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Can An Unlicensed Person Sell Their Vintage Wine?

November 11, 2010 By Lauren Tyson 6 Comments

I was browsing CraigsList today and ran across this post in the discussion forum.

“Can someone please advise me where to sell a rare bottle of wine? It is a Mostagel Velho de Torna-Viagem is stamped with Rio De Janeiro 1922. I have done some research on the bottle and found some interesting stuff, I’ve even seen a bottle selling on a Portugese website for 1800 euros. I’ve already tried eBay but can’t post without a liquor license.”

What I told the person is that he may sell his vintage bottle of wine under the following conditions:

23104.6. (a) Any nonlicensed person owning bottled vintage wine purchased by that person at retail, is authorized to sell that wine to a licensee authorized to sell that wine if each bottle has a permanently affixed label stating that the wine was acquired from a private collection.

(b) “Vintage wine,” as used in this section, means bottled white, rose, or sparkling wine which is not less than five years old or bottled red wine which is not less than 10 years old. (California Business & Professions Code)

A first step might be to contact a company like Wine Societies, which “provides direct online channels for wineries to sell all wine and fine wine collectors to sell vintage wine to California licensed buyers of alcohol.”

Where alcoholic beverages are involved, there is a law for most every situation. Knowing what the laws are, and how they apply to you, is the key to staying safe and legal.

Filed Under: LAWS & LEGISLATION Tagged With: vintage wine, wine, wine collectors, wineries

Comments

  1. Lauren Tyson says

    February 4, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    Hi Mike,
    Each state has its own set of liquor laws. I’d be happy to look into this for you.
    Please send me an email if you’d like to retain me to do the research.

  2. Mike says

    February 4, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    My father had a sealed bottle of 1978 vintage Maccallan scotch. I do not have a liquor license and live in Pennsylvania. Am I legally allowed to sell it?

    Thank you.
    Regards
    Mike

  3. Lauren Tyson says

    February 16, 2018 at 6:04 pm

    Wayne,
    I know of no provision in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (liquor laws) that provides an exception for the scenario you describe. I checked with my friend and Federal law expert, Richard Gahagan, and he said, “Federally speaking, the sale of one bottle of rum is not ‘engaged in the business.'” However, as I said, the ABC Act does not address this issue, which means it’s not permitted. Thank you for your question.

  4. Wayne Vardaman says

    February 16, 2018 at 2:59 pm

    We have a bottle of Bacardi that we would like to find a buyer. And how to legally do it. According to the “logo” it is year 1910, bottled in Santiago de Cuba. This would be before prohibition. Any help to begin the process would be greatly appreciated.

  5. liquorlicenseadvisor says

    July 12, 2012 at 10:16 am

    Kevin,
    As you know, each state has a different set of liquor laws. And unless there is a specific law permitting a licensee (e.g., a restaurant) to do something, they cannot do it. A quick search of NY state liquor laws did not reveal any references to vintage beer. Also, just because a licensee is doing something, it doesn’t mean they are doing it legally. Many licensees may not be aware what they’re doing is not permitted. Or maybe they know and are doing it anyway. The three-tier system is the way alcoholic beverages are sold throughout the U.S. This means a retailer (i.e., a restaurant, must buy his stock of alcoholic beverages from a licensed supplier (manufacturer or distributor). The three-tier system is important, among other reasons, to preserve the safety and integrity of the product going to the end consumer. Hope this helps. Lauren

  6. Kevin says

    July 12, 2012 at 5:33 am

    Hi,

    This case is interesting to me because I am curious how it could relate to selling “vintage” beer in New York State. A restaraunt, The Gramercy Tavern, offers a “vintage” beer list. Here a link: http://www.gramercytavern.com/_media/uploads/cocktail_beer.pdf
    If possible I was curious how this is being legally accomplished and if it would be governed by the same rules as wine in the instance due to the bottles being “vintage”. I also would be curious if they are able to acquire the beer through a private collection because as far as I know that is not possible in NYS. Thank you for any response.

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Lauren C. Tyson is a professional liquor license consultant with 29 years of experience at the California Alcoholic Beverage Control as an investigator, supervising investigator, and district administrator. She is a recognized expert in liquor licensing, liquor law enforcement  and responsible alcohol service. Read More…

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