local wineries to taste and or sell products but an additional license is required. This is usually quite a burden since it requires someone to petition the local licensing authority and usually attend a hearing. Many of the operators of such events, like the Big E, just do not want to take on the burden of getting a license or the liability associated with alcohol. The person in control of the venue is the person that must make the application. There was a bill before the legislature that would have allowed us to conduct offsite tastings (no sales) at public festivals that have an agricultural theme.

Lisa says: Not only that, but they can't sell at farmers markets either. Bizarre. I'm submitting a new bill to handle this.

Comments from Cape Cod Winery



We cannot ship to our customers who live in Mass or out of this state because UPS nor Fed Ex nor ANYBODY has a permit to transport alcohol into or out of Mass. So my understanding is that if H960 were to change the law and this would give these companies permission to transport alcohol within Mass, then we could ship to our customers within this state as well as to customers in states with reciprocity. If we abide by the laws of California and receive permission from the California control board then technically we can ship wine to CA, but since UPS (or anyone else) cannot pick up wine or alcohol in this state there is no way for us to ship it out! Can H960 be amended to read "wineries outside or inside the commonwealth"?

Lisa says: It's be sad if this law allowed non-Mass companies to ship wine in Mass, but didn't let Mass companies do the same!

Supposedly you can obtain a special permit from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, 100 Cambridge St., Boston 02202 to import wine (2A). I have written to inquire if this is possible.



SELECTED EXISTING LAWS (pre-1999)


Note that most laws governing wineries and their operation are in MGL Chapter 138.

MGL Chapter 138, section 19b discusses what rules are in place for receiving a farmer-winery license.

MGL Chapter 138, section 14 goes over rules for special events.

In MGL Chapter 138, Section 12 it says that a common victualler can hold wine tastings as long as food as served with the wine, as long as the samples are 1oz, and as long as the wine is not then offered for sale.

Shipping Status

:

UPS (UPS webpage) does NOT accept shipments of wine within the state of Massachusetts, despite being offered special consideration. I am following up on this.

I have a query into the US Postal Service, to FedEx, to Airborne Express and to DHL.

Ironically, here is what FedEx's page (E6) says:
Alcoholic Beverages. Due to various state regulations on the transportation of alcohol, shipments may be accepted only when processed by a FedEx automated shipping device. In addition, these shipments will be accepted only when shipped from a licensed dealer or distributor to another licensed dealer or distributor. However, regulations may vary from state to state. For example, alcoholic beverages cannot be shipped to, from, or within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Packaging should be preapproved by the FedEx Packaging Design and Development Department prior to shipping. Your failure to use preapproved packaging releases us from any liability that we would otherwise assume. (See "Liabilities Not Assumed.") Additional information regarding the shipment may be required from the sender. Signature release is not available for shipments containing alcohol. Call the FedEx Packaging Design and Development Department for procedures in submitting packaging for testing at (800)633-7019.

We well know that it is NOT illegal to ship within Mass!!

Update


I've moved the shipping pages to new subdirectories. This page isn't being updated any more. For up to date news, visit the Massachustts Shipping Laws.

United States Wine Shipping Status



All content on the WineIntro website is personally written by author and wine enthusiast Lisa Shea. WineIntro explores the delicious variety and beautiful history which makes up our world of wine! Lisa loves supporting local wineries and encouraging people to drink whatever they like. We all have different taste buds, and that makes our world wonderful. Always drink responsibly.