Types Of Licenses You Need To Sell Wine & Liquor
Do you want to start a wine store and want to know what licenses to apply for? If YES, here are 7 types of business licenses you need to sell wine & liquor. The sale of alcohol can boost restaurant profits substantially, thanks to the great profit margins that are used to sell most wines, hard liquors, and beer.
But selling alcohol comes with responsibilities as states dont want to leave the liquor business open to everybody. Therefore they require restaurants and businesses to apply for a liquor license before they can sell wine or any other liquor.
Table of Content
Determining A Licence Application
Where an application is properly made and no responsible authority or other person makes representations, the licensing authority must grant the application, subject only to conditions which are consistent with the operating schedule and relevant mandatory conditions in the act. This should be undertaken as a simple administrative process by the licensing authoritys officials.
If representations are made by a responsible authority or other person, it is for the licensing authority to decide whether those representations are relevant to the licensing objectives and not frivolous or vexatious. If the licensing authority decides that any representations are relevant, then it must hold a hearing to consider them.
At a hearing, the licensing authority may:
- grant the application subject to modifying conditions that are consistent with the operating schedule in a way it considers appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives
- reject one or more requested licensable activities
- reject the application
- refuse to specify a person as a designated premises supervisor
All decisions of the licensing authority, and any conditions imposed, must be appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives. If you disagree with the councils decision, you have a right of appeal to the magistrates court.
See our guidance on community involvement in licensing.
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Selling Wine Bottles On Ebay In The Uk
You can, of course, quite legally sell a bottle of wine on eBayjust not its contents. And unless the said empties are of Bordeaux First Growths such a Mouton Rothschild or Petrus, the value will not make the effort of listing on the online auction worth your while.
Believe it or not, there really is a market for empties of these top wines: rare examples of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild are particularly popular, as each year since the end of the Second World War the Chateau has commissioned different famous artists to create a piece of art for the label, making the bottles exceedingly collectible. Even Prince Charles has had a go, producing a lovely piece for the 2004 vintage!
This trade in empty fine wine bottles does have a darker side attached to it. In recent years, top wine companies have taken to destroying the empties of leading Bordeaux and Burgundy vintages after tasting events, to remove the risk of forgers refilling them with fake wines and selling them on. Top branded empty bottles destined to be fraudulently refilled have reportedly changed hands for as much as £300 a piece.
Aside from eBay, there are other online trading platforms, some of which even specialise in selling wine. Yet they still have to cope with the same issues theyre not designed with the seller in mind. There is no proactivity, they just list the wine and hope
Try finding that on eBay.
Shipping Via Personal Sales
Furthermore, its important to note that it is illegal in all states for a consumer to personally ship wine to someone else. If you were hoping to sell wine on eBay, you should know that its illegal except for pre-approved sellers. And listing alcohol on Craigslist is forbidden, with no exceptions.
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Can I Sell My Homemade Wine
Hello there! I’m Dr. Vinifera, but you can call me Vinny. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the fine points of etiquette to the science of winemaking. And don’t worry, I’m no wine snobyou can also ask me those “dumb questions” you’re too embarrased to ask your wine geek friends! I hope you find my answers educational, empowering and even amusing. And don’t forget to check out my most asked questions and my full archives for all my Q& A classics.
Dear Dr. Vinny,
Can I sell my homemade wine? What kind of license do I need to obtain to do that?
Denea, Atlanta
Dear Denea,
The good news is that federal law permits adults to make up to 100 gallons of homemade wine per calendar year if you are the only adult living in the household, and up to 200 gallons if there are two or more adults in the household. The law also allows you to take your homemade wine off premise, for personal or family use including use at organized affairs, exhibitions or competitions, such as home winemaking contests, tastings or judgings.
Guess what it says you may not do, under any circumstance? Sell it.
If that doesnt sound complicated enough, this process is currently halted due to the partial federal government shutdown.
I dont mean to be discouraging, but I want to make sure you know what youre getting into. Theres much more information at the TTBs website, including online application forms. Good luck!
Dr. Vinny
How Do I Get My Personal Licence
To gain your Personal Licence you will need to undertake training and complete an exam. You can now undertake these requirements from your own home with the online APLH course or SCPLH . Once you have been granted your award, you then submit your application for a personal licence to your local authority/council. This is the same requirement that is needed for the sale of alcohol in person. We can help you with this part of the application process as part of our service, to help ensure you gain your Personal Licence as soon as possible.
