178:8 Wine Manufacturer License. –
I. Wine manufacturer licensees may ferment fruit or other agricultural products containing sugar to produce table wine, and to produce from that wine fortified wine.
II. Each wine manufacturer in this state shall have the right to sell and to transport and deliver wines manufactured by it directly to the holders of on-premises or off-premises licenses issued by the commission. No wine manufactured in this state by any manufacturer shall be sold or delivered in this state in any manner which is inconsistent with the provisions of this title.
III. Each wine manufacturer shall have the right to sell at retail or wholesale at its winery, and at retail at one wine manufacturer retail outlet, for off-premises consumption any of its wines. The wine manufacturer shall pay an annual fee of $216 to the commission for the wine manufacturer retail outlet. The wine manufacturer may transport wines it manufactures to its wine manufacturer retail outlet for sample or sale. Visitors of legal drinking age at the manufacturing location or wine manufacturer retail outlet may be provided with samples of wine manufactured by the licensee in this state for tasting. A wine manufacturer may either provide samples for free or for a fee which shall be limited to one 2-ounce sample per label or one 5-ounce glass per person. At such times as food is available, a wine manufacturer may serve no more than 2 5-ounce glasses per person in any areas approved by the commission. For the purpose of this section, food and non-alcoholic beverages may be provided by a properly-licensed third party food vendor, prepared on or off the premises. Pursuant to rules adopted by the commission, a wine manufacturer may transport its products to a farmers' market or a wine festival licensed under RSA 178:31, and may sell such products at retail in the original container.
IV. Each wine manufacturer shall maintain records and prepare reports for the commission which shall indicate the sales made under this section and shall pay to the commission monthly a fee equal to 5 percent of such sales on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the sale.
V. Each wine manufacturer shall have the right to transport wines manufactured by it to the state border for transportation and sale outside the state.
VI. Each wine manufacturer shall have the right to hire sales representatives subject to RSA 179:11 as it desires, and shall have the right to solicit sales of its wines directly to retail licensees.
VII. The holder of a wine manufacturer license, or designee, may be issued an on-premises license at the discretion of the commission. The annual fee each license issued under this section shall be as required under RSA 178:29.
VIII. For an additional annual fee of $120, any wine manufacturer licensee may transport its products to a nano brewery licensed under RSA 178:12-a, for the purpose of sampling or selling its products. Samples may be sold or given away. Retail sales made at the nano brewery shall be limited to products in their unopened original containers and to customers and persons of legal drinking age. Wine manufacturers shall be subject to the following additional limitations under this section:
(a) Wine manufacturer licensees shall be limited to one sampling event per day.
(b) Sampling and sales of the wine manufacturer licensee's products shall conform to the normal business hours of the nano brewery licensee.
(c) Sample sizes shall be limited to one 4-ounce glass per person if no food is available and 2 4-ounce glasses if food is available.
(d) Wine manufacturer licensee products brought to a sampling event shall be brought to the nano brewery on the day of the event and all such products shall be removed at the end of the event.
(e) Wine manufacturer licensees shall notify the commission of date, times, and location of each sampling event not less than 5 days before each event.
Source. 2003, 231:13. 2011, 165:1. 2012, 142:2, eff. June 7, 2012. 2015, 9:3, eff. July 1, 2015. 2017, 123:2, eff. July 1, 2017. 2018, 285:1, eff. June 21, 2018. 2019, 34:2, eff. May 15, 2019. 2023, 202:3, eff. Jan. 1, 2024.