Two law changes recently for the state of Kentucky have helped give a boost to smaller wineries and Purple Toad is capitalizing on them.
Steven Dossey, the Paducah, Kentucky facility’s General Manager and winemaker, shared with Vintner that the ability to sell direct to consumers and continue to grow in volume without a change in license are both being taken advantage of.
It all starts with working with state legislators. Purple Toad as an independent winery even took the extra step to hire a lobbyist to fight for the two bills to come into law.
Previously if a winery were to exceed the limit of 100,000 gallons, the winery would lose their license and would no longer be able to have a tasting room or set up booths at fairs, festivals , or other various events — such as Kentucky Derby Wine Festival — around the state.
”Our owners (June and Allen Dossey) were very passionate about these changes as they were elected to serve as the president and secretary on the Kentucky Wineries Association and made this a primary goal during their time in the elected position,” Steven Dossey said.
The gallon limit for the state’s small farm winery license has been increased from 100,000 to 500,000 gallons per year.
”This allows wineries like ours at Purple Toad, to continue to grow and expand regionally and nationally,” Steven Dossey said.
Now wineries in Kentucky are allowed DTC shipping into the state which opens up a new market for wineries outside of Kentucky. This also allows wineries within the state to ship to those states who require reciprocity. That has opened more than 40% of the country for Purple Toad and they have started to promote on social media where consumers can find them along with giving free shipping on smaller orders during the pandemic.
Photo courtesy Purple Toad Winery
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