Introduction

In 2014, Tennessee got crazy and passed legislation allowing wine to be sold in grocery stores. To get this done, legislators and lobbyists for liquor stores, the grocery store industry, and wholesalers haggled for a few years over rules and regulations. Eventually they ended up with something that could, for the most part, make everybody kind of happy.

Once implemented in 2016, everyone referred to the change as Wine in Grocery Stores, or “WIGS”. Now, most people know it as Tennessee Responsible Wine Vendor. It has evolved over the years with rule changes that make a little more sense, but it’s still complicated.  In this blog series I’ll be covering the ins and outs of training, permitting, and all things WIGS.

Oh yeah, there’s also the Responsible Beer Vendor program. That’s different and has its own set of rules.