Lindsey Zahn P.C., Alcohol Beverage & Food Law

About Lindsey Zahn P.C.

Lindsey Zahn P.C. was founded in 2021 to meet the legal needs of growing alcohol beverage and food businesses. Every company in this industry, from the startup entering the market to the multinational keeping up with new rules, has to operate in a tightly controlled environment. The firm’s goals are your goals: it brings deep familiarity with agencies like the TTB and FDA, advocates on your behalf, and helps you navigate multi-jurisdictional rules as you grow.

What Sets the Firm Apart

  • Federal and New York under one roof. TTB permits, labels, and formulas and New York State Liquor Authority licensing are handled by the same lawyer, so federal and state filings are planned together.
  • Low- and no-alcohol products under FDA rules. Wines and ciders under 7% ABV, non-malt beers, and dealcoholized products generally follow FDA labeling, and the firm advises on both sides of that line.
  • An operator’s view of the business. Lindsey studied at Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration and worked in hotels, restaurants, and hospitality operations before law school, so advice fits how beverage businesses actually run.

Lindsey A. Zahn, Esq., Founder and Managing Partner

Before founding Lindsey Zahn P.C., Lindsey practiced at a boutique food and beverage law firm, where she headed the firm’s State and FDA Compliance Practice Groups. She has represented hundreds of clients, from small startups to publicly traded multinationals, counseling domestic and international wine, beer, cider, mead, spirits, and food suppliers and producers, importers, bottlers, co-packers, custom crush facilities, and wholesalers.

Her work spans federal and state regulatory compliance (TTB, FDA, and state agencies), mergers and acquisitions, trademarks, permitting and licensing, social media advertising, tied house and franchise law, and contracts.

Before law school, Lindsey attended Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration, where she was honored as a Hunter R. Rawlings III Cornell Presidential Research Scholar. Hands-on work in hotels, restaurants, and hospitality operations gave her an understanding of how food and beverage businesses actually run day to day, which lets her anticipate clients’ challenges and turn complex rules into practical guidance.

Outside the office, Lindsey visits craft producers and wine regions around the world, from Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Champagne, and the Douro Valley to Napa and Sonoma. She lives in Westchester County with her husband and enjoys pilates, yoga, gardening, horseback riding, reading, cooking, and travel.

Recognition and Writing

  • Author of On Reserve, a wine law blog twice named to the American Bar Association Journal’s list of the top 100 legal blogs
  • Quoted in The Wall Street Journal and by CNN, cited in law review articles, and featured on Wine Business and Wine Industry Insight
  • Scientific Board Member, Jus Vini, The Journal of Wine & Spirits Law
  • Adjunct instructor, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne School of Law, Wine & Law Program
  • Featured presenter for Continuing Legal Education programs on wine and alcohol law

Education

  • B.S., Cornell University
  • J.D., Brooklyn Law School
  • University Diploma in Transnational Wine Trade Law, Université de Reims

Bar Admission

  • New York

Books and Chapters

Selected Publications

  • Modernizing Alcohol Taxes in the United States: Disclosing Changes, Pitfalls, and Benefits, Jus Vini, The Journal of Wine & Spirits Law, June 2018
  • Starting a New Winery? Top Ten Questions You Should Ask, The Grapevine Magazine, July–Aug. 2016
  • Home is Where the Beer & Wine Are, Hudson Valley Wine Magazine, Spring 2016
  • The Truth Behind American Viticultural Areas, The Grapevine Magazine, May–June 2016
  • The Guidance You Can’t Skip: Shelf Plans, Shelf Schematics and Tied House Laws, The Grapevine Magazine, March–April 2016
  • What’s In a Name? The Importance of Grape Varieties in American Wines, The Grapevine Magazine, Jan.–Feb. 2016
  • Owning a Wine Brand: Alternatives to Investing in a Traditional Winery Model and Their Legal Implications, The Grapevine Magazine, Nov.–Dec. 2015
  • Label Lawsuit Lessons, Vineyard & Winery Management, October 2015
  • Legal Tastings: From Farm to Glass: The Cultivation of New York Wines, Beers, and Spirits, Hudson Valley Wine Magazine, Fall 2015
  • Tweets, Hashtags, Likes—And Booze, Beverage Master, Aug.–Sept. 2015
  • Legal Tastings: The Ingredients in New York’s Craft Beverage Law, Hudson Valley Wine Magazine, Summer 2015
  • When FDA Takes Control: What Alcohol Beverage Companies Need to Know About the FDA, Beverage Master, Dec. 2014–Jan. 2015
  • No Wine-ing: The Story of Wine Companies and Trademark in China, 1 Cornell Int’l L. J. Online 58 (2013)
  • Australia Corked Its Champagne and So Should We: Enforcing Stricter Protections for Semi-Generic Wines in the United States, 21 Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs. 477 (2012)
  • Forty Hours Doesn’t Work for Everyone: Examining Employee Preferences for Work Hours (with M. C. Sturman), Center for Hospitality Research Report, November 2008

Speaking and Podcasts

  • The MHW Mark Podcast, Episode 57: The Surprisingly Non-Straightforward World of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Compliance, September 2026
  • Sustainable Winegrowing Podcast, Episode 295: Wine Law Essentials: Contracts, TTB, Social Media & More, January 2026
  • Cider Chat, Episode 478: Pommeau: What Happens When a French Classic Lands on U.S. Labels, November 2025
  • Formula Wines: Enology & Regulatory Issues, Winery Expo, Syracuse, New York, March 2019
  • Federal Compliance Update for Wineries, Eastern Winery Expo, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 2018
  • Cider Chat, Episode 85: Attorney Lindsey Zahn, Cider Law, July 2017
  • ABA Women Rainmakers: Building Your Practice Through Blogging and Podcasting, June 2017
  • Cider Week: So You Want to Start Your Own Cidery, Part 1, hosted by Wassail, New York, October 2016
  • Beer, Wine & Distilled Spirits Law: Federal Regulation 101, myLawCLE, Dallas, September 2016
  • Introduction to Wine Law, Lawline, May 2016
  • Legal Marketing Launch, Episode 132: Lessons from Marketing a Wine and Beverage Law Practice, July 2016
  • Winery, Brewery, and Distillery Law, myLawCLE, Miami, July 2015
  • International Comparative Law: The Business of Wine (guest speaker), Charlotte School of Law, June 2014 and June 2015
  • Winery and Vineyard Law, National Business Institute, October 2014
  • Intro to Wine Law, Rosenfarb LLC, New York, September 2014
  • The Society of Wine & Jurisprudence, Cornell Law School, April 2014

Faculty Membership

  • Wine & Law Program, University of Reims, Summers 2015 and 2017