Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/333548
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J u l y - A u g 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 2 5 B e i n g a b l e t o p u r c h a s e a b o t t l e of local wine along with seasonal pro- d u c e a n d r e g i o n - a l l y r a i s e d m e a t and seafood has an i n t u i t i v e a p p e a l i n an American culture that is increasingly i n t e r e s t e d i n e a t - ing and drinking well and shopping close to home. In recent years, a number of s t a t e s , i n c l u d i n g C a l i f o r n i a , M a s s a - chusetts, Michigan, New York and Wash- ington, have passed legislation allowing local wineries to sell wine at farmers mar- kets – but with limitations and caveats that have many owners of small wineries shak- ing their heads in disbelief. As with so much legislation these days, many of the bills legalizing wine sales at farmers markets seem to be tailored to benefit a few constituents or campaign donors rather than promoting local wine producers across the board. By most standards, California's alco- hol regulations are fairly liberal, if also a bit labyrinthine. One can hold a license for importation, wholesale and retail sales simultaneously, as well as for production, tasting and retail sales. One-off event per- mits are also available for a price. One of the quirks that made it into the law, according to Carl Sutton of Sutton Cel- lars in San Francisco, is a requirement that a high proportion of the grapes in any wine sold at a farmers market be grown by the seller. Sutton is exactly the type of pro- ducer who would normally take advantage of being allowed to sell his wine at urban farmers markets. I first met him nearly a decade ago when he was a boot-strap- + An increasing number of states allow wine sales at farmers markets. + Many producers find that they don't fall within the legal qualifications for sell- ing at farmers markets. + Special interests exclude many wineries from selling at farmers markets. + In some states, allowing wines to be sold at weekly markets is viewed as a gateway to allowing grocery store wine sales. AT A GLANCE MARKET WATCH TIM TEICHGRAEBER ping small producer m a k i n g w i n e a t a custom-crush facility in Sonoma. He had the connections to source some quality fruit and made wine in small batches to sell in the Bay Area. He didn't rely much on a distribution net- work, opting instead to develop personal r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h buyers and consum- ers in San Francisco. Basically, he's been pounding the local p a v e m e n t f o r t h e past decade. "I would love to be able to do farmers markets," said Sut- ton. "You have to be under a certain vol- ume, so it helps the small guys, but, as I understand it, (in California) you have to grow 95% of the grapes ( i n y o u r w i n e s ) . Yo u ' r e helping out a farmer, but you're not helping out a small business. They have definitely segregated us and told us, 'You don't grow your own grapes, so you don't count.' " By mandating that wines sold at farmers markets be estate-grown, the law bars winemakers who buy local grapes and makes it difficult for local wineries to offer relatively afford- able wines in a farmers market setting. " Ta k e , f o r e x a m p l e , P o r t e r C r e e k Vi n e y a r d s (in Healdsburg)," Sutton continued. "They could go Farmers Market Machinations Quirky laws stall efforts to fully open local markets to wine sales Caption: Photo: Thinkstock