Owners of two Minnesota wineries are challenging the state’s law which limits wine production by Minnesota-licensed farm wineries to predominantly Minnesota-grown grapes. In 2017, Alexis Bailly Vineyard and Next Chapter Winery challenged a provision of the state’s law and argued that the law is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s interstate commerce…
Category: Agriculture Law
TTB Administratively Approves New Grape Varieties Mustang and Riverbank
TTB announced last week that it administratively approved two new grape varieties for use on American wine labels. The new grape varieties, Mustang and Riverbank, can be used on American wine labels contingent upon TTB’s next rulemaking to update the list of approved varieties in the CFR (i.e., at 27 CFR…
Expanded Definition of Hard Cider for Taxation Purposes
On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (“the PATH Act”) into law. The PATH Act contains changes to certain statutory provisions which are administered by TTB, including applicable sections of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) which apply to alcohol beverages. In particular, the…
Proposed Willcox Viticultural Area and Establishment of The Los Olivos District Viticultural Area
On January 21, 2016, TTB published a notice in the Federal Register proposing the establishment of the Willcox Viticultural Area, which is located in portions of Graham and Cochise Counties in Arizona (but is not currently located within, nor does it contain, any other established American Viticultural Area). The proposed Viticultural Area…
Willamette Valley Vineyards Sues Neighboring Farm Over Herbicide Drift
Willamette Valley Vineyards is suing Five Cent Farm, Inc., a neighboring farm. According to Statesman Journal, the lawsuit filed against Five Cent indicates that the Vineyard is claiming more than $400,000 in economic loss from damage to the Vineyard’s pinot noir grapes. The complaint states that Willamette Valley Vineyards has a…