Stay tuned for what could be another exciting Supreme Court case relative to alcohol regulation. The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) asked the Supreme Court to review The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s ban of ads in student publications that promote beer, wine, or mixed drinks (unless part of a…
New Zealand Alcohol Laws Have Correct Objective but Incorrect Means
The recent liquor law reforms of New Zealand’s government aim to restrict the amount of underage drinking and dispose of the country’s underage drinking culture. However, the changes to New Zealand’s laws reportedly punish the wrong individuals, forbidding dairy and convenience stores from obtaining the proper license to sell alcohol,…
South African Wine Reports May Be Premature
Last week, a proposal to “water down” South African wines was created by Wine Cellars South Africa. The proposal seeks to change South African wine legislation and legalize adding water to grape must in “controlled quantities before fermentation.” (See South African Wine Plan Breaches European Laws.) This proposal aims to reduce…
Old World v. New World: An International Legal Perspective on Geographical Indications
I read an article recently that summarized the personalities of Old World and New World wines in perfect prose: “New World winemaking has the romance of rugged individualism. With properties bankrolled by previous enterprises such as construction or tobacco, winery owners can break rules (even with scant rules to break),…
New Massachusetts Law Allows Wine Sales at Agricultural Events
A new Massachusetts law allows wineries and vineyards to sell their wine products at agricultural events throughout the state of Massachusetts. Under this law, a winery can obtain a temporary license from a local liquor authority to sell their wines by the bottle or allow tastings at agricultural events (i.e….
Owning & Operating an Urban Winery or Brewery
Rohan Shrikhande of The Wine Law Blog has been quite busy this summer helping to organize a seminar titled Owning and Operating an Urban Winery or Brewery. (Official website at The Seminar Group.) The seminar, which is to be held on November 10, 2010 in San Diego at the Doubletree…
Pennsylvania’s Wine Vending Machines
When I first read about Pennsylvania’s wine vending machines, two thoughts initially crossed my mind: (1) Cornell University’s apple vending machine has some competition for most obscure vending machine, and (2) what are the probable legal repercussions of implementing such a machine? What is the idea behind this device? Simple….
Interested in Reading More on Wine Law?
Wine, despite its many centuries of history, is still expanding with respect to publications defining its legal context. A general Westlaw or LexisNexis search yields [American] case law dating back one hundred years ago or longer, in addition to journal and law review articles. A generic Google or search engine…
Granholm v. Heald and the Wine Industry
General Information on Granholm In the 2005 opinion of Granholm v. Heald, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that state laws allowing in-state wineries to make direct sales to customers but effectively authorizing out-of-state wineries to make sales only through wholesalers at a greater expense are unconstitutional. The…
New York Governor Signs Bill to Help Vineyards
New York Governor Paterson recently signed 83 bills into law. (See Governor Paterson Signs 83 Bills into Law.) Among them, A.915-A/S.5501, is most significant to new or replanted vineyards (and orchards) in New York State. The bill, which was authored by Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, streamlines the current property tax exemption…