New license allows online wine sales in Wheaton

A new liquor license classification has been added in Wheaton to allow a business to engage in mail order and online wine sales.

The city council approved an amendment to the liquor code Monday to create a Class T license.

Anyone applying for the license must pay a $1,500 fee and demonstrate they are operating a mail order, telephone order, online or catalog business for the retail distribution of wine only.

City staff members said the idea came from the owners of Today's Wine, a Carol Stream-based online wine business.

Company representatives said Today's Wine is looking to move next year to a warehouse with office space in the downtown Wheaton area.

"Our focus is on offering the lowest web price in the country," Chief Operating Officer Allan Schuster said.

The company, he said, also strives to provide customers with "quite a bit of education about wine," including the taste and origin of different ones.

The company's physical location will be used only to store the wine and process shipments. There will be no retail traffic or customer access to the building.

A license application for Today's Wine likely will be reviewed by the liquor control commission in December after the company's warehouse location has been secured, staff members said.

Each wine shipment will be charged with Illinois, DuPage and Wheaton sales tax, regardless of where the buyer resides.

Schuster said he hopes the company also can expand its visibility to Wheaton-area residents. He said Today's Wine already has provided wines for Jazz Fest Glen Ellyn and will be partnering with St. Michael Church in Wheaton for a fundraiser.

"We deal throughout the continental United States, but we're trying to establish some local connectivity as well," he said.