Lawmakers consider changes to direct-shipping rules to broaden wine options for restaurants

Senate Bill 5-63 would adjust direct-shipping rules to allow more wine to reach New Hampshire restaurants and consumers, with sponsors saying the change would help small wineries by creating direct channels and increasing wine diversity.

Steve Dupree said many small California wineries produce only a few hundred cases and cannot afford wholesale distribution. He proposed raising per-product thresholds or offering exemptions so restaurants and hotels could access scarce, high-quality wines without forcing producers to sell large volumes to the state. "If you could sign up for $10 on a website and ship me 50 cases a year...they would do it all day long," Dupree said.

Representatives of wine and spirits brokers and the Liquor Commission warned that New Hampshire already has a robust direct-shipping system, with statutory caps designed to protect the representative distribution system. Mark Armaganian and Matthew Culver described existing permit counts (1,259 direct shippers), threshold triggers (12 nine-liter cases per consumer and a 600-liter product trigger), and an administrative path for exceptions via commission review. Culver said the commission has a safety valve allowing permission to exceed caps when products are not already sold in the state.

Brokers cautioned a new license or a higher surcharge could add administrative burdens and weaken existing compliance advantages. Dupree acknowledged implementation tradeoffs and said penalties and inspection mechanisms could deter underreporting. The committee closed the hearing on the bill after discussion.