LEX VINI

Wine Law Seminar in Napa on July 22, 2011

On July 22, 2011, Networking Seminars will be presenting “Successfully Navigating the New Economy: Legal and Tax Issues Facing the Wine Industry.”  The conference will take place from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. at the Napa Valley Marriott and conclude with a networking wine reception sponsored by Napa Valley Vintners.  The conference will discuss legal […]

Wine Law Treatise Now Available on Amazon

The recently-published wine law treatise by Richard Mendelson, Wine in America: Law and Policy, is now available on Amazon.com.  The treatise is intended to provide reference information on legal issues affecting the wine industry.  The subject areas include trade practices, labeling and advertising, business models for making wine and growing grapes, the commerce clause and the 21st […]

Proposed Naches Heights AVA an Exception to Recent TTB Stated AVA Policy

On May 24, 2011, TTB published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to establish the Naches Heights American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Yakima County, Washington.  The Naches Heights AVA would be located within the Columbia Valley AVA.  TTB is asking for comments on the NPRM on or before July 25, 2011.  The proposed AVA is […]

TTB Proposed Rulemaking Published for Coombsville AVA in Napa Valley

On May 24, 2011, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to establish the Coombsville viticultural area within Napa County and the North Coast and Napa Valley AVAs.  TTB is accepting comments on the NPRM until July 25, 2011.  Comments may be submitted online, by […]

E-Verify Requirements for Farm Labor Likely to Increase Following Supreme Court Decision

E-Verify is the federal government’s electronic employment verification system. It is an Internet-based system that allows an employer, using information reported on an employee’s Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to determine the eligibility of that employee to work in the United States. The E-Verify system is operated by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership […]

The Fair Treatment of Farmworkers Act: A Game Changer for Agricultural Employers

While many employers have focused their attention on the stalled Employee Free Choice Act over the past few years, another more targeted bill has quietly made its way through the California legislature. Senate Bill 104, the “Fair Treatment of Farmworkers Act,” would effectively eliminate secret ballot elections for organizing farmworkers by creating a “card check” […]

USPTO Finds Wine and Tequila Related, Grants Opposition to Trademark Application for GRAN SOL

On May 17th, the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (the “Board”) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO”) granted an opposition filed by Miguel Torres, S.A. against a trademark application for GRAN SOL and Design for Tequila (as shown below) based on the prior registration of the trademark GRAN VIÑA SOL for wine […]

TTB Shifts COLA Compliance Obligations to Applicants to Streamline Process

In a sign of TTB’s efforts to streamline and expedite the COLAs review process, the TTB announced on May 3, 2011 that it will no longer evaluate labels for purposes of ensuring that the labels conform to legibility and type size requirements (including characters per inch and contrasting background) contained in the code. TTB will […]

West Sonoma Coast: Investing in Marketing over AVA Recognition

Vintners and growers from the far western coastal areas of the Sonoma Coast AVA have recently launched a marketing program to promote the “WestSonomaCoast” area.  The group has determined, at least for now, that the politics and bureaucracy surrounding the AVA formation process do not best serve the group’s goal of distinguishing the far west […]

Wine Trademarks: Rights Can Only be Established by "Lawful" Use

One of the basic tenets of U.S. trademark law is that trademark rights may only be established upon use of a trademark in commerce.  Whether the rights are established at common law, or whether a federal trademark application has been filed based on current use or intended use, trademark rights cannot attach until the trademark […]

Vineyard Property:The Not So Common Sense of Preventing Prescriptive Easments – Part II

This is the second part of a two part post discussing prescriptive easements. Last time we talked about how one of two neighbors (“Joe”) should be careful not to compromise or lose his claim to a prescriptive easement to continue using a road on his neighbor’s (“Jane’s”) property by using not so common, common sense. This time […]

Vineyard Property: The Not So Common Sense of Prescriptive Easements – Part I

This is the first part of a two part post discussing prescriptive easements. Common sense – that’s what guides most of us, most of the time, and that’s a good thing. However, when it comes to protecting property rights, common sense solutions can sometimes be dangerous. This is because some rules of property law are counterintuitive, […]

Brand Trends for Wine Revealed in Trademark Filings

Brand trends in an industry, or at least branding plans for a particular player in an industry, can often be seen before they actually debut in the market by watching trademark filings.  Under U.S. Trademark Law, a brand name, or trademark, can be protected before the brand name is ever used in the marketplace.  This […]

The Producer’s Lien: An Often Overlooked Legal Remedy in Grape Contract Disputes

In the wine industry, one of the most common legal disputes is breach of contract between grape growers and wineries.  Often times, grape growers are surprised to learn that, upon the delivery of grapes to a winery, they automatically have a statutory lien against any wine made from those grapes.  This lien, called a “producer’s […]

Can I Store Unlabeled Wine in Taxpaid Areas?

Many wineries wonder whether they can store unlabeled wine bottles or “shiners” (perhaps for aging or as library wines) in storage areas outside of their bonded premises.  The short answer from the “TTB” is no.  Although TTB regulations provide that wines must be labeled before they are removed for “consumption or sale,” the TTB has […]

Groupon and Alcohol Discounts: Do They Mix in California?

The State of Massachusetts ABC recently held that Groupon’s online coupon discounts for alcohol at bars and restaurants run afoul of that state’s ABC regulation regarding happy hours. This case made clear that the many Groupon-type coupon marketing businesses currently in the market need to recognize the regulatory aspect of their offers when alcoholic beverages become […]

Avoiding Tax Reassessment in Transfer of Vineyard or Winery Properties

California real property is reassessed upon certain transfers causing higher (or lower) property taxes. Generally, a reassessment will occur when ownership of the property is transferred. Exclusions from reassessment are available for transfers of real property between spouses and between a parent and a child. Therefore, family owned vineyards and winery property may have been transferred down through […]

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