Brewery, winery, distillery and cidery insurance in New York
A craft beverage business is a manufacturer, a bar and sometimes a farm at the same time. The licence decides what you're allowed to do: make, pour, sell by the glass, open a second tasting room, pour at a county fair. Each of those privileges is also a place a claim can start. Here's how the insurance lines up with New York's farm manufacturer licences.
A New York brewery, winery, distillery or cidery needs liquor liability for the tasting room, because General Obligations Law §11-101 lets people injured by someone you unlawfully served sue you; products liability and product recall cover for what leaves in a bottle, can or keg; property with equipment breakdown and spoilage for tanks, barrels and stock; commercial auto for deliveries and events; and workers' compensation with DBL and Paid Family Leave. A farm licence from the State Liquor Authority adds tastings, by-the-glass sales, branch tasting rooms and sales at fairs and farmers markets, and each one needs to be on the policy.
Your licence, and what each privilege adds to the policy
| SLA farm licence | What the SLA and the statute let you do | What it means for insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Farm brewery (ABC Law §51-a) | Brew New York labelled beer and cider; tastings; sales by the glass and bottle; a restaurant on site; fairs and farmers markets; kegs at outdoor gatherings; tours; up to five branch offices | Liquor liability on every location and event; products liability; tours mean visitors in the brewhouse |
| Farm winery (§76-a) | Wine from 100% New York fruit; tastings; sales on and off premises; a restaurant or hotel on site; up to five branch offices | Liquor liability; spoilage for wine in tank and barrel; if you grow the grapes, farm property and farm labor rules too |
| Farm distillery (§61(2-c)) | Spirits from at least 75% New York ingredients; tastings with a three-sample daily limit; sales on premises; one branch office | Tasting liability is yours wherever you pour; carriers ask more about fire protection and spirit storage |
| Farm cidery (§58-c) | Cider from 100% New York apples and pome fruit; tastings; sales on and off premises; a restaurant or catering on site; fairs and farmers markets; up to five branch offices | Liquor liability; spoilage; orchard and farm cover if you grow the fruit |
Farm meaderies have their own licence, with mead from 100% New York honey; the insurance is built the same way.
The craft beverage package
- Liquor liability for the tasting room, any restaurant, branch offices and every event you pour at.
- General and products liability, plus product recall, which general liability excludes.
- Property for the building, brewhouse or stills, tanks, barrels, packaging line and stock, with equipment breakdown, spoilage and business income.
- Inland marine for kegs, product in transit and the event trailer.
- Commercial auto if your own vans deliver to stores, bars or wholesalers, and hired and non-owned auto for staff running errands in their cars.
- Workers' compensation and DBL/PFL for production, tasting room and field staff.
- Umbrella, employment practices liability and cyber for online orders and card payments.
Every event is another premises
The SLA's Marketing Permit lets craft manufacturers taste and sell at licensed stores, the State Fair and county fairs, farmers markets and charitable events, and at street fairs and festivals with 15 days' notice to the Authority. Organizers set their own insurance terms, and a farmers market vendor form can make you indemnify the town for injuries tied to your stand. Check that liquor liability and general liability both reach off-premises events, and once the policies are in force, I get you the certificates each organizer asks for.
Employees and permits
Workers' compensation from the first employee, part-time and seasonal included, and DBL and Paid Family Leave once someone has worked 30 days in a calendar year. Workers' Compensation Law §57 and §220 require State and municipal agencies to check that a business has both before issuing permits, licences and contracts. If you also farm, the field crew falls under New York's farm labor rules; see farm and agritourism insurance.
Where it matters
Duanesburg's plan credits its agritourism law with a new meadery and brewery in the Town, and Greenfield's business list includes a winery and a distillery. I quote craft beverage businesses anywhere in New York; see the business insurance page for the area I cover in person.
What I need to quote
- Your SLA licence type, branch offices and any marketing permits.
- Annual production, sales split between wholesale, tasting room and events, and alcohol sales at each location.
- Building, equipment and stock values, and how product is stored and cooled.
- Vehicles, delivery routes and events you attend.
- Payroll by role, including field and seasonal staff.
- Current policies and claims history.
Request a quote, or start with the business gap check. For a tasting room with a full kitchen, see restaurant and bar insurance as well.
