Winery Compliance Consulting in Napa & Sonoma

Dedicated winery compliance consulting for Napa Valley and Sonoma County producers—from initial bonded winery and alternating proprietorship licensing through monthly TTB reporting, label approvals and nationwide market expansion.

Compliance guidance built around real winery operations

Winery compliance is rarely a single isolated filing. Federal TTB regulations, California ABC licensing, CDTFA and CDFA obligations, county use permits and out-of-state shipping rules all intersect with harvest schedules, cellar operations, bottling dates, tasting-room hospitality and wine club releases. Gateway Compliance Napa works as an extension of your winery team—identifying what applies, sequencing applications in the right order and keeping recurring filings on track.

Led by founder Taylor Marchand, who brings hands-on cellar, laboratory, bottling, hospitality and compliance administration experience, Gateway provides practical regulatory solutions for estate wineries, boutique family labels, alternating proprietors, custom-crush clients and multi-brand wine groups across Napa and Sonoma.

Startup winery licensing, expansions and ownership transitions

Whether you are launching your first vintage, acquiring a vineyard estate or restructuring an existing winery entity, early compliance planning prevents months of delay. We coordinate every federal and state approval required to produce, cellar, label and sell wine:

  • Federal & State Winery Licensing: Coordinated TTB Bonded Winery (BW) and Basic Permit applications alongside California ABC Type 02 Winegrower or Type 17/20 licensing.
  • Premises Diagrams & Expansions: Aligning bonded winery boundaries, tax-paid storage areas, crush pads, barrel rooms and tasting-room footprints across TTB and ABC-257 diagrams.
  • Mergers, Acquisitions & Entity Changes: Managing person-to-person license transfers, TTB Change in Control / Change in Proprietorship filings, officer updates and escrow compliance milestones.
  • CDFA & CDTFA Registrations: California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Processor Licenses, Annual Grape Crush Report preparation, and CDTFA Seller’s Permits and Winegrower Excise Tax accounts.

Alternating Proprietor (AP) vs. Custom Crush compliance

Many Napa Valley and Sonoma County wine brands operate inside shared winemaking facilities. Choosing between an Alternating Proprietorship (AP) and a Custom Crush arrangement affects your licensing timeline, tasting-room privileges, DTC shipping eligibility in certain states and ongoing reporting responsibilities:

  • Alternating Proprietor (AP) Licensing & Host/Tenant Setup: An AP tenant holds its own TTB Bonded Winery permit and California ABC Type 02 Winegrower license, alternating control of designated equipment and space at a host winery under TTB Industry Circular 2008-4. We prepare AP host and tenant applications, alternating premises diagrams, AP agreements and separate 5120.17 operational reports.
  • Custom Crush & Virtual Winery Structure (Type 17/20): In a custom-crush model, the host winery produces and bottles the wine under its own bond, while the brand owner typically holds a Federal Wholesaler Basic Permit and California ABC Type 17/20 licenses. We set up the complete custom-crush licensing stack, trade name registrations for bottleneck/back-label bottling statements and state-by-state shipping eligibility.

Ongoing winery reporting, labels and nationwide market access

Once your winery is licensed, Gateway Compliance Napa can serve as your outsourced compliance department or support your internal team during peak seasons:

  • Monthly, Quarterly & Annual Reporting: TTB Form 5120.17 operational reports, federal and California excise tax returns, CBMA producer tax credit tracking and cellar book reconciliations.
  • Label & Formula Approvals: TTB COLA and formula applications, AVA and varietal percentage verification, Napa and Sonoma conjunctive labeling checks, and organic/CCOF label reviews.
  • Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) & Three-Tier Distribution: Multi-state wine DTC shipping licenses, renewals, state brand registrations, price posting, distributor appointments and state tax/gallonage reporting across all 50 states.

Local focus in Napa & Sonoma, nationwide reach

From our Santa Rosa office, Gateway supports wineries throughout Napa Valley (Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Calistoga) and Sonoma County (Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley). Review our Napa & Sonoma Winery Startup Compliance Checklist, explore all compliance services, or contact Gateway Compliance Napa at 707-835-6230.

In-Depth Winery Compliance Guides