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At Strike & Techel, we don’t just write legal briefs. Check out our blog about the ins and outs of alcohol beverage law.

Imbiblog is published for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.

Category archives for “alcohol law”

New Jersey to Vote on Winery Direct Shipping

December 14th, 2011

The New Jersey Senate will vote on a direct shipping bill this Thursday, December 15, 2011, called S-3172 in its current form. If passed into law, New Jersey Farm Wineries, New Jersey Plenary Wineries that produce 250,000 gallons or less of wine a year, and out-of-state wineries that produce 250,000 gallons of wine or less each year and that obtain an out-of-state shipping license would be able to ship up to 12 cases of wine per year to any New Jersey consumer. With passage of the bill, New Jersey would join the 38 states that currently allow direct wine shipping to consumers in some form, including Maryland and New Mexico as of earlier this year. However, the “capacity cap” for out-of-state wineries of 250,000 gallons per year remains a point of contention, as that limit would preclude the majority of California wineries from shipping to New Jersey consumers. Stay tuned to find out how the New Jersey Senate votes!

No More Alcopops in California

August 3rd, 2011

On Monday Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 39 banning the production, importation, and sale of beer to which caffeine as a separate ingredient has been directly added. Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, introduced the Bill last December. In order to enforce the prohibition, licensees may be required by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to provide product formulas. All formulas provided will be considered confidential trade secrets and not subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. The new law can be found in Section 25622 of California’s Business and Professions Code. The law does not prohibit beers where caffeine is a part of the brewing process itself, such as a coffee porter. It is aimed instead at the Progressive Adult Beverages (PABs) (also commonly referred to as Ready to Drinks (RTDs) and Flavored Alcoholic Beverages (FABs)) that have been in the news since last fall. See our prior coverage here, here, here, and here. This puts California in line with states like New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Michigan, Kansas, and Utah, which have also banned such beverages.

We’ve Moved!

July 27th, 2011

Strike & Techel has moved offices. We’re still here for all your legal questions about the alcoholic beverage industry, but now you can find us at 556 Commercial Street, San Francisco, CA 94111.

Spirits Tastings Approved In Tennessee

June 27th, 2011

Earlier this month, Tennessee became the 35th state to allow spirits tastings, with the passage of Senate Bill 1224, which will permit restaurants, bars, and liquor stores to offer limited alcohol sampling. The bill, which was signed into law on June 10thand is codified at Tennessee Code Annotated Section 57-3-404(h)(2), will allow spirits retailers to conduct tastings for “sales, education, and promotional purposes.” Similar to tasting laws in most other states, spirits wholesalers may not take part in the events, and are specifically precluded from directly or indirectly providing any “products, funding, labor, support or reimbursements to a retailer.” The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission will be establishing rules specifying how tastings must be conducted.

Tennessee is among a growing list of states that have authorized limited tastings since 2009, joining California, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Supreme Court Denies Certiorari for Wine Country Gift Baskets.com Case

March 7th, 2011

As we mentioned last Monday, the Supreme Court was toying with the decision to grant certiorari to Wine Country Gift Baskets.com, et. al., v. John T. Steen Jr., et. al., a case that dealt with Commerce Clause and Twenty-First Amendment issues as they pertain to wine retailers inside and outside the state of Texas. The Supreme Court Justices took the case to conference three times and today finally issued their order denying certiorari. No reasoning for the certiorari denial was given, although such explanations by the Court are often not provided. This means that the Fifth Circuit decision, which upheld Texas’ law prohibiting out-of-state wine retailers from shipping wine directly to Texas consumers while allowing in-state wine retailers to ship wine directly to Texas consumers, will remain the final decision on the case. If you are interested in reading the Fifth Circuit’s opinion for the case, it can be found here.

