BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1798|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1798
Author: Evans (D), Chesbro (D) and Huffman (D), et al
Amended: 8/18/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Wright, Harman, Calderon, Denham, Florez, Negrete
McLeod, Padilla, Price, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/13/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Viticulture area designation: Sonoma County
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires all wines bottled or produced
from any viticultural area of appellation located within
Sonoma County to bear the designation "Sonoma County" on
the label.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/18/10 delete Section 1 of the
bill which proposes to expand (from 60 days to75 days) the
length of time the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board
is required to enter its order, thus retaining the existing
60 day timeframe.
CONTINUED
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Senate Floor Amendments of 8/11/10 add a provision that
establishes a "conjunctive labeling" provision in the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Act for all wines made from
grapes grown within recognized winegrowing areas, or
American Viticultural Areas, in Sonoma County. This
provision mirrors existing conjunctive labeling provisions
for Napa, Lodi and Paso Robles.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that, when the word
"Napa" (or any federally recognized viticultural region
within Napa County) appears on a brand label, at least 75
percent of the grapes used to make that wine must be from
Napa County.
Existing law requires wines produced within the "Napa
Valley" to be labeled as being derived from that valley, if
the wine label indicates that they are produced within a
separate viticultural area within the Napa Valley, in order
to preserve consumer identification and understanding.
Existing law prohibits the sale of wine produced, bottled,
or labeled after December 31, 2008, in this state that
identifies, in a brand name or otherwise, on any label,
packaging material, or advertising, the name "Sonoma,"
unless at least 75 percent of the grapes used to make the
wine are from Sonoma County, as specified.
Existing law requires all wines produced or bottled within
the current Paso Robles appellation to be labeled with the
designation "Paso Robles."
Existing law requires all wines produced or bottled within
the current Lodi appellation to be labeled with the
designation "Lodi."
Existing law stipulates that every person who, with intent
to defraud, either falsely makes, alters, forges, or
counterfeits the label for any wine or uses the label or
bottle of any wine belonging to another, without his or her
consent, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Federal law . The Federal Alcohol Administration Act
establishes broad federal regulatory authority over the
interstate trade in alcohol beverage products. The
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Secretary of the Treasury, through the Alcohol and Tobacco
Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), administers an extensive code
of regulations governing, among other things, the contents
of wine labels, including brand names, the name and address
of the bottling winery, and indications of the wine's
origin, as well as the use of such information in
advertising.
Under federal regulations, an "appellation of origin" is a
geographic designation referring to the place where the
grapes used to make a specified percentage of the wine were
grown. For American wines, an appellation of origin
includes the names of states (e.g., "California") and
counties identified with the word "county" (e.g., "Napa
County," "Monterey County," "Sonoma County," "Eldorado
County," etc.) as well as all designated American
"viticultural areas." An American Viticultural Area (AVA)
is a grape growing region distinguishable by geographical
area features, as recognized by the TTB pursuant to
specified criteria and procedures.
These criteria and procedures, and a complete list of AVAs,
are set forth in Part 9 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal
Regulations. In brief, TTB may recognize an AVA area if it
is locally or nationally known for grape-growing, has
particular and definable boundaries, and has geographic
features distinguishing it as a grape-growing area. As of
2007, there were 190 recognized AVAs nationwide - 107 of
which are located in California. The 107 California
viticultural areas recognized by the TTB include, among
others, Alexander Valley, Anderson Valley, Chalk Hill,
Clarksburg, Fair Play, Howell Mountain, Lodi, Los Carneros,
Napa Valley, Paso Robles, Rockpile, Russian River Valley,
Santa Lucia Highlands, Sonoma Valley, Spring Mountain,
Stags Leap, and Wild Horse Valley.
In certain circumstances, wine labels must bear an
appellation of origin. For example, a label must bear an
appellation of origin if the label states either the grape
type ("varietal") used in the wine or the year in which the
grapes were harvested ("vintage"). Recognized varietals
include, among others, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir,
Merlot, Zinfandel, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay,
Riesling and Pinot Grigio. The regulations mandate that the
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appellation appear in direct conjunction with and in
lettering substantially as conspicuous as the varietal or
other class or type designation.
