Direct Wine Wholesalers

• Direct Wine Wholesalers List

     The Comptroller's office shall issue a permit to a non-Maryland wine manufacturer, duly licensed in another state, upon application.  The annual permit fee is $10.  Once the permit is obtained, the direct wine seller can accept orders from Maryland consumers for wine not already distributed in Maryland through a Maryland wine wholesaler.  There are Maryland wine wholesalers who are experienced at arranging such transactions.  A list of participating wine wholesalers can be found through the link provided above. 

     The wine must be delivered through a Maryland wine wholesaler to a Maryland retailer where the consumer can arrange to pick up the product.  The direct wine seller, who holds the permit, files an annual return with the Comptroller and pays the tax due on any Maryland sales.  The direct wine seller may not sell more than a total of 900 liters of wine or more than 108 liters of wine to a single consumer in a given permit year.  The direct wine seller may only ship product prepaid to a designated Maryland wholesaler through a public carrier who holds a valid public transportation permit to transport alcoholic beverages in Maryland. 

     The wine wholesaler and retailer are permitted to add on a service charge of $2 per bottle to a maximum of $4 per shipment and $5 per bottle to a maximum of $10 per shipment respectively.  The authority for these provisions can be found in Section 7.5 of Article 2B of the Annotated Code of Maryland.  Additionally, administrative release AB-23 provides detailed procedures and responsibilities to the direct wine seller, the Maryland wine wholesaler and the Maryland consumer.