New Laws Expand Winery Off-Site Tasting Room Privileges and Manufacturer Charitable Donation Advertising

This week, Governor Gavin Newsom signed three bills that expand certain winery off-site tasting room privileges and grant alcohol beverage manufacturers the right to advertise and promote charitable donations in connection with the sale of alcohol. The laws will become effective on January 1, 2022. We have summarized the new bills and how they amend current law below.

Number of Winery Off-Site Tasting Rooms (SB 19)

Under current California law, Type 02 wineries are permitted to operate tasting rooms only at their licensed Type 02 premises (i.e., the same premises where the winery’s wine is crushed and fermented), and at an off-site Duplicate Type 02 premises (where crushing and fermentation of wine is not permitted).  Current law permits a winery to operate only one off-site Duplicate Type 02 tasting room.

SB 19 amends Section 23390.5 of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (“ABC Act”) to increase the number of Duplicate Type 02 locations that a winery can operate to two locations.

Duplicate Type 02 tasting rooms can be quite helpful for wineries to reach consumers, as they allow wineries to operate a tasting room in another location in California and sell wine to consumers there without having to maintain a production facility on the same premises.

Sale and Delivery of Consumer-Provided Containers at Duplicate Type 02 Tasting Rooms (AB 239)

Under current law, a winery may exercise all the same privileges at its Duplicate Type 02 tasting room as at its Type 02 winery premises (such as the sale and delivery of wine), with certain important exceptions. One of those exceptions is that a winery may not, at its Duplicate Type 02 premises, sell or deliver wine to consumers in containers that have been supplied, furnished, or sold by the consumer.

AB 239 amends Section 23390 of the ABC Act to delete that exception. Starting on January 1, 2022, consumers may provide their own bottles and containers to be filled at a Duplicate Type 02 tasting room premise. AB 239 provides an additional means by which wineries can provide wine to consumers that can be cost-effective for both the winery and the consumer.

Advertisements of Charitable Donations in Connection with the Sale of Alcohol (AB 1267)

Generally, California law prohibits an alcohol beverage licensee from giving a gift or “thing of value” in connection with the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages, unless there is a statutory exception. The ABC Act permits licensees to donate to specified charities and nonprofit organizations (typically 501(c)(3)s). However, where such donations are tied to sales of alcohol beverage products and/or advertised as such – for example, when a licensee advertises that it will donate a portion or percentage of the proceeds from the sale of a product to a charity – the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (“ABC”) views these types of donations as “gifts” or “things of value” to consumers that “incentivize” or “entice” consumers to purchase and consume alcohol in violation of California law. During COVID-19, the CA ABC temporarily created an exception for the enforcement of this prohibition; however, this relief is limited to COVID-19 related charities only.

AB 1267 expands and codifies the CA ABC’s relief with respect to charitable donation advertising by amending Section 25600 of the ABC Act. Starting on January 1, 2022, specified manufacturers – winegrowers, beer manufacturers, distilled spirits manufacturers, craft distillers, brandy manufacturers, rectifiers, and wine rectifiers – may donate a portion of the purchase price of alcohol beverages to nonprofit charitable organizations (not limited to just COVID-19 related charities), subject to all of the following limitations:

  1. The donation is only in connection with the sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages in manufacturer-sealed containers.
  2. The promotion does not directly encourage or reference the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
  3. The donation does not benefit a retail licensee or a charity established for the specific purpose of benefiting the employees of retail licensees, and the advertisement for any donations does not promote or reference any retail licensee. (Note that a manufacturer may identify – but not otherwise promote – the name, address, and website of two or more unaffiliated retailers who sell the manufacturers’ product being offered in the charitable campaign, subject to the restrictions in Sec. 25500.1 of the ABC Act).

Note that this new statutory exception will sunset on January 1, 2025, so unless the exception is made permanent or extended, licensees may not advertise any donations related to the sale of alcoholic beverages at all after the date.

Further Information

The bills’ text can be found on the California Legislative Information website at the following links: SB 19 (Winegrowers: tasting rooms); AB 239 (Winegrowers and brandy manufacturers: exercise of privileges: locations); and AB 1267 (Alcoholic beverages: advertising or promoting donation to a nonprofit charitable organization).

If you have any questions, please contact John Trinidad at [email protected] or Michael Mercurio at [email protected].

Supporting Non-Profits through Cause-Related Marketing

The start of 2017 has seen an outpouring of support from the business community for non-profit groups, including marketing campaigns that promise a certain percentage of sales or profits will be donated to particular charities.   Such practices are often referred to as “cause-related marketing.”   Here’s an example:  ABC Winery wants to support a national nonprofit organization, and decides to launch a marketing campaign saying that 50% of profits will be donated to that cause.

While ABC Winery should be applauded for their efforts, they will also need to comply with state laws and regulations aimed at protecting consumers, promote transparency, and ensuring that charities are indeed receiving the funds that are being promised in the cause-related marketing campaign.  These laws vary state by state, but typically include reporting, contracting, disclosure, and/or registration requirements for the commercial entity promising to donate a portion of sales (a “commercial co-venturer”).

In California, a commercial co-venturer must (a) have a written contract with a charity prior to making any cause marketing representation, (b) transfer any funds received as a result of the representations every 90 days, and (c) provide a written accounting to the charitable organization sufficient to determine that any cause-related representations made by the co-venturer have been “adhered to accurately and completely” and said accounting must also be sufficient for the charity to prepare its periodic charitable solicitations reports filed with the California Attorney General.   Alternatively, if the co-venturer decides not to follow these steps, it must register annually with the California Attorney General’s office, pay an annual fee, and submit annual reports.

In addition, cause-related marketing claims are considered “sales solicitations for charitable purposes” under California law, and are subject to the disclosure requirements under Cal. Bus & Prof. Code Sec. 17510 et. seq.  This law requires disclosure of the following information:

  1. Name and address of the combined campaign, each organization, or fund on behalf of which all or any part of the money collected will be utilized for charitable purposes;
  2. If there is no organization or fund, the manner in which the money collected will be utilized for charitable purposes;
  3. The non-tax-exempt status of the organization or fund, if the organization or fund for which the money or funds are being solicited does not have a charitable tax exemption under both federal and state law; and
  4. The percentage of the total gift or purchase price which may be deducted as a charitable contribution under both federal and state law.

If sales and marketing efforts are made outside of California, then those state laws and regulations regarding cause-based marketing may also apply.