Virginia Code 4.1-212.1 v2: (Effective July 1, 2024) Delivery of wine and beer; kegs; regulations of Board
A. Any brewery, winery, or farm winery located within or outside the Commonwealth that is authorized to engage in the retail sale of wine or beer for off-premises consumption may deliver the brands of beer, wine, and farm wine produced by the same brewery, winery, or farm winery in closed containers to consumers within the Commonwealth for personal off-premises consumption.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 4.1-212.1 v2
- Alcoholic beverages: includes alcohol, spirits, wine, and beer, and any one or more of such varieties containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, including mixed alcoholic beverages, and every liquid or solid, powder or crystal, patented or not, containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer and capable of being consumed by a human being. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Authority: means the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority created pursuant to this subtitle. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Beer: means any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of an infusion or decoction of barley, malt, and hops or of any similar products in drinkable water and containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Board: means the Board of Directors of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Container: means any barrel, bottle, carton, keg, vessel, or other receptacle used for holding alcoholic beverages. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- farm: means any person that obtains at least 51 percent of its annual gross income from agricultural operations and produces the agricultural waste used as feedstock for the waste-to-energy technology, (ii) "agricultural waste" means biomass waste materials capable of decomposition that are produced from the raising of plants and animals during agricultural operations, including animal manures, bedding, plant stalks, hulls, and vegetable matter, and (iii) "waste-to-energy technology" means any technology, including but not limited to a methane digester, that converts agricultural waste into gas, steam, or heat that is used to generate electricity on-site. See Virginia Code 1-222.1
- Farm winery: means (i) an establishment or cooperative located in the Commonwealth on land zoned agricultural that has (a) a vineyard, orchard, or similar growing area that produces fruits or other agricultural products used to manufacture the wine of such farm winery, subject to the requirements set forth in § 4. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
- Licensed: means the holding of a valid license granted by the Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Licensee: means any person to whom a license has been granted by the Authority. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- sell: includes soliciting or receiving an order for; keeping, offering or exposing for sale; peddling, exchanging or bartering; or delivering otherwise than gratuitously, by any means, alcoholic beverages. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Wine: includes any wine to which wine spirits have been added, as provided in the Internal Revenue Code, to make products commonly known as "fortified wine" which do not exceed an alcohol content of 21 percent by volume. See Virginia Code 4.1-100
B. Any person licensed to sell wine and beer at retail for off-premises consumption in the Commonwealth, and who is not a brewery, winery, or farm winery, may deliver the brands of beer, wine, and farm wine it is authorized to sell in closed containers to consumers within the Commonwealth for personal off-premises consumption. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, such deliveries may be made to (i) a person’s vehicle if located in a designated parking area of the licensee‘s premises where such person has electronically ordered beer, wine, or farm wine in advance of the delivery or (ii) such other locations as may be permitted by Board regulation.
C. Any person located outside the Commonwealth who is authorized to sell wine or beer at retail for off-premises consumption in its state of domicile, and who is not a brewery, winery, or farm winery, may apply for a delivery permit that shall authorize the delivery of any brands of beer, wine, and farm wine it is authorized to sell in its state of domicile, in closed containers, to consumers within the Commonwealth for personal off-premises consumption.
D. All such deliveries shall be to consumers within the Commonwealth for personal consumption only and not for resale. All such deliveries of beer, wine, or farm wine shall be performed by either (i) the owner or any officer, director, shareholder, or employee of the licensee or permittee or (ii) a third-party delivery licensee pursuant to § 4.1-212.2. The licensee performing the delivery shall be liable for any administrative violations of this section or § 4.1-304 committed during transport through completion of the delivery. Alcoholic beverages shall not be delivered after 11:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m. Only one individual may take possession of the beer, wine, or farm wine during the course of the delivery. No more than four cases of wine nor more than four cases of beer may be delivered at one time to any person in Virginia to whom alcoholic beverages may be lawfully sold, except that the licensee or permittee may deliver more than four cases of wine or more than four cases of beer if he notifies the Authority in writing at least one business day in advance of any such delivery, which notice contains the name and address of the intended recipient. Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, wine or beer sold for off-premises consumption or delivered pursuant to this section that are not in the manufacturer’s original sealed container shall (a) be enclosed in a container that has no straw holes or other openings and is sealed in a manner that allows a person to readily discern whether the container has been opened or tampered with subsequent to its original closure; (b) display the name of the licensee from which the wine or beer was purchased; (c) be clearly marked with the phrase “contains alcoholic beverages”; (d) have a maximum volume of 16 ounces per beverage; and (e) during delivery, be stored (1) in the trunk of the vehicle, (2) in an area that is rear of the driver’s seat, (3) in a locked container or compartment, or (4) in the case of delivery by bicycle, in a compartment behind the bicyclist.
The Board may adopt such regulations as it reasonably deems necessary to implement the provisions of this section. Such regulations shall include provisions that require (A) the recipient to demonstrate, upon delivery, that he is at least 21 years of age and (B) the recipient to sign an electronic or paper form or other acknowledgement of receipt as approved by the Board.
E. For purposes of §§ 4.1-234 and 4.1-236 and Chapter 6 of Title 58.1, each delivery of wine or beer by a licensee or permittee shall constitute a sale in Virginia. The licensee or permittee shall collect the taxes due to the Commonwealth and remit any excise taxes monthly to the Authority and any sales taxes to the Department of Taxation, if such taxes have not already been paid.
F. Any manufacturer or retailer who is licensed to sell wine, beer, or both for off-premises consumption may sell such wine or beer in kegs, subject to any limitations imposed by Board regulation. The Board may impose a fee for keg registration seals. For purposes of this subsection, “keg registration seal” means any document, stamp, declaration, seal, decal, sticker, or device that is approved by the Board, designed to be affixed to kegs, and displays a registration number and such other information as may be prescribed by the Board.
2007, cc. 99, 799; 2015, cc. 38, 730; 2019, c. 706; 2020, cc. 1113, 1114; 2022, cc. 78, 79.