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Choose A Software Platform That Has Aged Well
Experience is an important part of choosing a business partner. As an online merchant, partnering with an experience vendor is absolutely critical for the success of your business. Ecommerce is a relatively young field, and an experienced partner means someone who has been there since the beginning.
Why 2021 Is The Perfect Year To Launch A Wine Business
We all knew that soon every business would be selling its products and services online. Some adopted this trend early, while some tend to catch up after their sales started to drop. 2021 was a disastrous year in terms of health and economic factors. Weve seen loss of countless lives as well as money, but theres always a silver lining to every gray cloud.
A quick adaptation of digitization in businesses has been the silver lining of 2021. Businesses have understood the importance of being present for their customers at the touch of a button. Several stores and small businesses were late to upgrade and have now closed for good.
If you own one of the lucky alcohol wineries or stores that are still alive or are yet to start your business journey, make sure digitization is the first thing on your mind. Although the year may seem very gloom even to try, it is still the perfect year if you plan to launch an on-demand wine delivery business.
An alcohol delivery service app does a lot more than just being a new channel of sales for alcohol drinks. It enables wine merchants to collect information about wine consumers that can be used to categorize their customers into small groups. Then these merchants can create hyper-targeted marketing strategies, offer customized deals, and give them a personalized experience via the liquor delivery app.
So, as I said earlier, make sure that digitization is the prime objective on your mind when you launch your wine business this year.
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How To Start An Online Wine Selling Business
Now, to answer the million-dollar question, how to sell wine online? Or rather, how to start a wine business that sells online?
We discussed two business models that describe the online wine selling approach. Now, it is time to understand in detail how you would build such a platform and an online wine selling brand.
Create A Brand That Appeals To Your Audience
Your brand consists of all the elements that make up your company’s identityfrom your name and your logo to your about page and website layout. Choose a site layout template that works for your brand. As you learn more about how to build a wines ecommerce website, you’ll find that customers want to create a visceral connection with your company. The more you can inspire that through your branding elements, the more loyal your customers will become.
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Using WordPress With An Ecommerce Plugin
Whereas an ecommerce builder sets some creative boundaries through its templates, WordPress when equipped with its top ecommerce plugin, WooCommerce offers unlimited creative freedom, but only if you know how to code. WooCommerce is less of a ready-out-of-the-box solution than a website builder, but it does enable you to create a truly bespoke online store.
WooCommerce is known as an open source software its free to install, but youll need to find and pay for your own web hosting, security, and website themes. Thats really simple to do, however.
If you like the sound of WordPress and WooCommerce, then youll need to find a hosting provider. WordPress itself recommends Bluehost as the best option, and we totally agree. It comes with WooCommerce-specific price plans to make your life much easier, and it boasts a brilliant server uptime to ensure your alcohol website never has any performance hiccups.
Do you wish someone would just tell you exactly which online store builder you should use? Youre in luck! Our quick and easy quiz gives you a personalized recommendation, so youll know exactly which one is best for your needs. Click below to get started
Where To Sell Your Wine Online
If you do not want to go through the stress of getting a brick and mortar location, selling your wine online is your best bet. You can either set up your own platform to market your wines, or you can partner with already established platforms online. There are really good ones that can enabke you make your listing so people can see your wine. These platforms can include
- JJ Buckley Fine Wines
While there are numerous online platforms for selling wine, one of the most convenient option is JJ Buckley Fine Wines. Their team of wine experts will guide you along each step of the selling process, from explaining what they require for your wine inventory to providing a competitive initial offer and even durable shipping materials.
While carrying out the business, they carefully inspect each item once it reaches their facility, finalizing the offer and sending payment within 10 business days.
Not only are JJ Buckley Fine Wines highly skilled wine experts, but you can sell to them whether you want to transfer one bottle or a whole collection of fine wines. And with no minimum required, your fine wine wont need to be bundled before you can contact their team.
- Naked Wines
When prospective buyers look at a wines page they will see the percentage of those who have said they would buy again a list of peoples reviews.
- Vivino
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What You Need To Know About Selling Alcohol Online
To start selling alcohol online you will require a Premises Licence that permits the sale for consumption off the premises, even if Amazon are selling and fulfilling the sale.
The Premises Licence will require a personal licence holder to be the Designated Premises Supervisor . This will be the person who will be legally responsible for each and every sale made under the licence.
