shipping question

[mb24]

am trying to have wine shipped from CA to residence in OH for personal consumption, am told i need to obtain a license in OH. not a liquor license obviously, a permit of some kind perhaps. any information appreciated

[wineguruchgo]

Hello Mb24,

Welcome to the wineboard.

I'm not sure why they won't ship to you. Here is a link to a place in California that does customized labels. Can't vouch for the wines, but it gives you the map of the states that allow shipment and Ohio is one of them.

Very strange. The last resort is to ask your local retailer to bring in the bottles for you. Sure you'll pay an upcharge, but it will probably be less than shipping anyway. Most retailers are happy to oblige since it's a guaranteed sale.

http://www2.signaturewines.com/sw/code/swines/catalog.php?inc=landing_sr.php&t=moreinfo

[This message has been edited by wineguruchgo (edited 03-01-2004).]

[Innkeeper]

According to the map on the Free The Grapes website, and those folks keep close track of things, Ohio is a state where: "Direct shipments via common carrier is prohibited." http://www.freethegrapes.org/wine_lovers.html#laws

Recommend you discuss with the winery the possibility of using a third party shipper. It may cost you a little more money, but not as much as a special license. As WGC pointed out, you could also use your local retailer as the third party. One caution there is that the retailer's hands may be tied by the wholesale distributors. If they don't handle the wine, your retailer can't get it.

[Kcwhippet]

One problem in Ohio is that once you get yourself stuck in the system, you are stuck. Ohio has minimum prices on wines to protect the distributors turf, and all wines must go through a distributor before the retailer, and before the consumer. As a result, Ohio has the highest mandated minimum retail prices in the country. I'm pretty sure that license mb24 is referring to is the consent form (and fee) Ohio requires for bringing in wine from a foreign country. They stil prohibit direct domestic shipment.