Hey all,
Any recommendations on a group that can help you navigate all of the paperwork and compliance issues with the ABC, TTB, etc?
Looking for cost effective 
Thanks!
Tim
Tim - it’a not that hard. Do a little research (I believe the TTB has all the paperwork compiled in a downloadable packet). You will make errors at one point on your basic permit application, but I found the TTB very easy to work with. CA ABC is pretty straight forward too. Just takes time. No need to pay someone to do it on your scale.
Plus, when you finally get your permits and licenses, it will be much more satisfying!
I agree with Hank that it is doable and time consuming. I would go with a company if you have a time crunch as they tend to get it right the first time. We did our own for Foursight starting in January and did not get it all taken care of until the following January. We were lucky enough that the facility we were making it at kept it under their bond until we could legally take possession of it once permits were in place doing a 02 there via AP.
Compliance connection is who I have used in the past. Not sure how cheap they are but they are good and fast. Linda Fox has been great to work with. There out of Santa Rosa.
I started my Fed paperwork in January of 2008, and had everything done and all licenses (ABC, CDFA, etc) by the end of June of that year.
Most of that time was spent waiting for replies.
I forgot to mention we all still had full time plus day jobs so we could have been better/faster. We had some delays with family members (all 6 of us) for the full hand scan at the Sheriffs office as well.
I know labels got approved with in 2 weeks back in 2008, now its up to a couple of months. I do recall waiting on the guberment for replies and assume there taking longer now that in years past.
Someone who does this for a living I am sure knows what the current average completion times are. The state stuff can be slower if your in the area covered by the of the Santa Rosa Office. I know state times are faster in areas with less permits being processed. Looks like Livermore reports to the Oakland office.
We outsource our compliance to
It is worth $ to us to do it right and quickly.
Also, Drea started Wine Compliance Academy – DH Wine Compliance I sat through her first class yesterday and I it was great.
Hank and Joe - thanks for those words of encouragement. Ok, I’ll dig in and figure it out. They have an online process now and I couldn’t get past the first page because I don’t have an EIN number yet 
Joe - can’t wait to try the wines, very interested in whole cluster Pinot. It’s what I plan to keep making, love what it brings to the table.
Hank - I am thankful I ordered an extra bottle of each wine. Adored both of them.
Hardy, thank you. If I can’t do it on my own, this is a great recommendation.
Thanks for the order, that wine is called Zero as it saw 0% new oak. In that vintage we filled the T-bins (.8-1 ton open top fermentor) about half way with whole clusters and put destemmed fruit on top to fill the fermentor. Roughly 33% by weight whole cluster.
Enjoy and good luck!
BTW if you need help finding a small amount of PN I may know a couple of vineyards who work with micro producers that may have a couple tons available but PN is not cheap up here average last year was $3,800/ton, this year I assume closer to $4,000 as new sources are getting harder to come by with the big boys still making big moves up here.
Tim - We used a compliance company Compli that Brian Loring recommended to me. In the end we probably could have done it all ourselves but I think it went faster using them. I’ve seen people try to do it on their own and literally never be able to get it finished. You’re smarter and more disciplined than those people but it still has its challenges to do it on your own. I felt like at the time, and still feel now that it’s worth the money to me to have someone else guide us through license changes.
thanks for the compliment Paul and thank you for that referral!
i’ll call them and see what their services cost and have that ready to go. If its a few hundred bucks, it might just be worth it for me. a grand or more and I’m thinking I will just try it on my own. Time isn’t an issue for me, I have plenty of time.
I found a great way to motivate ourselves to get it done, sign a couple grape contracts. Last year we started the Fed paperwork in May and submitted in June. We had Federal approval in August and ABC in September, just in time for harvest. I felt it was a lot like doing your taxes, the actual filling out the paperwork isn’t bad once you have all the back end in order. The online filing is a little faster than before (or so I was told) and getting it done as complete as possible minimizes the back and forth. We did call and email both Fed and State workers assigned to our review to check on status. Not sure how much this expedited the process but I believe it did. Personally, I would rather do the Fed and State filing myself and pay for expertise in accounting, label design, and website development. Of course if you can outsource all those things, great, but with the negative cash flow of starting a wine label, it helps to do what you can.
How to make a small fortune with a new winery?
Start with a large one.
A cliche because it has truth.
Man, I hear you on this. I’m loving the minimum tax you need to pay California as an LLC. So, new business, lose money in the first year or two to get it started. Well, state of California wants you to lose even more by paying a minimum tax of $800. That one is really chaping my arse.
That’s why I am starting out with micro production. Only putting in what I am willing to lose.
I’m also kinda viewing this as a résumé builder, want to career transition away from the world of MBAs in consumer packaged goods to the wine biz. Hoping this helps with the transition somehow.
I second Drea. She is wonderful. Couldn’t do it without her. Super helpful.