Wineries
Important Notice for New Winery Registrants
Effective January 1, 2025, all new winery registrations will require payment of associated application costs, including the application fee, publishing costs, and license fee. This policy was approved unanimously by the Board of Directors during the September meeting. Please plan accordingly for your future registrations.
How to Become a Winery Partner:
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REGISTER: Wineries will need their ABC license number on hand to begin the process. Please click here to fill out the registration form online.
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DOCUMENTS: VWDC will confirm your registration request and provide instructions for required documents.
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POSTING & PUBLISHING: You will post a required ABC notice at your winery location for two weeks. VWDC will publish a corresponding legal notice in your local newspaper.
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SUBMIT: Once all required documents are received, VWDC will submit the completed application to ABC.
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LICENSE ISSUANCE: Upon ABC review and approval, a license will be issued. VWDC will send the license to you, to be displayed in the approved space according to your floor plan.
What's Next?
Upon receiving the license, wineries can expect a follow-up welcome call to walk through using the VWDC website, the distribution process, and answer any questions.
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The Virginia Winery Distribution Company allows wineries across the Commonwealth to distribute wine directly to retail merchants. Through the VWDC, Virginia wineries can sell up to 3,000 cases per calendar year.
Receiving & Fulfilling Orders from Retailers through the VWDC:
After the VWDC license has been issued, and products have been listed in the system, wineries will be able to start receiving and fulfilling orders.
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A purchase order is created in the system by either the winery or the retailer.
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Once accepted, contact the retailer to work out delivery logistics.
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Move products to your approved VWDC space before delivery. Your ABC license must be posted in your VWDC space.
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Upon delivery of goods, collect payment and have the retailer sign the invoice. VWDC processes the transaction, pays ABC taxes and submits reports to ABC.
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VWDC pays out winery partners for all transactions no less than once a month. Transactions received after the last date of the month are paid in the subsequent month. Winery payments are reduced by transaction fees and ABC taxes.
Additional Details:
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There are three options for payments from licensees:
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Fintech - a third party digital payment solution for registered licensees that allows for seamless digital invoicing and payments between distributors and retailers. Register on Fintech here.
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Invoices and purchase orders signed using a mobile device are retained in the VWDC system.
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Changes made to the quantity or price of the actual delivery must be noted in the VWDC system.
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Product price increases are effective after 30 days, per ABC regulations.
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Product price decreases are effective immediately.
Retailers
Browse and Order Wines Directly from Virginia Wineries:
VWDC allows retailers and restaurants to buy straight from the source to make lasting and impactful relationships with our member wineries. This direct connection to the wineries is a unique advantage retailers and restaurants can only find through our distribution network.
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Login to your account at vwdc.org, click purchases and then select place new order.
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Browse our catalog, which can be sorted by winery, product description, wine type, or price. Select the wines of your choosing and click add to cart.
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Once your order invoice is submitted, the winery will contact you about delivery logistics.
Payment:
There are three options for payments from licensees:
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Fintech - a third party digital payment solution for registered licensees that allows for seamless digital invoicing and payments between distributors and retailers. Register on Fintech here.
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ACH - an electronic payment option within the VWDC ordering platform for registered licensees. Retailers have the option to register for this while logged in to the ordering system. Instructions for registration can be found under the Resources tab.
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COD - Checks must be made payable to VWDC.
*Due to increasing security concerns regarding the use of paper checks, we strongly recommend using Fintech or ACH to facilitate your payments.​​​