by Krista Walton
Wineries, distilleries, and breweries often want to send samples to out-of-state distributors to promote their product. While it would seem easy to ship a small sample to a potential buyer, there are several restrictions that apply. Federal regulations state that someone within the alcohol industry may give a sample to a distributor who has not purchased the brand within the past year. Each state has their own regulations regarding sending samples. Some follow the one year restriction as outlined by federal regulations, while others lengthen the time.
Federal regulations also provide size restrictions on how much of any brand may be sent to a distributor. Wine and distilled spirits have a limit of 3 liters per brand and beer or malt beverages have a limit of 3 gallons per brand. Federal law does allow larger samples if the product is not available in a size within the size limitations. If so, then the next larger size may be furnished. Most states have quantity limits that are much smaller than the federal regulations outline. Often the limit is 750 ml for wine, distilled spirits and malt beverages, but some states only allow 50 ml of the product to be sent for sampling.
Federal regulations do not have any other restrictions, but several states do. For example, several states require the samples to be labeled as samples and often require specific phrases to be clearly marked on the bottles. Other state regulations apply to who may consume the samples, who may transport the samples, and how records of each sample show be kept.
More often than not regulations pertaining to shipping samples are not clear and are hard to locate in the state’s liquor code. The Compli team has diligently researched these regulations with our partners in the legal community so don’t hesitate to call or email us with specific questions toll free (877) 255-1440 and info@compli-beverage.com
For more information on federal regulations see Title 27 CFR Part 6.91 as seen here: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=6ce02a937c2464e842b699e05c4c20c3&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title27/27cfr6_main_02.tpl