(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the department may issue a special temporary on-sale or off-sale wine license to any nonprofit corporation having an agricultural purpose that is exempt from the payment of income taxes under Section 501(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. If the nonprofit corporation’s name, or any name under which the nonprofit corporation does business, includes the designation of an American Viticultural Area (AVA) recognized by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), as set forth in Part 9 (commencing with Section 9.1) of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations (27 C.F.R. 9.1 et seq.), the membership of the nonprofit corporation shall include a majority of the winegrowers located in the named AVA in order to obtain a license under this section. No more than one nonprofit corporation located in an AVA is entitled to obtain a license under this section. The applicant shall accompany the application with a fee of one hundred dollars ($100).
(b) This special license shall only entitle the licensee to sell wine donated or sold to the nonprofit corporation by the member winegrowers to consumers for the purpose of fundraising. The wine shall bear the brand name of the producing winery. Off-sale privileges shall be limited to direct mail, telephone, and online computer services. No member winegrower shall donate or sell more than 75 cases of wine per year to the nonprofit corporation and the nonprofit corporation shall sell no more than 1,000 cases of wine per year under the license. If the nonprofit corporation’s name or any name under which the nonprofit corporation does business includes the designation of an American Viticultural Area (AVA) recognized by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), as set forth in Part 9 (commencing with Section 9.1) of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations (27 C.F.R. 9.1 et seq.), the wines sold by the nonprofit corporation must be entitled to use the named AVA as the appellation of origin. In order to avoid confusion between the corporation and any winery whose name also includes the designation of the named AVA, any advertising or solicitation for the sale of wine under this license by the corporation shall include a statement disclosing that the corporation is a nonprofit agricultural organization whose members include individual winegrowers or grapegrowers and whose purpose is to promote its agricultural region and improve its grapes and wines. This advertising or solicitation shall also include a complete roster of the corporation’s members and a list of the brand names, varieties, and vintages of the wines offered for sale. The wine shall not be sold at less than its minimum retail price.
(c) This special license shall be for a period not exceeding 60 days. Only one special license authorized by this section shall be issued to any nonprofit corporation in a calendar year.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 22, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 2006.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018