Some laws no longer apply to newcomers. And as mentioned, each state is different. CA allowed folks like Rare Wine Company, Kermit Lynch, etc., to import and retail. I don’t know if that’s still the case or not. And they also allow multiple sites for a single owner, which is why K&L has several locations.
NY is different entirely. You can only have one location, so people open additional places in the name of their wives, brother in law, parents, etc. And you can’t import and retail. Most of what people call “direct import” is actually done through importers. As I mentioned, it’s more like pre-ordering. I tried doing exactly what the OP is trying to do in NY. Washington is different yet again. I don’t know the details of Garagiste, but I believe in WA you can get a retail license even if you import, but you can’t be a distributor as well. That’s why he always says no sales to retailers.
Again, every state is different and you need to look at the local laws as well as the duties and taxes on the federal, state, and local levels. What works in one state is often quite illegal in another.
Yeah, it’s frustrating. The laws are meant to prevent a few guys from getting together and buying wine as a group. And there’s a real maze of laws and regulations and licenses. In some states you can do tastings in a store, in others you have to charge, so Total Wine charges five cents a taste, and in others you just can’t do it at all. I suppose if you were to get together a sizeable enough group, you might be able to organize a kind of co-op buying organization? Specific individuals would have to hold the various licenses and permits.
If you look at the back labels of many of the wines that Garagiste sells, they come through the authorized U.S. Importer. For example, the Huet bottle I’m looking at was imported by Rare Wine Co. I assume (but don’t know for sure) that they ultimately buy those wines from whoever the corresponding distributor is who partners with that importer. If I remember correctly, WA state retailers no longer need to buy from a WA state distributor, so I would guess that Garagiste buys some from local distributors, and some from larger out-of-state distributors who give better pricing.
However, some Garagiste wines list “Free Run, LLC” as importer. I believe they are essentially a “captive” import brand (run by someone who has the appropriate licences) who clears those wines on behalf of Garagiste. I’ve forgotten now who owns Free Run, but my recollection is that it’s someone who had been running a WA state importer/distributor.
Of course, I don’t have any special knowledge of the exact details of their business arrangements, so take all of the above with a big grain of salt.