Here’s the door. For decades after Prohibition, wineries couldn’t sell directly, not even to a nearby retailer. Every bottle went through a distributor, and the distributor kept a significant share of the margin. In 2005, the Supreme Court’s Granholm v. Heald decision began to change that by ruling that states can’t discriminate against out-of-state wineries on direct wine sales.

Then tariffs widened the door. Duties on imported wine raise the cost of foreign bottles before they reach the shelf, which strengthens the price position of American-made wine. Granholm opened the direct channel, and tariffs make the imported competition more expensive.

State-by-state regulations became a puzzle, and our managers have organized it. Together with tariffs, that creates a real commercial opportunity. Grapes, or unfermented juice, can be sourced nationally or, where the economics work after duties, globally, then transported into most U.S. states for local fermentation. Where state law allows, this structure lets a winery self-distribute, improve margins, and compete on both price and profitability.

Kerry and Tom are the team to execute it.