On November 13, 2014, Governor Cuomo signed the Craft New York Act, a craft beverage law that cuts burdensome restrictions and eases marketing requirements for craft beverage producers. Additionally, to further develop New York’s growing craft beverage industry, Governor Cuomo also launched the Craft Beverage Grant program, which creates a $2 million Craft…
Category: Wine Legislation
The Medicine of Contraband Wine: Donate to Hospitals
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Arthur Goldman, a Pennsylvania attorney recently accused of selling wine in Pennsylvania without a license. See Pennsylvania Attorney’s Wine Collection Seized and May be Destroyed by Government. The story goes that Mr. Goldman privately procured high-end wines for friends and colleagues, selling the wine directly to multiple parties…
Why New York is Positioned to Take the Wine Industry by Storm: A Legal Perspective
New York is home to over four hundred wineries as of March 2014. See New York Wine and Grape Foundation: Wineries by County. While this number may not compete with the amount of wineries currently housed by California, it makes New York home to the greatest number of wineries on the East…
Eighth Circuit Affirms Decision Against Southern Wine & Spirits Allowing Discrimination Against Out-of-State Wholesalers
In September, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided a case with respect to wholesale licensing in the state of Missouri. Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc. (“SWSA”), the plaintiff-appellant, appealed from a lower court decision. The plaintiff-appellant, a foreign alcohol wholesaler, applied for a license to…
Wine Law Wrap-Up for the Week of March 18, 2013
Some very exciting wine law news emerged this week, including two stories that top the headlines of many leading publications. In the state of Massachusetts comes a story about direct shipment and a public figure. On the opposite end of the legal spectrum, we have a pending lawsuit brought by…
Two Sisters Battle Winery-Brewery Law in Arizona
One of the unique aspects of the alcohol beverage industry is the clear and continual regulatory separation of different facets of the industry. For example, in the United States, laws known as tied house laws heavily regulate any form of vertical integration in the alcohol beverage industry. Generally speaking, tied…
Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, and Litigation in the Context of Wine and the Law
The last week presented three very different stories in the context of wine the law, ranging from criminal law to constitutional law issues. The most pertinent are summarized below. On the wine law docket for the week of January 14, 2013: Chateaux Commence Legal Action Against St. Emilion Classification: This…
Indian Wine and Wine Legislation: A Future Development?
A few months ago, I came across an article posted by the Indian Wine Academy that I thought to be particularly interesting. The article, The Growing Need for Wine Laws in India, attracted me because I so rarely come across research on India and wine law. In fact, I can…
TTB Proposes the Establishment of the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley Viticultural Area
What is the proposal for establishing the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley AVA? On May 8, 2012, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) announced a proposal for establishing an American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) for the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley in Douglas, Grant, and Kittitas Counties in central Washington. The notice…
Additional Update from the TTB on Labeling Disclosure for Cochineal Extract and Carmine on Alcohol Labels
TTB recently announced, in final rule T.D. TTB-103, it is amending labeling regulations to require the listing of cochineal extract and carmine on the label of any alcohol beverage that contains one or both of the color additives. According to the final rule, “[t]his rule responds to a final rule issued by the Food…