- What can you do as a craft beverage manufacturer: tastings and sales (NY State Liquor Authority) — farm manufacturers can taste and sell NYS labeled beer, wine, spirits and cider by the bottle or by the glass at the facility or offsite tasting rooms; up to five offsite branches for farm breweries, wineries and cideries, one for farm distilleries; food must be available where tastings or by-the-glass sales happen; Marketing Permit for tastings and sales at licensed stores, the State Fair and county fairs, farmers markets, charitable events and other events with 15 days' notice; farm wineries use 100% New York grapes or other fruit, farm cideries 100% New York apples and other pome fruits, farm distilleries at least 75% New York grown or produced ingredients, farm meaderies 100% New York honey; read October 27, 2026
- Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §51-a, farm brewery license (NY Senate) — retail sales for on- or off-premises consumption, tastings, a restaurant or food establishment on or next to the premises, sales at the state fair, county fairs and farmers markets, kegs at outdoor gatherings, tours, up to five branch offices; read October 27, 2026
- Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §76-a, farm winery license (NY Senate) — retail sales on and off premises, tastings, a restaurant, hotel or food establishment on or next to the premises, bottle sales at charitable events with notice, up to five branch offices; read October 27, 2026
- Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §58-c, farm cidery license (NY Senate) — retail sales on and off premises, tastings, a restaurant, hotel or catering business on or next to the premises, sales at the state fair, county fairs and farmers markets, up to five branch offices; read October 27, 2026
- Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §61, subdivision 2-c, farm distillery license (NY Senate) — liquor made primarily from farm and food products; consumer tastings with no more than three samples per consumer per day and a licensee employee present; liability from a right of action resulting from a consumer tasting, as provided in GOL §§11-100 and 11-101, accrues to the licensee; on-premises sales with food available; one branch office; read October 27, 2026
- Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §65, prohibited sales (NY Senate) — no sale or delivery to anyone under 21, any visibly intoxicated person, or a known habitual drunkard; read October 27, 2026
- General Obligations Law §11-101, the Dram Shop Act (NY Senate) — a person injured in person, property, means of support or otherwise by an intoxicated person may sue whoever caused or contributed to the intoxication by unlawful selling or unlawfully assisting in procuring liquor, for actual and exemplary damages; read October 27, 2026
- General Obligations Law §11-100, liability for intoxication of persons under 21 (NY Senate) — action against anyone who knowingly causes the intoxication of a person under 21 by unlawfully furnishing alcohol, knowing or having reason to believe the person is under 21; read October 27, 2026
- Workers' Compensation Coverage Requirements (NY WCB) — workers' compensation required for all farms who have employees; read October 27, 2026
- Disability and Paid Family Leave coverage requirements (NY WCB) — required once an employer has one or more employees on each of at least 30 days in a calendar year; read October 27, 2026
- Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act (NY Department of Labor) — since January 1, 2020 farm employers cover farm employees for workers' compensation regardless of annual payroll, and provide disability and Paid Family Leave coverage to eligible farm laborers; read October 27, 2026
- Business Permits, Licenses and Contracts (NY WCB) — WCL §57 and §220(8) require the heads of municipal and State entities to make sure businesses have workers' compensation and disability and Paid Family Leave coverage before issuing permits, licenses or contracts; read October 27, 2026
- Greenfield Farmers Market Vendor Application 2025 (Town of Greenfield) — vendor agrees to indemnify and hold the Town harmless for injury or damage to any third party resulting in whole or in part from the vendor's use of or presence at the premises; read October 27, 2026
- Town of Duanesburg Comprehensive Plan, last revised April 8, 2021 — an agritourism law that resulted in the construction of a meadery and a brewery in the Town; a local law encouraging agri-tourism and wineries, meaderies and breweries; read October 27, 2026
- Greenfield Businesses (Town of Greenfield) — the Town's business list includes a vineyard and winery and a distillery; read October 27, 2026
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Still have a question? Call (518) 902-8822 or book a call.
I only pour my own beer or wine in a tasting room. Do I need liquor liability?
Yes. General Obligations Law §11-101 gives anyone injured by an intoxicated person a right to sue whoever unlawfully sold to that person, and Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §65 makes a sale to someone under 21 or visibly intoxicated unlawful. §11-100 adds liability for knowingly furnishing alcohol to someone under 21. It doesn't matter that the drink was a flight of samples you made yourself. General liability forms exclude liquor claims for businesses that make, sell or serve alcohol, so the tasting room needs its own liquor liability, with the assault and battery wording read before you buy.
My farm distillery pours samples at a liquor store or a fair. Whose liability is that?
Yours. Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §61(2-c) says liability from a right of action arising out of a consumer tasting it authorizes, under General Obligations Law §§11-100 and 11-101, accrues to the licensee. The same subdivision limits a consumer to three samples a day and requires a licensee employee to be present. Make sure your liquor liability covers tastings away from the distillery, not only on your own premises.
What do products liability and product recall cover?
Products liability answers claims that something you made hurt someone: a contaminated batch, a bottle that bursts, glass in a can. It's part of general liability, but read the limit for the products-completed operations aggregate. Recall is different: general liability excludes the cost of pulling your own product off shelves, so a recall needs its own coverage for retrieving, destroying and replacing product and, on some forms, the income you lose.
A glycol chiller fails overnight and a tank of beer spoils. Is that covered?
Only if the property policy includes equipment breakdown and spoilage. Standard property forms exclude mechanical and electrical breakdown; equipment breakdown pays to repair the brewhouse, chillers, boilers, compressors and controls, and spoilage pays for product lost when temperature control fails. Ask how each quote values finished goods, at cost or at your selling price.
I'm opening a branch tasting room. Does my policy follow me?
Not automatically. Farm breweries, wineries and cideries can operate up to five branch offices and a farm distillery one, and the SLA treats them as part of the licensed premises. Your insurance doesn't: each location needs to be listed on the property, liability and liquor liability policies before it opens, and the landlord's lease will set its own limits and additional insured wording.
Do I need workers' comp for part-time tasting room staff?
Yes. Workers' compensation applies from the first employee, part-time and seasonal included, and disability and Paid Family Leave coverage is required once you have an employee on each of at least 30 days in a calendar year. If you grow your own grapes, apples, grain or hops, the people working the fields are farm laborers, and the Department of Labor says farm employers must cover them regardless of annual payroll.
Get a quote for your business
Tell me what you do, where, and roughly what payroll looks like. Quotes come from the private carriers I represent, usually within days.
Where I work
I'm based in Clifton Park and work in person across six counties, the four on the map plus Warren and Washington, or by phone.
Close to the Clifton Park office: Clifton Knolls, Country Knolls, Rexford, Vischer Ferry, Jonesville, Groom's Corners and Halfmoon across Route 9 — I'll come to you at home.
Auto, home and business insurance by town
Medicare has its own county and town pages.