FedEx Express and FedEx Ground will accept on-site direct-to-consumer wine shipments for transport to Arkansas consumers beginning May 1, 2014. For direct-to-consumer shipment to Arkansas, wineries must hold an Arkansas Wine Shipping Permit and can only ship wine to Arkansas consumers who purchase the wine on the premises of the winery.
The new permit law (Act 483 of 2013) requires each wine shipment to have a shipping label provided by the Arkansas ABC. However, the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division has determined that licensed direct wine shippers may use the alcohol-specific shipping labels provided by Federal Express in lieu of obtaining a label from the Arkansas ABC. Additionally, alcohol shippers must be FedEx Approved Alcohol Shippers and comply with all laws, regulations, and FedEx policies in order to ship alcoholic beverages. Additional details are available on the Wine Institute website, but wineries must contact the Arkansas ABC (501-682-1105) to obtain a wine shipping permit application. Each application form has a unique barcode that includes the permit number that will be given to the applicant. Please note that the permit is for on-site sales only and that the direct shipment of off-site sales (phone, fax and Internet orders) to Arkansas consumers continues to be prohibited.
