Customers often ask whether they can resell their custom-label bottles. The answer depends on who the customer is. A private individual cannot resell wine; California ABC requires a permit. A restaurant or a country club can pour the wine to guests, who pay for it as part of a meal or dues; this is not a resale, it is a pour. A retailer with a license can sell the bottle; private individuals and most clubs cannot.
Restaurants and clubs
Restaurants and country clubs hold pouring licenses (ABC type 47 or 75 for restaurants, similar for clubs). The custom-label wine pours from the bar at the restaurant's listed glass price. The wine is not retailed; it is poured. The structural arrangement is unchanged from the restaurant's standard wine program.
Resale by clubs as a sale
If a country club wants to sell unopened bottles to its members, the club needs the appropriate California ABC type 21 (off-sale general) or a similar arrangement. Most clubs do not have this license and do not pursue it. The pour model serves the purpose; resale is rare in country-club programs.
Corporate gift programs
Corporate gift programs are not resale, they are gifting. The corporate sender purchases the bottles from us and gives them to recipients without payment exchange. The federal alcohol regulations do not prohibit gifting; only resale is restricted. Corporate gift programs are entirely outside the resale framework.
Our role
We sell wholesale to the licensed operator (restaurant, club, hotel) or retail to the private individual buyer (family, wedding, gift sender). The license verification happens at the start of any commercial relationship. Private customers do not need a license. Commercial customers need to provide their state license at the start of the engagement.