Tennessee has enacted a new law that requires common carriers like Federal Express and UPS to obtain a liquor license in order to deliver wine in Tennessee. P.C. 699 requires licenses by January 1, 2023. The full text of the new law can be found here.
The law is relatively simple: card, card, card. Not surprisingly, licensed carriers violate the law if drivers deliver wine to someone under 21. In addition, the law makes it a crime to deliver alcoholic beverages or beer to someone under 21.
It will be interesting to see how the ABC handles violations. Can you imagine suspending UPS’s delivery license for sales to minors?
Tennessee also licenses and regulates wineries that direct ship to the state. We have seen a handful of wineries charged with sales to minors for deliveries, where the common carrier failed to check ID.
Although the new law makes sense, we were somewhat surprised to see no opposition raised by the common carrier located in Memphis, Tennessee. Conjures up the classic Tom T. Hall song, “That’s How I Got to Memphis.”
If you love somebody enough,
You’ll follow wherever they go
That’s how I got to Memphis