Still No Certiorari Decision from the Supreme Court on Wine Country Gift Baskets.com Case

February 28th, 2011

The pins and needles many in the alcoholic beverage industry were on this morning remain, as the Supreme Court’s orders list issued this morningwas silent on the certiorari decision for Wine Country Gift Baskets.com, et.al., v. John T. Steen, Jr., et.al.Cases are typically distributed among the Supreme Court Justices on Fridays for their conferences, during which they discuss whether or not to grant certiorari. Orders are then typically issued the following Monday. If a case that goes to conference on a Friday is not among the order list published on the following Monday, it usually means the case is being discussed among the Justices, with a few but not a majority, arguing for the grant of certiorari. However, once a case has gone to conference more than once without a subsequent order being issued, it tends to mean that the votes for the certiorari grant are not and will not be there. This is now the second time Wine County Gift Baskets.com, et.al., v. John T. Steen, Jr., et.al. has gone to conference (first on February 18, 2011 and second on February 25, 2011) and not been included in the following Monday’s orders. Thus, it is unlikely that the case will be granted certiorari, although not impossible. If the case is denied certiorari, the Fifth Circuit’s decision will stand. For a summary of the Fifth Circuit’s decision, see our prior post here.

Vertical Integration in California (“Tied-House” Laws)

February 17th, 2011

The general rule with alcoholic beverage licensing is that you cannot be involved in more than one “tier” of the industry, meaning that suppliers and importers can’t be wholesalers, wholesalers can’t be retailers, retailers can’t be suppliers, and vice versa. The objective, which came about following the repeal of prohibition, was to promote the organized and responsible distribution of alcohol. It was thought that by keeping the three tiers separate, suppliers would not exert undue influence over retailers, consumers would not be encouraged to over consume, and the societal ills that led to prohibition in the first place would not be repeated. In the 75+ years since the creation of the three-tier system, dozens of exceptions have found their way into the California ABC Act. The tiers are no longer entirely separate and some licensees are permitted to hold licenses in other tiers. For example:

12/18 (Distilled Spirits Importer)/(Distilled Spirits Wholesaler)

17/20 (Wine and Beer Wholesaler)/(Wine and Beer Retailer)

9/17/20 (Wine and Beer Importer)/ (Wine and Beer Wholesaler)/(Wine and Beer Retailer)

There are restrictions on operating under each of these combinations, but the ability to hold them in combination remains a privilege available in California that is not available in many other states. The “tied-house” rules have implications that extend well beyond the licensing structure. If you are interested in learning more about tied-house issues, feel free to contact any of the attorneys here at Strike & Techel.

TTB Considers New Grape Varieties for American Wines

February 10th, 2011

Only a grape variety name approved by the TTB may be used as a varietal “type” designation for American wine. The TTB is considering adding more than 50 names to their list of approved varietals to catch up with the explosion of U.S. wines made from obscure grape varietals. The full list of varietals up for public comments is here.

Some of the proposed varietals are not so obscure (e.g. Blaufränkisch, Carignan, Garnacha, Grenache blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Lagrein, Vermentino), but others are extremely unusual, particularly the submissions from the Minnesota Grape Growers (Louise Swenson, Sabrevois, St. Pepin), which highlighted the cold-weather resiliency of the grapes

California ABC Stakeholder Meeting

February 8th, 2011

Last week, partners Barry Strike and Kristen Techel attended the California ABC’s annual Stakeholder Meeting in Sacramento. The meeting covered everything from furlough status and budget to planned action items for 2011 and 2012. Stakeholder working groups were established to further investigate and provide recommendations to the new ABC Director, Jacob Appelsmith. The four groups will cover issues related to Third Party Providers, Brands and Trademarks and other Things of Value, Licensing Process and Industry Training, and Public Convenience or Necessity.

Interestingly, during the meeting Matt Botting, General Counsel to the ABC, indicated they had not seen many applications for the new tasting permit for off-sale retailers, which we originally discussed here and here. If you’re interested in learning more about or applying for the new instructional tasting license, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys here at Strike & Techel.

Privatization Fight Still Remains Strong in Washington

January 24th, 2011

Although Washington State’s two privatization measures, Initiatives 1100 and 1105, were voted down in the November 2010 elections, privatization proponents have not yet given up the fight. A new bill, SB 5111, is currently presented by Washington Senators Steve Hobbs (D), Curtis King (R), Steve Litzow (R), Phil Rockefeller (D), and Tim Sheldon (D). It was introduced on January 14, 2011 and then referred to the Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection. The bill would allow voters the opportunity to once again vote on privatizing liquor sales in Washington. Currently, liquor sales are handled by the Washington State Liquor Control Board (“WSLCB”). If the bill passes, the WSLCB’s liquor assets will be sold off and all funds deposited into the general state fund; the state will, however, maintain a revenue stream from the sale of alcohol.

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Category archives for “alcohol law”