For more than sixteen years, DH Wine Compliance has helped wineries, breweries, distilleries and cideries across the country navigate federal and state regulation. Founder and CEO Drea Helfer built the company on a simple principle: a firm that invests in its people delivers better outcomes for its clients. “We place more value on our staff than on our profits,” Helfer says. That approach has made DH Wine Compliance one of the nation’s largest compliance providers, with a team that stays and clients who do too.
An Industry Taking Stock
The last several years have been hard on alcohol producers. U.S. wine revenue slipped to roughly $74 billion in 2025, about 21 percent below its 2020 level, and closures and brand sales have reshaped the industry, including here in Sonoma County. Meanwhile, the regulatory workload keeps growing. Direct-to-consumer rules shift from state to state, and agencies are investing in technology that adds to the work of staying compliant while making missed filings and lapsed licenses easier to spot. Some agencies still run on outdated systems and others are current, so keeping track of which states are doing what takes constant attention. “Compliance is like taxes: it’s critical, complicated, and best left to experts,” Helfer says. For a producer watching every dollar, being out of compliance now costs far more than getting it right the first time.
Comprehensive Compliance Support
The team brings more than 200 years of combined experience across wine, beer, spirits and cider, handling licenses, operational reporting, COLAs, and three-tier and direct-to-consumer compliance. It is backed by a one-of-a-kind proprietary software system, built in-house, that captures and tracks all client information, making the team more efficient and the information more accurate. The firm also audits existing compliance operations to help clients find efficiencies, and supports them through brand sales, license transfers and ownership changes.
An Employee-Centered Culture
New employees are mentored, leadership is accessible at every level, and growth comes from within. The average employee has been with the firm for seven years, and the team has grown from 24 to 34 in the past five. “We work hard, support one another, and build a sense of community that makes the demanding parts of the job worthwhile,” Helfer says. A resident group of office dogs helps.
Investing Beyond the Business
Since 2015, the company’s Backpack Project has given backpacks and school supplies to more than 1,500 Sonoma County children. DH Wine Compliance has also funded athletic facility upgrades at Windsor High School and supports local causes including Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays, the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, and the YWCA.
Looking Ahead
The regulatory environment will keep evolving. DH Wine Compliance’s approach stays the same: deep expertise, technology that keeps pace with client needs, and a team invested in getting the details right, so clients can focus on producing and selling exceptional wine, beer, spirits and cider.
Reach out for a consultation: dhwinecompliance.com/contact
Visit DH Wine Compliance at Booth 338 at the North Coast Wine Industry Expo
December 3, 2026 · 9 am–4 pm
Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, CA