Opener
The New York State Liquor Authority has scheduled a special board meeting for April 23, 2014 to consider two requests for declaratory rulings related to internet wine sales. Both Lot 18 and Connoisseur Encounters Co., Inc (doing business as “The Wine Cellar at Rye Ridge”) have asked the NYSLA for guidance regarding their proposed business […]
Earlier this week, Missouri distributor Major Brands, Inc. won the most recent round in its year-long franchise law litigation with Diageo Americas, Inc. The federal district court in Connecticut has dismissed Diageo’s complaint, and the parties dispute appears to be gearing up for a trial in Missouri state court this summer. Last March, Diageo brought […]
By Katja Loeffelholz, Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty The prominence of vineyard-designated wines is another lesson in value-added agricultural branding which presents both the winery and the vineyard owner or lessee with a number of marketing and legal issues. Recognizing the value of vineyard designated names, vineyards have long been designating blocks within their vineyards with […]
Plaintiff San Antonio Winery, Inc. (“SAW”) filed suit against Constellation Brands last August in the Central District of California, alleging trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition due to Constellation’s promotion and sale of fizzy, low-alcohol, sweet (“FLAS”) red wine under the mark ROSATELLO. SAW claims trademark rights in the mark STELLA ROSA […]
Napa County’s agricultural water users rely on both groundwater and surface water flow to provide frost protection and irrigation. Similar to other areas of the state, it is anticipated that Napa vineyard owners will rely on groundwater resources to make up any shortfalls in surface water availability. Many vintners rely on the surface flows from […]
Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty attorneys will be presenting “Exporting Wine to China” to the Sonoma County Vintners on Wednesday, April 8th from 9:30am – 11:00am. The seminar will be held at the SCV offices: 3637 Westwind Blvd., Santa Rosa. “This is a timely seminar as our members will be heading to China on an export […]
By John Trinidad Lawyers for The Wine Advocate, the publication made famous by Robert Parker, recently fired off a letter to wine writer Tyler Coleman, demanding that he “immediately remove content on [his blog] www.drvino.com that was copied from eRobertParker.com,” claiming that Coleman’s use of this material “blatantly infringes upon [The Wine Advocate’s] copyright protected […]
Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty attorneys will be featured speakers during the upcoming “8th Annual Best Practices in Winery Operations: Risks and Rewards” to be held on March 27 & 28, 2014 in Napa. The seminar (which offers California CLE Credits) will cover the following: Legal and Regulatory Update County Audits and Compliance with Land Use […]
Winegrowers vying to become the 18th American Viticultural Area in Oregon have reached an important milestone. On February 26, 2014, a new notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register, soliciting comments regarding the proposed “The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater” AVA. The comment period is open until April 28, 2014, and comments can […]
On February 25, 2014, E. & J. Gallo filed a trademark suit in the Southern District of New York against Dark Horse Distillery, LLC. of Lenexa, Kansas, and T. Edward wines, Ltd., its New York distributor, claiming infringement by false designation of origin, unfair competition and trademark dilution of its registered mark DARK HORSE for […]
As a friendly reminder to all alcoholic beverage industry members, consignment sales of alcoholic beverages are illegal under both California and Federal law. Consignment sales are transactions where title to the alcoholic beverages in question is retained by the seller or where the licensee receiving the alcoholic beverages has the right at any time to […]
California River Watch, Coast Action Group, and Forest Unlimited have issued the attached letter to North Coast vineyard owners and operators that divert water for agricultural purposes in the North Coast. The letter warns that water diversions for frost protection could result in the “take” of threatened and endangered salmonids in north coast streams, not […]
Each year Napa County sends out notices to 20 wineries that they have been selected to be subject to the annual winery audit for compliance with their individual use permits. The County sent out its most recent notice on January 17, 2014 asking for information about annual production, visitation and custom crush activities. The letter requests that […]
St. Helena’s City Council unanimously voted to approve an emergency ordinance repealing recently passed amendments to the Small Winery Ordinance. We wrote about this matter earlier in the week. Tuesday’s vote prevents the amendments from being put on the November ballot as a referendum item, and effectively reopens debate regarding the proposed amendments. A […]
In a further reprieve to employers the White House announced Monday, February 10, 2014 that portions of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate will be delayed another year. Employers with 50 to 99 employees will have until January 1, 2016 to offer quality affordable health care to their employees who work 30 or more hours […]
St. Helena’s City Council will hold a hearing on Tuesday, February 11 to consider repealing amendments to the Small Winery Ordinance approved just a few weeks ago after a months-long process. From May – August 2013, the St. Helena Planning Commission held four hearings to consider amending provisions of the St. Helena Municipal Code that […]
New Chinese Trademark Law – Effective May 1, 2014 For decades, China has been criticized for shielding “trademark hijackers” – individuals or entities who have registered well known U.S. marks in China despite having no affiliation with that brand. If a winery failed to apply for their trademark in China often it was not too […]
Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty attorney W. Scott Thomas arranged a special tour of the Napa Valley for about 40 University of California, Hastings College of the Law LL.M. degree candidates from around the globe. The tour included an amazing tasting experience at Schramsburg Vineyards -America’s House of Sparkling Wine, and a catered lunch and tasting […]
Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty is hosting a party on Wednesday, January 29th from 6:00pm – 9:00pm at The Citizen Hotel’s Scandal Lounge, 926 J Street, in Sacramento. We invite all of our Lex Vini readers to join us if you happen to be in Sacramento for the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. Also stop by […]
Over the past year, the New York State Liquor Authority has wrestled with how to treat third party wine marketers like Lot 18. As we discussed in an earlier blog post, the NYSLA questioned whether third party marketers were essentially operating as unlicensed alcohol beverage retail business. Although the NYSLA has promised to issue additional […]