It is worth mentioning that the premises licence applies to where the alcohol is distributed from and not where the telephone or internet transaction takes place.
When applying to the local licensing authority for a new licence, or varying an existing licence to allow consumption off the premises, the most important conditions you need to address will be contained within the protection of children from harm part of the application.
It is important to identify how you intend to ensure that the alcohol you are delivering does not fall into the hands of anyone who is under the age of 18.
The onus is on the applicant to prove to the various relevant authorities such as the police, trading standards and the licensing authority itself, that they have addressed any potential issues regarding the potential sale of alcohol to minors.
This can be done by offering conditions within your application which show that you have risk assessed your planned business and have identified potential issues. It is always best to be proactive when making an application.
Daily Six Hour Closure
A daily six-hour closure period applies to all packaged liquor licences granted from the 30 October 2008 onwards. The usual closure time is 11 pm to 4 am. Just like with the trading hours, it is possible to seek an amendment to the standard six-hour closure time. However, to do so, you must outline:
- why you are seeking the amendment
- the current and proposed mode of operation
- the likely impact the change will have on the business patrons and the local community
- the opinion of the local police on the proposal
- how the proposed closure period will minimise the harm associated with misuse and abuse of alcohol
- how the proposed closure period will encourage responsible attitudes and practices towards the promotion, sale, supply, service and consumption of alcohol and
- whether the proposed closure period will detract from the amenity of community life.
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How To Sell Wine At Auction
If you’re looking to sell wine at an auction, you should research if a similar wine or collection has sold recently. This will give you insight into the current wine bottle price of your wine, and if there’s enough interest. If you can’t find a price history for your wine, you may still be able to sell it. Ultimately, that decision rests on the auction house.
Next, approach multiple respected auction houses to find the best value for your wine. They will provide you with an estimate based on your collection, vintage, and condition. Once you’ve chosen the auction house, they will take over from there. You can expect to pay a seller’s fee of up to 18% when the sale is finalized.
Selling Alcohol Online From Within Queensland
In Queensland, there is no specific licence for directly selling packaged liquor over the internet to the general public. However, the sale of alcohol online is permitted under certain circumstances.
The Liquor Act and Wine Industry Act allow for specific licensees to sell alcohol online.
- Commercial hotel licensees or limited commercial special facility licensees can sell retail packaged liquor for consumption off the licensed premises to the general public. This includes online sale.
- Wine producer licensees and wine merchant licensees are permitted to sell wine to the general public for off-premises consumption . These sales may be conducted online.
- Licensees who hold a commercial other artisan producer licence may take orders for liquor produced on the licensed premises for consumption off the licensed premises, through the licensees website.
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Promote Your Wine Store
Once your website has been designed and you have included all the details and photos of your wines, start promoting your online wines store. Try submitting your products to Wine-Searcher.com and to WineZap these marketplaces will help you get traffic right away and start selling online. A Wine of the Day deal is a very effective promotional campaign, where a specific wine is offered at a heavily discounted price with the purpose of growing your customer base. In the same way, a group deal can help your business go viral.
Is It Legal To Sell Wine Online
Yes, as long as you abide by the laws in the state from which youre shipping as well as the state to which youre shipping.
Every state has its own laws about selling wine online, including which certifications and licenses it requires as well as the maximum volume that can be shipped.
Note: just because you can sell locally does not mean you can sell online.
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In Ecommerce There’s A Huge Market For Wine
Ecommerce is a bustlusiness that experts are predicting will grow leaps and bounds over the next few years. There’s plenty of room for your business in the online economy. There’s also a huge market for wine. If you’ve ever been intrigued by the prospect of working from home and being your own boss, it’s time you learn a thing or two about how to build a wines ecommerce website.
How Do I Get My Premises Licence
You will need a Premises Licence from your local council for the commercial property where the handling and dispatch of alcohol is taking place. For retailers and operators this will usually be the same place that the sale of alcohol in-person takes place, but for breweries or distilleries, for example, who do not usually sell in-person, this may be the place where you make and store alcohol normally. You will need to ensure that your Premises Licence allows for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises, so for some operators this may mean applying to the licensing authority for a new licence or a variation that would permit alcohol delivery.
You will then need to submit your Premises Licence to your local authority/council. Our team can also handle this application process for you, including making variations to an existing Premises Licence, so get in touch with us if you would like help with this.
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