The regulations specify the conditions for use of each type
of appellation of origin. A wine qualifies for a state or
county appellation of origin if at least 75 percent of the
volume derives from grapes grown in the area indicated by
the appellation of origin. Thus, under TTB regulations the
appellation of origin "California" signifies that at least
75 percent of the wine in the bottle was made from grapes
grown anywhere in the state of California. Similarly, the
appellation of origin "Napa County" or "Sonoma County" or
"Mendocino County" signifies that at least 75 percent of
the wine in the bottle was made from grapes grown anywhere
in that particular County. To qualify for an appellation
of origin consisting of an AVA, at least 85 percent of the
wine must derive from grapes grown in the indicated area.
Thus, the appellation of origin "Napa Valley" signifies
that at least 85 percent of the wine in the bottle was made
from grapes grown anywhere in Napa Valley. The regulations
do not require disclosure of the place of origin of the
remaining portion of the wine.
Federal regulations require the wine label to bear a "brand
name." The regulations provide that, in general, "a brand
name of viticultural significance may not be used unless
the wine meets the appellation of origin requirements for
the geographic area named." This prohibition is subject to
an exception. If a brand name was in use before July 7,
1986, it is considered grandfathered. Grandfathered brand
names of viticultural significance may be used for wines
that do not meet the appellation of origin requirements for
the geographic area named, provided the wine is labeled
with a true appellation of origin consisting of a county or
viticultural area (if the brand name refers to a geographic
area smaller than a state) or a state or lesser appellation
(if the brand name refers to a state).
Federal regulations require that the name and address of
the "bottling winery" appear on the wine label,
accompanied, in certain circumstances, by a phrase such as
"bottled by." There is no requirement that the bottling
winery is located in the geographic area where the wine was
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made or the grapes were grown.
Federal law also provides that wine may not be sold or
shipped in interstate commerce unless it bears a label that
TTB has previously approved. A certificate of label
approval ("COLA") is obtained by submitting an application
to the TTB. The application must include an exact replica
of the label as well as other information regarding the
wine covered by the label.
This bill:
1. Requires, beginning on or after January 1, 2014, that
any wine labeled with an AVA located entirely within a
County of the 19th class (Sonoma County) must display
the designation "Sonoma County" on the label, as
specified.
2. Makes it explicit that this provision shall not apply to
any wine labeled with a viticultural area appellation of
origin when the name of the appellation includes the
term "Sonoma County."
3. Provides that the Alcohol Beverage Control may suspend
or revoke the license of any person who violates this
requirement.
NOTE: Please refer to the Senate Governmental
Organization Committee analysis for background
information.
Comments
According to the author's office, the Sonoma County
Vintners along with the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission
(representing over 170 wineries and 1,800 growers combined)
recently reached consensus on a framework to standardize
regional wine product labeling (the wine industry term is
conjunctive labeling) for all wines made from grapes grown
within recognized AVAs in Sonoma County. There are 13 AVAs
located in Sonoma County (e.g., Dry Creek Valley, Russian
River Valley, and Sonoma Valley). The purpose of
conjunctive labeling is to build an association of quality
in an increasingly competitive global wine market for the
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delivery of Sonoma County wines. The proposed language
provides a three-year phase-in period to enable wineries to
redesign their labels and get regulatory approval to use
the new labels.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/10)
Alexander Valley Winegrowers
Bennett Valley Grape Growers
Family Winemakers of California
Russian River Valley Winegrowers
Sonoma County Vintners
Sonoma County Winegrape Commission
Sonoma Valley Vintners and Growers Alliance
The Petaluma Group
Winegrape Growers of Dry Creek Valley
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Caballero, Norby, Skinner, Vacancy
TSM:do 8/19/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
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