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Plato

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Not sure if its just me but do any of you have those friends that are all about your wine so long as its free. They call you up " hey man come over and bring some wine":b. I thought why not start selling it because my friends seem to like it. Then you never hear from them again about it. I think I have come to the realization that they only love it when its free. So this isnt all bad the less I sell the more I can age and enjoy.:r
 
I know what you mean - but if you can trade your wine for food, then that's something. Like if you and your wine are invited over for dinner, but everyone else pays for dinner.

You can turn that situation around if you can get one or two of your friends who are not quite so free-loader-ish to pay for the kit/grapes/frozen juice (or most of the cost) and, after you make it into wine, split it 50/50 with them (or some other proportion). You get to make the wine and keep a good portion while they get some great wine at a fraction of the commercial cost, and made to order.
 
Bartman, i hate to tell you...But in Texas, we can not trade are give wine to any one, according to TABC.
we can make 200 gallons per year, which has to be consumed on the premise where it was made, It can not be transported to your next door neighbor, are the guy down the street.
dont belive me...check texas tabc....
 
Illegal to sell wine without proper licensure in KY, all about taxes. We can transport to neighbors, etc. No bartering either. 'Personal use'.
 
Saramc, I have good friends in Kentucky, go there at least once a year, I love it, and heck, I forget about my wine, I'm digging the Kentucky Kool Aid (Apple Pie, is my favorite...lol)
 
Bartman, i hate to tell you...But in Texas, we can not trade are give wine to any one, according to TABC.
we can make 200 gallons per year, which has to be consumed on the premise where it was made, It can not be transported to your next door neighbor, are the guy down the street.
dont believe me...check texas tabc....

Ya know, I have read about different states ABC (alcoholic beverage commission , or Texas ABC - TABC), for years, but never bothered to look up the actual law in Texas. Having done so now (including both the TABC code and administrative rules), I can find no reference to transport of home-made wine. Here's all I could find about home-made wine in Texas statutory law:

Sec. 109.21. HOME PRODUCTION OF WINE, ALE, MALT LIQUOR, OR BEER. (a) The head of a family or an unmarried adult may produce for the use of his family or himself not more than 200 gallons of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer, per year. No license or permit is required.
(b) The commission may prohibit the use of any ingredient it finds detrimental to health or susceptible of use to evade this code. Only wine made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of the juices of dandelions or grapes, raisins, or other fruits may be produced under this section. Only ale, malt liquor, or beer made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of malted barley with hops, or their products, and with or without other malted or unmalted cereals, may be produced under this section. The possession of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer produced under this section is not an offense if the person making it complies with all provisions of this section and the wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer is not distilled, fortified, or otherwise altered to increase its alcohol content.
(c) There is no annual state fee for beverages produced in compliance with this section.
Sec. 109.22. DELIVERY OF HOME-PRODUCED WINE, ALE, MALT LIQUOR, OR BEER FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. (a) This section applies only to a person who is authorized under Section 109.21(a) to produce wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer.
(b) For the purpose of participating in an organized tasting, evaluation, competition, or literary review, a person to whom this section applies may deliver wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer produced and manufactured by the person to locations that are not licensed under this code for the purpose of submitting those products to an evaluation at an organized tasting competition that is closed to the general public or by a reviewer whose reviews are published if:
(1) no charge of any kind is made for the wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer, for its delivery, or for attendance at the event; and
(2) the commission consents in writing to the delivery.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize an increase in the quantity of wine, ale, malt liquor, or beer authorized to be produced by a person under the authority of Section 109.21(a) of this code.


Now, if you want to take an expansive view of this, you could say the only permissible 'delivery' of home-made wine by unlicensed home winemakers is to a wine-tasting event/competition. But what if your family member/friend comes to your home and picks it up? Which is usually how I handle it - I'm too cheap and lazy to drive it all across town! :h
 
Thats old, they have new laws pertaining to wine, wine shipments,delivery, etc...dont belive me, cal TABC, 888-843-8222
 
Thats old, they have new laws pertaining to wine, wine shipments,delivery, etc...don't believe me, cal TABC, 888-843-8222
That's the "Complaint Line" (as labeled on the Contact Us page), and it converts to 888-THE-TABC. That used to be a clever way of choosing a phone number, but who calls the TABC from a landline these days? If I called them, what should I ask about?

