A farm winery license allows the sale and delivery on wine manufactured on licensed premises and allows the licensee to:
As of July 1, 2023, there are new classifications, requirements, and fees for Farm Winery Licenses.
For Class I farm winery licensees, all of the fruits or agricultural products used by the licensee to manufacture wine shall be grown or produced on the licensed premises. Class I farm winery licensees shall have on the licensed premises a growing area no smaller than one and one-half acres that produces fruits or agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery. Class I farm winery licensees shall ferment on the licensed premises no less than 2,250 liters of wine per year, and all of the wine sold by such licensee shall be fermented on the licensed premises. The fee for this license is $275.00 annually.
Farm Winery: Class II
For Class II farm winery licensees, at least 51 percent of the fruits or agricultural products used by the licensee to manufacture wine shall be grown or produced on property in the Commonwealth that is owned or leased by the licensee and no more than 25 percent of the fruits agricultural products used by the licensee to manufacture wine shall be grown or produced outside the Commonwealth. Class II farm winery licensees shall have on the licensed premises a growing area no smaller than three acres that produces fruits or agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery. The fee for this license is: $275.00 annually.
Farm Winery: Class III
For Class III farm winery licensees, 75 percent of the fruits or agricultural products used by the licensee to manufacture wine shall be grown or produced in the Commonwealth Class III farm winery licensees ferment on the licensed premises no less than 4,500 liters of wine per year, and no less than 75 percent of the wine sold by such licensee shall be fermented on the licensed premises. The fee for this license is: $500.00 annually.
Farm Winery: Class IV
For Class IV farm winery licensees, 75 percent of the fruits or agricultural products used by the licensee to manufacture wine shall be grown or produced in the Commonwealth. Class IV farm winery licensees shall have on the licensed premises a growing area no smaller than 10 acres that produces fruits or agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery. No Class IV farm winery license shall be issued to any person that has not operated under an existing farm winery license for at least seven years. The fee for this license is: $4000.00 annually. *Any person that holds a farm winery license that was applied for prior to July 1, 2023, and granted prior to January 1, 2024, by the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority shall, until July 1, 2028, (i) be exempt from the requirements created by this act in §§ 4.1-219 and 4.1-231.1 of the Code of Virginia and (ii) remain subject to the requirements of §§ 4.1-219 and 4.1-231.1 of the Code of Virginia as those sections were in effect on June 30, 2023.
COV 4.1-100—Definition of Farm Winery
COV 4.1-206.1(6)—Manufacturer licenses
COV 4.1-219—Limitations on Class I, II, III, IV
COV 4.1-231.1A(1)(d)—Fees on state licenses
COV 4.1-233.A (1)(d)—Fees on local licenses
Completing the application may take 15–30 minutes. Average ABC processing time is 60–90 days.
To begin, view the list of industry required documents (PDF) needed to complete the application.
To apply online, click here. To apply via paper application (PDF), click here.
As a result of limitations placed on the privileges of farm winery licenses, Virginia ABC has had to reevaluate the monthly reporting requirements that each winery must complete for Tax Management. Rather than completely overhauling the current process of remitting the monthly excise tax, we ask farm wineries to continue with the current method of reporting those taxes. For clarity, please be guided by the following:
Farm wineries are not permitted to personally deliver wine sold for off-premises consumption using retail privileges. However, this does not prohibit farm wineries from continuing to sell wine at the winery for off-premises consumption, or selling wine for off-premises consumption at approved remote locations. This regulation simply does not allow a farm winery or its employees to deliver the wine to the consumer away from the winery or remote location. If you desire to ship wine to consumers via common carrier, you may apply for a shipper license.
Request for Remote License
Wholesaler's Summary of Wine Sales and Taxes (PDF)
Virginia ABC offers free online training to help managers, sellers and servers to become more responsible and better understand ABC laws, rules and regulations. For more information, contact Education and Prevention, (804) 977-7440 or [email protected].
Farm Winery