Who Decides if a Wine is Acceptable? Courts or People?
The recent filing of a lawsuit by Chateau Potelle Holdings, LLC against Denis Malbec, Medlock Ames Vintners and others shows us that, often, a court will have to determine if a wine is acceptable and...
View ArticleRedwood Valley Dry for Vineyards
In the prior post, we discussed the two major types of water rights and how they co-exist in wine country in California. But, how is that applicable to Redwood Valley? As you may have read last...
View ArticlePaso’s Dry Vineyards – What Exactly is the Law?
Paso Robles has been a water battleground. Following last year’s moratorium by Paso Robles on allowing any new vineyards to use existing water supplies, the fight has only become more intense, moving...
View ArticlePrivate Placements OTOH – 4 Traps
We continue to get questions and comments on the private placement technique of raising funds for your vineyard or winery. Yes, it’s a much more symplified way to get funding for new projects than it...
View ArticleNew SEC Proposals May Make Private Fund Raising Easier for Small Wineries
There is always a lot of interest in our posts regarding ways smaller businesses can use reduced regulatory requirements to raise new money. We have seen clients raise funds needed to enlarge tasting...
View ArticleWhat’s in a Name? Would Napa By Any Other Name be the Same?
Juliet argued to Romeo that his name was his enemy. She contended that the names of things do not matter and that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. In the world of wine, this is far...
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Time Again to Discuss Pa. State Store Privatization?
We often are asked when will Pennsylvania privatize the state stores. Beginning with Governor Corbett taking office in 2011, proposals for privatization have been floated time and again. In March,...
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IS THE GOVERNMENT DRUNK WITH POWER? WHOSE RIGHTS ARE THEY ANYWAY?
The practical and legal elements of the wine industry are frequently unpredictable and illogical. We can blame this on factors other than business or commercial ones. These results occur when we...
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WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM RUDY KURNIAWAN?
Rudy Kurniawan is a man of firsts. On Wednesday, December 18, 2013, he became the first person ever tried and convicted of selling fake wines in the U.S. He had been arrested in March of the previous...
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Labor and Employment Law in the Vineyards
Over the last 25 years a limited number of labor and employment attorneys have turned their attention and representation to employers in the vineyards and on the bottling lines of California Wine...
View ArticleWHEN IS AN ABC ADVISORY JUST ADVICE?
Alcohol Beverage Control authorities frequently provide advisory opinions on what the law or regulations provide. These opinions give the regulated community insight into what the ABC is considering...
View ArticleWHAT DO BOUTIQUE WINERIES, CEQA AND SAN DIEGO HAVE IN COMMON?
The answer is the Fourth District Court of Appeal…. The County of San Diego, like many California counties and regions, saw merit in encouraging the development of a wine community. Starting in 2006,...
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How Do the Top 10 Wine Producing States Stack Up?
Clients at California based wineries are looking elsewhere for new wineries. There seems to be a lot of interest, as demonstrated by Gallo’s recent purchase of Columbia and Covey Run in...
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Jimmy Buffett’s Advice Applied To Making Excellent Wine in Pennsylvania
I recently tested Jimmy Buffett’s claim about “changes in latitude, changes in attitude” where “nothing remains quite the same”. To do so, I sat down with Kevin Robinson, an accomplished winemaker with...
View ArticleYet More Labeling Changes from TTB
The TTB has been very active of late on the label front. We posted an article on the TTB’s agreement to allow a voluntary “Nutrient Facts” label on wine and beer. The TTB announced that it was...
View ArticleNew Labeling Rules Permit Advertising Caloric and Alcohol Content of Wine
In a break from prior practice, the TTB recently issued interim rules, pending formal rulemaking, allowing wineries to provide nutritional and caloric information on their labels. The new rules, issued...
View ArticleNEW MEDIA ADVERTISING RULES APPLY TO ANCIENT INDUSTRY PRACTICES
In Inventing Wine: A New History of One of the World’s Most Ancient Pleasures, Paul Lakacs describes winemaking as an 8,000 year old art, originally believed to be of divine origin. The ancients could...
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Ca. County Wineries by the Numbers
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau has some surprising comparisons of California County wineries. This graphic demonstrates this based on 2010 numbers. Napa and Sonoma are no surprise, but see the...
View ArticleTEN FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA WINERIES
The Center For Rural Pennsylvania recently published a comprehensive study of the state’s wine industry. The 19 page report is chock full of interesting facts, cogent analysis and should be required...
View ArticleYOU SHOULD IGNORE SHAKESPEARE WHEN PROMOTING YOUR WINE
In Romeo & Juliet, Juliet famously asks “what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Wineries located in southern New Jersey have asked themselves the same...
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