I checked the Legislative Update link for 2013 changes - what sort of new laws are you referring to? I know of the changes/liberalization of the laws for Brewpubs/craft beermakers (so they can sell onsite and as packages), which is good for them, but don't recall any changes in winemaking rules (except some tweaks to commercial winery rules).

(Sorry for thread-jacking, but this has me intrigued).
 
ask them about taking home made wine off premise, like to your neighbors are something...i will try to find what i read for you...but
if they do not see u they will not know...
 
I doubt there is a law officer of any type in Texas that knows as much as we now do about home wine and beer laws in the Lone Star State. All we need to do is keep our mouth shut if questioned and plead ignorant. Btw the only place I have ever seen a TABC officer is hiding out across the street from liquor stores.
 
No need to worry about individual state laws against selling homemade wine. It's against federal law to sell, barter, trade, etc.
 
Not sure if its just me but do any of you have those friends that are all about your wine so long as its free. They call you up " hey man come over and bring some wine":b. I thought why not start selling it because my friends seem to like it. Then you never hear from them again about it. I think I have come to the realization that they only love it when its free. So this isnt all bad the less I sell the more I can age and enjoy.:r

I am just the opposite. I give my wine away as holiday gift to family and close friends. I also will bring a bottle when invited over. When people are over I have them try it and get some honest criticism.

That being said I have a mother in law and uncle who love my wine and tell me it is "very drinkable".

Otherwise when I go over to friend's houses, I will find my bottles still on the shelf.
I do give instructions when I hand them out that you have to drink them within a year!

Of course most of my friends and especially my wife's friends are wine snobs, but for $10 sub-par wine!

But now I am winning people over with DB and my Cab Franc!
 
No need to worry about individual state laws against selling homemade wine. It's against federal law to sell, barter, trade, etc.
Yeah, I would think federal law and the ATF would trump whatever the state laws are. Seems the state law I have run across closely tracks federal laws on volume permitted and definitions of alcoholic beverages, and it is permissible for "personal or family" consumption. Obviously, the point is to not sell it without paying taxes or to trade/barter so much of it as to be an underground market. I cannot believe the Feds or anybody else cares if you trade bottles of homemade wine for other people's wine or even as 'compensation' for neighborly acts (like house-sitting, dog-sitting, etc.).
 
I know you can ship it to a competition in another state. How does the state look at that?
Federal law and state laws have exceptions to transport for a few purposes "including use at organized affairs, exhibitions or competitions, such as home winemaker's contests, tastings or judgings,..." 27 CFR 24.75
 
I know you can't sell it at all per federal law. not sure if there is a limit to how much you can make. I'm sure I have not or will not go over that amount what ever it is.. I have so far had friends and family taste it, took it to dinners and picnics. I have given bottles away. Mostly I will give it as a gift or as a thank you to a friend who has been generous and given me a nice stash of empty bottles to use. I have once close friend that has a little better flair for design than me that helped me craft a label and bottle a few batches that has taken a bottle home every time.

I don't feel taken advantage of I like the comments and all about the wines I have done and I do enjoy being able to go to friends or family for dinner and bring a wine to share. I after all make it for it to be drank and enjoyed so knowing it is being enjoyed and appreciated makes me happy.

one thing I wonder about is taking it to a restaurant that allows BYOB or will let you bring in your own for a corking fee how that will fly. BYOB I'm sure will go fine.
 
the laws are crazy now in this country about everything.
if i was in elementary school now, and did the things i did when i was really in elementary school i would be arrested for bullying,abuse,terrorism,treason,and many other things. we were allowed to use cap guns on the playground...now..you would be arrested.
 

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