BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1101
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                   SB 1101 (Wiggins) - As Amended:  March 23, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental  
          Organization Vote:                            20 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill allows winemakers who participate in instructional  
          events or winemakers' dinners, held at a retailer's licensed  
          premises, to offer three one-ounce tastes of wine from bottles,  
          remove any unused wine from the premises, and offer samples of  
          only minimal amounts of wine taken from barrels or from tanks.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)State administrative and enforcement costs associated with  
            this legislation are insignificant.  

          2)Minor, if any, nonreimbursable local public safety costs as  
            this bill expands the definition of an existing crime.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill clarifies that winemakers participating  
            in winemakers' dinners or instructional events may offer  
            samples of wine (three one-ounce tastes) from bottles. The  
            three one-ounce tastes conform to existing law on the number  
            and size of tastes utilized by winegrowers tasting rooms.  The  
            author intends for this bill to expand opportunities for  
            sampling wine at winemakers' dinners by allowing winemakers to  
            bring bottled wine for consumers to sample. Current law only  
            allows winemakers to bring samples from tanks and barrels to  
            winemakers' dinners. The author's office asserts that this is  
            a practical, but limited, addition to winemakers' dinners. 

           2)Winemakers' Dinners  . Under current law, winegrowers are able  
            to conduct winemakers' dinners at licensed retail facilities,  








                                                                  SB 1101
                                                                  Page  2

            such as restaurants. The law allows a winegrower  
            representative to conduct the educational event without  
            compensation from the retail establishment, and allows the  
            winegrower to advertise the event under specified conditions.

           3)Related Legislation  . Currently, AB 2134 (Chesbro) would allow  
            beer manufacturers, importers or their representatives to  
            conduct and advertise beer promotional lectures ("beer maker  
            dinners") at licensed retail premises. That bill is currently  
            pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081