Can you send wine in the mail

A good retailer will know these rules. When you're sending something closer to home, you have one more shipping option: use alcohol e-commerce sites, such as Drizly or Minibar for example, to mail your friend a congratulatory bottle of wine or a thank-you six-pack of beer by taking advantage of their in-town delivery options, some free. When your booze crosses state borders, "you need to consider the laws for both the shipping state and the receiving state," says Weinberg.

So, for example, if you'd like to send a bottle of wine from a visit along Pennsylvania's wine trail to a relative in Mississippi, don't waste your time or your money. While it's perfectly legal to mail wine from this northern state, it's also perfectly illegal to receive wine shipments in Mississippi. In other words, Mississippi is not a reciprocal state, a state in which you can receive alcohol shipments from other states or countries, explains Lekkala.

You can read more about reciprocal states and other out-of-state shipment rules here. Of course, there's an easy way around these convoluted laws, too. Most—though not all—alcohol that can be purchased in one state can be found somewhere in another, so if you're dying to ship your brother a new brew, hit the web first to see if you can find a retailer in his state that carries the beverage, recommends Lekkala.

It will be much easier to provide a credit card number over the phone than try to send that brew between states. You've fallen in love with a Bordeaux produced at a small French vineyard, and you can't imagine life without this fruity concoction. Unluckily for you, however, "once you're changing countries, [shipping alcohol] gets exponentially more difficult," says Weinberg. First, Weinberg advises, you will have to "make sure the product can be legally shipped into the destination without a permit.

Simply so, what happens if you send alcohol in the mail? Because FedEx and UPS are licensed to ship alcohol , it's only a violation of company policy to ship alcohol. However, using the USPS to ship alcohol is illegal, and the ramifications of getting caught are far worse. One may also ask, how do you ship a bottle of wine? If you would like to send someone wine , you will need to buy wine through a licensed company.

Fortunately, there are many companies that can send fine vintages, bottles , gift baskets, and club memberships to your recipient. Select from a wide range of products to find the perfect gift for your friend or loved one. USPS does not allow for the mailing or shipment of alcohol, domestically or internationally. On top of this, if you are using packaging that was once used to carry alcohol, any and all labeling or branding that shows it could carry alcohol should be covered or else your package can be denied shipment.

Alcohol can only be shipped from a licensee to another licensee. Note— FedEx Alcohol Shipping agreement may be required each time for every shipment containing alcohol item. Shipping Carriers for Wine. Can you ship alcohol as a gift? Is it a felony to ship alcohol?

The United States Postal Service strictly prohibits shipping alcohol. FedEx and UPS only allow shipment if you carry a proper license to manufacture, sell, distribute, or otherwise import alcohol.

He is passionate about writing content that empowers people to improve their careers, save more money, and achieve financial independence. Home » Save Money. Advertiser Disclosure Advertiser Disclosure We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Financial Wellness Save More Money. Keep Reading. Drew Housman Contributor. As seen in:. If you want to mail a bottle of wine to a friend across town, you only have to consider your local liquor laws.

Sending wine as a gift to someone in another state puts two different jurisdictions into play. Between Prohibition and the year , the decision about who could ship wine and where it could be shipped was left up to state legislatures, leaving regulations in the tangled mess that was as predictable as it was confusing. In , the Supreme Court took on the issue in the Granholm v. Heald decision, which ruled on the unconstitutionality of states discriminating between out-of-state and in-state wineries when deciding who can sell and ship wine to consumers.

Today's retail wine landscape is a confusing one, with a tangled list of laws applying to both wineries and out-of-state wine retailers. The legality of shipping from one state to another depends on who is doing the shipping, where the wine is being shipped from, and what state it's going to. It's applied fairly across the board, but the law requires you to research rules pertaining to your particular transaction to find a legal way to get the wine to your gift recipient.

Mailing wine as a gift isn't technically legal anywhere in the United States, as it's illegal to send alcohol in any form through the U. The USPS prohibits the mailing of alcohol, either domestically or to foreign countries. Wine must be shipped through commercial carriers. In both cases, the shipper must have an account with the shipping company, the wine must be properly packaged to help prevent breakage, the packages must be clearly labeled as containing alcohol, and the final delivery cannot be completed unless an adult over the age of 21 can sign for the package.

You can't pick up your favorite bottle of wine in your local store and pop it in the mail for your best friend across the country, not if you want to avoid breaking multiple federal laws.

There are multiple options for getting that wine or at least one she might like just as much to her in a legal way. You'll have to use a go-between, but that can also include expert advice on choosing great wines that you and your friend might enjoy on future occasions.

Have you fallen in love with a certain type of wine because you took a winery tour and enjoyed the free samples they gave out?