California wineries will gain broader access to certified farmers’ markets under a new state law that removes a key requirement that prevented a number of small wineries from offering tastings at such venues.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 917 on Aug. 27. It takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Under previous law, wineries holding a type 02 winegrower license could obtain a type 79 certified farmers’ market sales permit, but wine sold at the markets had to be produced from grapes or other agricultural products grown by the winegrower, known as estate-grown fruit. SB 917 removes that requirement, allowing wineries that purchase grapes from other growers to participate, according to the legislation.
“This is a great option for licensed wineries to have more direct access to consumers,” Nick Conti, an associate attorney with DP&F Law in Napa, told the Journal.
The law’s author, state Sen. John Laird of the Central Coast, said this law “delivers real relief” to hurting California wineries.
“By cutting red tape and opening new markets, we’re giving small producers more opportunities to get their products directly to consumers,” he said in a statement.
The law also increases from one to three the number of winegrowers that may conduct instructional tastings during a market’s operating hours. Tastings must be conducted in an area separated from the rest of the market by a wall, rope, cable, cord, chain, fence or another barrier, and customers cannot leave the area with an open container of wine.
Winegrowers may pour no more than 3 ounces per person per day and may sell no more than 5,000 gallons annually through all certified farmers’ market permits they hold. Instructional tastings also will be subject to California’s Responsible Beverage Service training requirements.
A Type 79 permit may be valid for up to 12 months but cannot be used more than one day per week at a single certified farmers market. A winegrower may hold more than one permit.
Sonoma, Solano, Marin, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties had more than five dozen certified markets as of July 1, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
The state’s farmers’ market wine program started with Assembly Bill 2520 of 2000, which authorized licensed winegrowers to sell bottled estate-grown wine at certified farmers markets under what became the Type 79 permit framework. That law was intended to give small producers another sales channel, according to legislative analysis.
In 2014, AB 2488 expanded that privilege by allowing Type 79 permit holders to offer limited instructional tastings at certified farmers markets in an area separated from the rest of the market. Licences were limited to one per market, and pours were capped at 3 ounces per person per day.
SB 917 was sponsored by Family Winemakers of California and the California Association of Winegrape Growers.
Jeff Quackenbush joined North Bay Business Journal in May 1999. Reach him at jeff@nbbj.news or 707-521-4256.
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