Wholesale alcohol rules in California

Whether a producer may sell direct to a retailer here, by beverage class. Each row says how well sourced it is: whether we read the statute ourselves, or are still working from our own notes or a secondary summary.

This is the producer-to-retailer lane. Sales through a licensed wholesaler are the ordinary route and are not what these rows describe. Nothing here is legal advice — it is a record of what we read, published so you can check it.

Beer

Open

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 23357(a)(1) — verified 2026-10-29.

Wine

Open

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 23358(a)(1) — verified 2026-10-29.

Spirits

Closed

Producer must make no more than 150,000 gal/yr to qualify

Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 23502(a)(3) — verified 2026-10-29.

RTD / canned cocktails

Open, but conditional

Condition: An RTD follows its base, and the three bases do not agree here — beer: allowed, wine: allowed, spirits: prohibited. The order does not carry the base.

Derived from this state's beer, wine and spirits lanes (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 23357(a)(1); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 23358(a)(1); Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 23502(a)(3))

A class not listed above is one nobody has read yet — not even a secondary summary. It is not a finding that California forbids it. Every row above links the statute it rests on, so you can check the reading for yourself.