Wine Specialty Shop

Wine Specialty Shop, as defined by West Virginia statutes, means a retailer who shall deal principally in the sale of table wine, nonfortified dessert wines, wine accessories and food or foodstuffs normally associated with wine and: (1) Who shall maintain a representative number of such wines for sale in his or her inventory which are designated by label as varietal wine, vintage, generic and/or according to region of production and the inventory shall contain not less than fifteen percent vintage or vintage-dated wine by actual bottle count; and (2) who, any other provisions of this code to the contrary notwithstanding, may maintain an inventory of port, sherry and Madeira wines having an alcoholic content of not more than twenty-two percent alcohol by volume and which have been matured in wooden barrels or casks.

Legislative Rule CSR 5.14 states  -  A wine specialty shop shall, in addition to maintaining a representative inventory of wines which include varietal wines, generic wines and wines labeled according to the region or place of production, maintain an inventory of not less than fifteen percent (15%) by actual bottle count of wines which are vintage or vintage dated, which shall be determined by actual bottle count of the total wine inventory.  A wine specialty shop may maintain an inventory of port, sherry and Madeira wines which have an alcoholic content of not more than twenty-two percent (22%) alcohol by volume and have been matured in wooden barrels or casks. In addition, a wine specialty shop shall at all times have in its inventory available for sale food or foodstuffs which are normally associated with wines and have a representative inventory of wine accessories. A wine specialty shop may purchase only from a licensed distributor in this state or a licensed farm winery.

The privileges, duties and responsibilities for the retail sale of wine in a wine specialty shop is detailed in Legislative Rule CSR 175-4-5 and authorized by West Virginia Code §60.

Related Forms and Packets:

Class B Beer and Wine Off Premise License Packet