Winery compliance is  (more often than not) a conundrum. A conundrum is defined as “a difficult and intricate problem”. I think most winery staff who have had the responsibility of trying to figure out their winery’s TTB 702 report filings, excise taxes or label approvals would agree with me. So if you’re reading this and nodding in agreement, know that you’re definitely not alone. We’ve all been there. (Or still are!) I was there myself once upon a time!

Add to this “conundrum” nature of winery compliance the fact that it is just one item on the long list of overall responsibilities held by the winery staff  who manage it.

What does this mean for most wineries? They combine this “difficult and intricate problem”  with not a lot of time to learn how to solve it and that adds up to improper record keeping, incorrectly filed reports, claiming TTB tax credits they don’t qualify for and wine labels that are out of compliance. These are the most common scenarios I see and hear about firsthand from winery staff in all parts of the country. So TTB compliance remains on some level a constant conundrum that hovers in the background for winery owners and staff, leaving them feeling ill at ease and often vulnerable to being audited.

I think at the end of the day the winery staff that are responsible for managing any required TTB filings would like to have a sense of confidence around it. Confidence that you know you’re filing your numbers correctly, paying taxes at the rate you qualify for and that your wine labels would pass TTB review. (just to name a few!)

There are some fairly simple ways this can be achieved. A brief checklist to begin with, which will start a winery down the path of assessing the key problem areas associated with TTB audits, and whether or not their winery is at issue for them. From there they can begin to fill any holes they may have in the different areas of their TTB compliance.

I’ve created a brief questionnaire wineries can use to start this process which can be accessed here:

5 Step Winery Compliance Self Check

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