Store
A farm winery license allows the sale and delivery on wine manufactured on licensed premises and allows the licensee to:
- acquire and receive deliveries and shipments of wine
- sell wine at retail for on and off premises consumption
- store wine in bonded warehouses located on or off the licensed premises with approved permits
- sell brands of wine other than their own, acquired through wholesale, for on and off-premises consumption
- operate a contract winemaking facility
- ship wine to licensed wholesalers for resale.
Fee(s)
At least 51% of fruits or agricultural products used by licensee to manufacture wine are grown or produced on such farm. No more than 25 percent of the fruits, fruit juices or other agricultural products shall be grown or produced outside the Commonwealth.—$245 (Classification A)
75% of fruits or agricultural products used by licensee to manufacture wine are grown or produced in the Commonwealth. No more than 25 percent of the fruits, fruit juices or other agricultural products shall be grown or produced outside the Commonwealth. NOTE: Must have operated under an existing Virginia farm winery license for at least seven years.—$4,730 (Classification B)
References
COV 4.1-206.1(6)—Manufacturer licenses
COV 4.1-231.1A(1)(d)—Fees on state licenses
COV 4.1-233.A (1)(d)—Fees on local licenses
Apply for This License
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.
Additional Guidelines
Monthly Reporting
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:
- Wines that are reported by farm wineries on the monthly Wholesaler's Summary of Wine Sales and Taxes (PDF) shall only be those wines that have been transferred to the farm winery retail operation.
- A purchase order must be executed and submitted to the Tax Management Section when the wines are transferred to your retail side.
- Any wines that are sold to a wholesaler for distribution to other retail outlets must be sold on a purchase order and those purchase orders must be submitted to Tax Management by the wholesaler.
Shipping and Common Carriers
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.
Related Forms
Request for Remote License
Wholesaler's Summary of Wine Sales and Taxes (PDF)
The information on this page does not in any way replace or supersede what is listed in Title 4.1 of the Code of Virginia or Title 3 of the Administrative Code of Virginia. It is the responsibility of every individual or business applying for a license or permit to review, in detail, the applicable sections of the code.
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Need Help?
Special agents are the primary resource for questions related to operating a business with an ABC license. Contact a special agent via your regional ABC office. For step-by-step assistance in banquet licensing, see our Licensing Wizard.Training
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 education@virginiaabc.com.
Definitions
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Farm Winery
