The Central Otago District Licensing Committee has granted Promote Dunstan a special licence to allow wine tasting and glasses of wine to be sold on site at the festival.
However, it rejected the group's application on behalf of stallholders for an off-site special licence, which would allow festival patrons to buy bottles of wine to take home.
Instead, individual wineries taking part in the festival have to apply for their own off-site special licences, if they want to sell bottles.
Promote Dunstan has hosted the event on Easter Sunday for 12 years in Clyde's historic precinct and the festival has attracted crowds of up to 4000 people.
The application was the first special licence considered by the newly formed licensing committee.
Police, the Ministry of Health and the Central Otago District Council's licensing inspector, Ray Applegarth, all opposed Promote Dunstan getting an off-site special licence.
In its decision, the licensing committee said it was not satisfied the application met the requirements to hold an off-site licence under the new alcohol laws, so the objections were upheld and the licence declined.
It listed 12 conditions for the on-site licence.
These included requirements that a range of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks be available as well as alcoholic drinks; free drinking water be provided at stalls selling alcohol; and ''substantial food'' be available throughout the festival.
Serves of wine were restricted to tastings and glasses and no bottles of wine or beer were allowed to be consumed on site.
In past years, the Liquor Licensing Authority has issued one licence to Promote Dunstan to cover both on and off-site sales.
''... however, the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 has placed a greater reliance and responsibility on both the licence holders and the district licensing committee to ensure the object of the Act is upheld,'' committee chairman Bob McNeil said.
At the hearing last week, Mr McNeil said special licence applications by wineries for off-site sales at the festival could be ''fast-tracked'' by the committee as time was running out.
