On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, TTB published a notice in the Federal Register proposing important changes to wine labeling regulations and recordkeeping requirements. Comments to the proposed changes will be accepted through August 22, 2016 and can be submitted through the Federal Register website). The notice proposes to amend TTB’s labeling and…
Empire Wine Bill Passes in New York Senate
The “Empire Wine Bill” (version 2.0) passed in the New York State Senate on Friday, June 17th per the New York State Assembly website. The matching Assembly bill, A10248, passed earlier on June 15th. The summary of the Senate bill is as follows: Relates to clarifying the basis upon which the state liquor authority has…
Empire Wine Bill Passes in Assembly
The “Empire Wine Bill” (version 2.0) passed in the New York State Assembly on Wednesday, June 15th per the New York State Assembly website. The matching Senate bill, S07728, has not yet passed and shows no action on the bill’s page other than an entry for May 12, 2016. The summary…
New Presentation on Wine Law
A few weeks ago, I filmed a presentation called “Introduction to Wine Law” for Lawline. The course is now available on demand through the Lawline website and runs approximately 90 minutes. A summary of the course is listed below: The alcohol beverage industry is one of the most regulated consumer product industries…
Empire Strikes Back: New Bill Appears in New York’s Senate and Assembly
Two new bills have been introduced to New York’s Senate and Assembly on May 12th and May 18th (respectively), sponsored by New York State Senator Phil Boyle and Assembly Member Philip Steck. The bills are very similar to the “Empire Wine Bill” that appeared in both the Senate and Assembly last…
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…
The (Legal) Truth Behind American Viticultural Areas
What are American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)? Are they appellations? AVAs are types of appellations—but not all appellations are AVAs. For example, California and Texas and Napa County and Sonoma County are considered to be an appellation of origin with respect to wine labeling. But they are not AVAs. Both appellations…
2016 Wine and Law Program at the University of Reims
This year, the University of Reims’ Wine & Law Program is in its sixth session and will discuss topics related to wine law and intellectual property rights in the wine sector. The Program is from June 20, 2016 through June 29, 2016 at the Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne and applications for the Program…
TTB Publishes Two AVA Final Rules: Willamette Valley and Loess Hills District
On March 3rd, TTB published two final rules in the Federal Register the first which modified portions of currently established AVAs and the second which establishes a new AVA. The first rule alters an existing viticultural area in Oregon and the second alters an forms a viticultural area in sections of…
Upcoming CLE on Wine Law
On May 18, 2016, I will be presenting a CLE for Lawline on wine law. It will be a live broadcast and the course will provide an introduction to the history of wine regulation in the U.S., labeling and advertising, federal and state licensing regimes, and trade practice laws. A short description…