The holiday season is one of the busiest times of year for wineries. Between club shipments, gift orders, events and year-end planning, compliance can easily become one more thing on an already long list.
The good news? You don’t need to tackle everything at once.
Before holiday shipping picks up, focus on these three areas.
- 1. Check your licenses and upcoming renewals
Start with the basics: Are your licenses current everywhere you’re shipping?
Take a few minutes to review your active markets and upcoming renewal dates. Make sure the business information associated with those licenses is still accurate, too.
Because alcohol is regulated at the state level, requirements can vary significantly depending on where you’re doing business. The TTB directory of state alcohol beverage authorities is a helpful starting point for verifying current state requirements. [ttb.gov]
A little proactive housekeeping now is much easier than discovering a licensing issue when holiday orders are already coming in.
- 2. Look at where and how much you’re shipping
Holiday sales can increase shipment volume quickly, so now is a good time to review your year-to-date activity. Pay attention not only to where and how much you’re shipping, but also to the financial impact: higher sales can mean higher tax obligations. As you plan for increased sales volume, make sure you’re prepared for any additional tax payments that may arise.
Pay particular attention to the areas most likely to affect your reporting and tax obligations:
- States where volume has increased
- Customers receiving multiple shipments
- New states appearing in your order history
- Differences between your ecommerce, fulfillment and compliance records
Think of it as a quick health check rather than a major audit.
It can also tell you something useful for next year: Where is your DTC business growing?
- 3. Make sure you’re working with current rules
One of the easiest compliance mistakes is assuming that because something worked last year, the requirements are still the same.
DTC regulations continue to change. For example, Louisiana changed its wine container-size rules effective August 1, 2026, while Delaware’s DTC landscape has also been evolving this year. [freethegrapes.org]
You don’t need to memorize every regulatory change. You just need a process for checking current requirements before entering a new market or making changes to the way you ship.
Start now, thank yourself later
Year-end compliance doesn’t need to mean a giant checklist.
Start with three questions:
- Are our licenses current?
- Are we monitoring where and how much we’re shipping?
- Are we working from current requirements?
If you can answer yes to those three, you’re already in a much better position heading into holiday shipping and 2027.