Michigan sues wineries in New York, Washington for shipping vino without licenses

Yahoo

21-03-2025

LANSING — Michigan's attorney general is suing wineries in federal court to stop what it says are illegal alcohol shipments to the state.
Since 2023, AG Dana Nessel's office has filed at least seven federal lawsuits, including two this week, against wineries in New York, Washington, Montana, Oregon and California. In each lawsuit, the AG's office said the wineries lack the direct shipper license needed and yet continued to ship bottles to customers in the the state after cease and desist letters.
The most recent lawsuits came on Wednesday against New York-based Pellegrini Vineyards and Washington-based Tsillan Cellars, through its ownership RRJ Real Properties LLC. The lawsuits seek court orders barring the wineries from shipping to Michigan and a $25,000 fine for each violation.
In a statement, AG spokesperson Danny Wimmer said the lawsuits are "fairly standard civil enforcement" cases and that the office has "filed many lawsuits against illegal shippers of alcoholic beverages and secured many judgments in favor of the State."
A message was left seeking comment from Pellegrini Vineyards.
Bob Hargadon, general manager for Tsillan Cellars, said the winery wasn't aware of the lawsuit until contacted by a reporter. After checking its records, Hargadon said the winery made four shipments to two Michigan customers in 2024, which he attributed to a clerical error which has since been fixed.
Those sales amounted to less than 0.001% of its annual shipments, he said, and the winery's records show no orders to Michigan so far this year.
In 2022, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission flagged six shipments from Tsillan Cellars and three from Pellegrini Vineyards to Michigan addresses.
The AG's office then sent cease and desist letters to both wineries informing them that they lacked the necessary licenses to legally operate in or do business in the state. The letters ended with the same ultimatum.
"If this activity fails to cease within 14 days of your receipt of this letter, our office will take legal action to stop it," wrote Donald McGehee, division chief for the AG's alcohol and gambling enforcement division. "This may include filing criminal charges."
The AG's office received confirmation that both wineries received the letters.
About 16 months later, the state's liquor control commission wanted to investigate whether the wineries were complying with the cease and desist letters. It purchased a bottle from each: a 2021 Estate Merlot from Tsillan Cellars for $46 plus shipping and a 2016 Regalo from Pellegrini Vineyards for $49.99 plus shipping. The state paid about $20 for each bottle to be shipped.
About a week later, both bottles arrived. And about a year after that, the AG's office took both wineries to federal court in Grand Rapids in what are at least the sixth and seventh such lawsuits in the past two years.
Wimmer, the AG spokesperson, said the wine bottles will be stored as evidence and then destroyed when the case is closed.
It's unclear what the state did with the bottles of wine after they were photographed, along with their shipping packaging and label, as evidence. The AG's office did not respond to a request for comment.
In four of the other five lawsuits, the AG's office and the wineries entered into consent decrees that barred them from shipping to Michigan until they acquired the necessary license and imposed fines.
The fifth lawsuit, against California-based Baily Vineyard & Winery, ended in a default judgement against the winery because it didn't respond to the lawsuit in court. The judgement bars it from shipping to the state, imposes a $25,000 fine and orders it to pay the $405 it cost the AG's office to file suit.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan sues wineries in New York, Washington