Selling Mulled Wine @ Xmas Markets

Time2GetFit

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone had any information with respect to licences required to sell homemade alcohol eg mulled wine at a farmers market / fair.

With a range of markets taking place in december they're may be scope to do something on a small scale and just wondering where I could find some data on the rules and regulations governing its sale.

I am looking at mulled wine and some savoury snacks if that helps.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

sandin

you will need a wine licence from revenue. To get a wine licence you will need a tax clearance cert. To get a tax clearance cert you need to be 100% up to date with tax.

Then you need to be sure you will sell loads of it to make money. Problem is most people are driving and won't buy it.

At end of December, you'll be nursing a hangover of lost money.


To give you an idea - At our customer evenings in December we offer mulled wine, regular wine, cocktails and non alcoholic cocktails.

We would serve about three times the amount of non alcoholic cocktails compared to the total of ALL alcohol drinks.


Another option is to offer a non-alcoholic apple & spice drink - no licence, no tax clearance, no hangover - and if its made well, it will be a great seller. There was a USA based company selling a powder mix that went with apple juice and water - it was fab! - Google it and you may find them (can't think of their name as it was a few years ago)

Time2GetFit

Thanks for the info sandin. I take on board what your saying about people driving and that definitely is something that I'd have to take into account. Any idea how much these licences cost? I was looking at focusing on markets that attract good footfall with public transport in the hope that people wouldn't be driving but maybe that's not the way I should be approaching it.

Thanks for the idea about the non alcoholic version.....ill look into that more and immediately expands the potential customer base.

DubTony

sandin wrote: »

you will need a wine licence from revenue. To get a wine licence you will need a tax clearance cert. To get a tax clearance cert you need to be 100% up to date with tax.

Licences are issued on the basis that alcohol will be sold on a particular premises. I'm not sure a farmers / Xmas market fits the criteria. If this was the case we'd have fellas selling booze door to door.

joeguevara

The way it appears in all the farmers markets I go to is that you sell hot apple juice, or pear juice etc. and offer a free shot of whiskey if the customer wants it. That way, you are only selling the hot apple juice and do not require an alcohol license.

Not sure if you could do this with mulled wine though.

Greaney

I know this is four years later but...

I've been selling Mulled juices (I call it Hot spiced Punch) at a few fundraisers and Christmas market this year and it did well. I based it on Apple and Cranberry juice, I'm going to go with grape juice next year. It looks better and tastes good. I sold out of 8oz cups and knocked five cups out of a liter of juice. the Juice was less than €1 per liter and I sold it for €2 per cup (five cups per liter!!). Great mark up and even if it was dead I'd make a few bob. I'd not only recommend doing it, but it's handy if you're a volunteer parent at a Christmas cake sale in school as a 'stall'.

So I did it to raise money for our community arts group and indemnified our insurance policy for hot drinks. Our insurance covers local authorities so I bought a one day 'special licence' from our local county council to have a stall/pitch at our local market (its' on every Friday). Our organisation happens to have a proper market Gazebo so we were good to go. It takes up so little space, I called a few mates who craft and asked them to join my little booth. I had contacted the food safety authority to see if we needed to be cleared, they felt since it was a once off I was grand, but I was so happy with it, I'm doing it next year so I'm going to go through some 'safe set up tips' with them. I'd recommend it in case they either a) check or b) someone reports you. Someone called our community warden regarding our stall (spite/bad mindedness). Maybe they thought I was fly pitching. I was glad I got my paperwork done (so was he, he was sound about it).

I'm still not clear about safety, I used a catering soup kettle indoors which was fine and safe (borrowed from a mate) and would totally pass a safety inspection, however, I had no electricity in the market so, I used a friends camping stove. I thought it was totally safe, but I'm not a fire officer so I don't know what they'd make of it. Safety officers are a little sporadic regarding checks unlike county council wardens.

Finally, I really styled my stall (made a light up vintage sign, gingham table cloth etc.) and played soft Christmas music. You're not just selling a drink, but a 'feeling of Christmas' too, so go for it!