LEX VINI

New Bill Targets California Alcohol Delivery Services

California lawmakers are considering legislation that would regulate companies offering alcohol delivery services, such as Instacart and Drizly. Senate Bill 254  stops short of requiring “delivery network services” from obtaining a license from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”), but does require that the ABC review and approve of their “system” before they engage […]

Regulatory Hurdles for DTC, Social Media, and Third Party Sales Channels

During last week’s Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, DP&F attorney John Trinidad moderated a panel discussion titled, “Regulatory Hurdles for DTC, Social Media, and Third Party Sales Channels.” Trinidad led off the session with a presentation describing how the Internet has “disrupted” the wine industry’s traditional sales and marketing models.  You can access Trinidad’s PowerPoint presentation by clicking on […]

Groupon to Launch Wine Brand?

During a review of wine labels on ShipCompliant’s LabelVision database, we came across several new COLAs issued to  Top it Off Bottling, LLC and Appellation Trading Company, LLC (Type 02 licensed winegrower based in Napa) listing the fictitious business name “Groupon Wines” and bearing a GROUPON WINES word mark on the front label.  The wines include: Chatty […]

New York State Liquor Authority Sets 4/23 Meeting re Internet Wine Sales

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 […]

Lot 18 Secures Brick & Mortar Retail License from NYSLA

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 […]

Disruptive Technologies: The Internet and Wine

Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty attorney John Trinidad recently gave a presentation at the University of California-Berkeley School of Law on the impact of the Internet on the regulations that govern the wine industry.  You can download a copy of Mr. Trinidad’s presentation here. During his presentation, Mr. Trinidad provided an overview of how the spread of e-commerce […]

New York SLA Announces 8/19 Meeting re Online Alcohol Beverage Sales

A few months ago, we reported on the New York State Liquor Authority’s ruling on ShipCompliant’s petition regarding online alcohol beverage sales using third party marketers.  We concluded by noting that a “final decision on the permissibility of sales of alcoholic beverages using third party marketers will be forthcoming from the NYSLA and NYSLA intends to […]

Third Party Providers: Current state of play in California and New York

The June 2013 edition of Wines & Vines Magazine / Practical Winery & Vineyard Journal contains an article by DP&F’s John Trinidad on working with Third Party Providers to increase winery sales.  The article discusses the current state of play in both California and New York — two of the top wine consuming states in […]

The NYSLA Ruling – What it Really Means to Licensees and Third Party Marketers

We have received several questions from clients regarding the New York State Liquor Authority’s ruling on April 9, 2013 regarding the “legality of internet advertising platforms.” The ruling, which addresses the relationship between a New York state wholesaler, a New York state retailer, a third party internet marketer and ShipCompliant, is narrow and specifically applies […]

New York State Liquor Authority to Examine Third Party Marketing

The New York State Liquor Authority (“NY SLA”) is holding a special meeting on January 17, 2013 to discuss the role of third party providers in internet advertising and sales. This meeting is the result of a request from ShipCompliant for a declaratory ruling that its MarketPlace Platform does not violate New York state laws […]

California ABC Reverses Position on Third-Party Providers Following Industry Input

The California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control has reevaluated and reversed its position on third-party providers conducting marketing of alcohol beverage products over the Internet, as well as the propriety of licensing a trademark for use on alcohol beverage products without being a producer with an ABC license. This has come after a stakeholder committee, which was formed […]

« Older Entries