What Is a Winery Permit, and What Tasting-Room and Direct-Shipping Rights Does It Grant?

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A Winery Permit (G) lets a Texas winery make wine and sell it to consumers directly: by the glass at the winery, in sealed bottles to go up to 35,000 gallons a year, at festivals and similar events, and by shipment to consumers anywhere in Texas, including dry areas. Shipments must go through a licensed carrier to an adult who shows identification and signs for them, and no consumer may receive more than nine gallons in a calendar month or 36 gallons in any 12-month period from a winery.

What the permit authorizes

Section 16.01 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code lets a winery permit holder:

  • manufacture, bottle, label, and package wine of up to 24 percent alcohol, and blend wines;
  • make fruit brandy for fortifying its own wine, or sell it to other wineries;
  • sell wine to wholesalers, other wineries, and other authorized permit holders, and to qualified buyers outside Texas;
  • sell wine to consumers for consumption on the winery premises, or in unbroken packages for off-premises consumption up to 35,000 gallons a year;
  • dispense free wine on the premises; and
  • conduct samplings and tastings at a retailer’s premises, where winery employees may pour and present.

A winery may also make and label up to 50 gallons a year for an individual adult’s personal use, which counts toward the 35,000-gallon limit.

The tasting room

At the winery, the holder can pour wine by the glass, offer free tastings, and sell bottles to go, all under Section 16.01. The 35,000-gallon cap applies to package sales to consumers for off-premises consumption.

Wineries in dry areas

Section 16.011 allows a winery permit for premises where the sale of wine has not been approved by local voters. A winery there may carry on the activities its permit authorizes, but may sell or dispense only wine that was bottled in Texas and is at least 75 percent by volume from grapes or other fruit grown in Texas, or a lower percentage set by the Texas agriculture commissioner.

Festivals and events

  • Wine festivals. At an event approved by TABC, organized to celebrate and promote the Texas wine industry, and held at least partly on the winery’s premises, the winery may sell wine and pour it free for consumption on or off the premises (Section 16.08). It may also sell wine for such an event to holders of a wine and malt beverage retailer’s permit, mixed beverage permit, private club permit, or nonprofit entity temporary event permit.
  • Temporary locations. A winery may sell wine at a civic or wine festival, farmers’ market, celebration, or similar event, but for no more than four consecutive days at the same location (Section 16.12). TABC handles these events through its file-and-use notification or temporary event approval process.

Direct shipment to consumers

Section 16.09 sets the rules for shipping:

Rule Requirement
Who may receive the purchaser, a recipient the purchaser designated in advance, or a person 21 or older at the delivery address
At delivery the person accepting the package presents valid proof of identity and age and personally signs a receipt
Carrier only a carrier holding a TABC carrier's permit
Package label clearly states that it contains wine and may be delivered only to a qualified recipient
Volume limit no more than nine gallons to the same consumer in a calendar month, or 36 gallons in any 12-month period
Minors no sale or shipment to a minor

Shipments may go to consumers in dry areas.

Wineries located outside Texas do not use the winery permit to ship to Texas consumers. They need the separate Out-of-State Winery Direct Shipper’s Permit.

This article is general information about Texas alcoholic beverage law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and TABC rules change; confirm current requirements with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the relevant city or county, or a licensed Texas attorney before acting.

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