DP&F Law Welcomes Former Wine Institute Vice President and General Counsel Tracy Genesen to Alcohol Beverage Law Practice
Napa, CA (January 6, 2026) – Dickenson Peatman & Fogarty (DP&F) is pleased to announce that attorney Tracy Genesen, former Vice President and General Counsel for Wine Institute, has joined the firm’s Alcohol Beverage Law and Compliance (ABLC) practice group.
Tracy is internationally recognized for her legal work in the alcohol beverage industry. At DP&F she will continue providing incisive, strategic counsel to help business owners and operators successfully navigate the challenges inherent to highly regulated industries, including those for wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs).
“We are thrilled to have Tracy join our team and further expand our deep bench of attorneys with expertise in the alcohol beverage space,” said DP&F managing partner John Trinidad. “She has been at the forefront on the key legal and policy issues – both domestic and international – that alcohol beverage businesses face: advertising and marketing, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales, climate change, distributor relationships and barriers to trade. We are excited to have her collaborate with our clients and help them successfully navigate this heavily regulated industry and achieve their business goals.”
Tracy Genesen
Partner Bahaneh Hobel, who leads the ABLC practice group at DP&F, shares, “DP&F’s ABLC practice is built on decades of experience across all facets of alcohol beverage law and regulation, and we are proud to represent wineries, breweries, distilled spirits producers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and third -party players nationwide. Tracy’s extensive, practical experience aligns seamlessly with our practice and strengthens the guidance we provide clients, whether its advising on strategies for starting new lines of business or partnering to craft sophisticated and creative marketing and promotional initiatives.”
Prior to joining DP&F, Tracy served as Vice President & General Counsel for Wine Institute from 2016 to 2024, providing strategic legal counsel and risk management leadership for the public policy advocacy group, which represents 85% of U.S. wine production, and 90% of U.S. wine exports. Following her tenure at Wine Institute, Tracy served as Associate General Counsel at E. & J. Gallo Winery where she provided strategic legal direction for the organization’s U.S. Spirits and Malt Business Sector, including the company’s RTD division. She previously served as General Counsel of Edrington Americas, the United States arm of the ultra-premium global spirits company, and before that, was a partner at law firms Reed Smith LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
While at Kirkland & Ellis, Tracy acted as lead industry counsel for Granholm v. Heald, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that has become the legal cornerstone of today’s national direct-to-consumer shipping landscape. Tracy also is a lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law where she teaches a Wine Law course with DP&F Managing Partner John Trinidad. Over the past fifteen years, Tracy has held faculty positions at UC Berkeley School of Law and the UC Davis School of Law. She served as a lecturer at Stanford and Harvard law schools, and guest lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business, and also taught under special appointment at the Université de Reims in France.
“I am privileged to join the exceptional legal team at DP&F, a firm that has been a storied torch bearer for the law and policy in the alcohol beverage industry,” said Tracy, “I look forward to serving as a strategic business partner and practical risk management advisor to firm clients.”
DP&F Of Counsel and foundational wine law attorney, Richard Mendelson shares, “Tracy continues the tradition and legacy of DP&F as a leader in alcohol beverage law and policy. We were the first firm in Napa Valley to specialize in wine law, and now, with the addition of Tracy, joining John, Bahaneh, and me, we have multiple layers of local, national and international expertise and relationships across the wine, beer, and spirits sectors. We are glad to welcome Tracy to DP&F.”
About DP&F
Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty PC (DP&F) is a full-service law firm serving clients in wine country and worldwide with individualized and sophisticated counsel, delivering pragmatic solutions to advance our clients’ business goals. We advise businesses throughout their lifecycle—from formation to transition—in key areas of law: business transactions, intellectual property, labor and employment, land use, litigation, real property, alcohol beverage regulation and compliance, and wine law.
