Washington Wine Issues

On December 8, 2021, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“LCB”) approved New Rules to extend temporary pandemic-related licensee privileges for to-go orders and permanently amend the food service requirement for liquor licensees. The New Rules are clearly a step towards providing licensees additional flexibility to sell alcohol products in light of the ongoing pandemic.

The New Rules extend and amend endorsements for certain “to-go” products permitting licensees additional flexibility for selling to-go alcoholic beverages. First, the New Rules permit delivery by a third-party instead of only employees of the licensee. Second, the New Rules remove the obligation that breweries, wineries, and distilleries label to-go alcohol products and, for breweries and wineries, permit the sale of prefilled growlers in certain circumstances. Third, the New Rules clarify that payment for to-go wine and cocktails must be processed by a licensee’s direct employee. There are no fees for these endorsements, and they will now expire on July 1, 2023.
Continue Reading Washington State Liquor Control Board Extends Pandemic-Related Privileges for Licensees

Beginning in mid-2019, many Washington wineries will need a permit from the state Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) to discharge wastewater. Ecology issued the state’s first five-year Winery General Permit (the “permit”) on May 17, 2018, but delayed its effective date until July 1, 2019. The new permit will regulate discharges of process wastewater from wineries to land, groundwater, and wastewater treatment plants. No surface water discharges will be allowed under the permit. Ecology has not determined how much a permit will cost, but the new rules in the permit will add financial burden to businesses and may hinder the growth of small wineries.

Ecology decided to develop the general permit due to the rapid increase of wine production in Washington. However, according to Ecology’s Fact Sheet, wineries have not been a “major source” of pollution in Washington. Although Ecology stated in one of the agency’s Responses to Public Comments that “it was unable to find documented evidence of a Washington winery polluting groundwater,” it maintained that “a lack of evidence does not mean groundwater is not being impacted.”

The new permit will apply to wineries that discharge at least 53,505 gallons of wastewater or produce at least 7,500 cases (17,835 gallons) of wine or juice per calendar year. More specifically, wineries that meet the above threshold numbers will need the permit if they discharge wastewater according to one or more of the following methods: (1) to a wastewater treatment plant that is not listed; (2) as irrigation to managed vegetation; (3) to a lagoon or other liquid storage structure; (4) as road dust abatement; (5) to a subsurface infiltration system; or (6) to an infiltration basin.
Continue Reading Ecology Rolls Out Washington’s First Winery General Permit to Regulate Discharges of Wastewater

The following post was written by my colleagues Tom Woods, Parissa Ebrahimzadeh & Bao Vu

As part of the Northern California business community and as an advisor to business, we support the Napa and the surrounding Bay Area in getting homes and businesses back on their feet following the August 24, 2014 Napa Valley earthquake.

The earthquake that rocked Napa Valley and nearby regions left an estimated $1 billion in damages, according to a county news release. The McClatchy News Service recently observed the quake “upended more than wine barrels and mobile homes. It also was an unsettling reminder of how few Californians – homeowners and businesses alike – carry earthquake insurance.”

Sure, insurance agents will discuss earthquake insurance policies with business owners, but Napa Valley region had not experienced a quake of such magnitude since 1989. Thus, this rare but catastrophic risk was one for which the cost-benefit analysis dictated to many Californians that they should forgo the expensive form of insurance. Statistically, the shocking drop in homeowner earthquake insurance policies purchased over the last decade was dwarfed by the 29% drop in the number of California businesses that purchased policies over the same period. Reports are that only 10% of California businesses and residents carrying property insurance also carry earthquake insurance.

Where the wine and agriculture industry suffered $48 million worth of damage, and with over 120 businesses affected, the questions running through so many confused and disrupted lives include: “What do I do now? Did I need earthquake insurance, specifically? Am I covered? How do I perfect a claim if I am covered and where can I go for help?”Continue Reading Rebuilding: Dealing with or Without Earthquake Insurance

Stoel Rives LLP offers its congratulations to Rick Garza on his appointment as Director of the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Today the agency issued a press release announcing the appointment will be effective June 1, 2013.   Garza will be assuming leadership in a time of unprecedented change – the agency is on the tail end

The Washington State Wine Commission hired Steve Warner as the new Executive Director. For more information on Mr. Warner’s background, and the unanimous support by the Washington wine industry, read the WSWC press release here, and the WAWGG press release here

In other news, the Washington wine industry, including both wineries and grape growers

Please join us for our inaugural Washington Winery, Brewery & Distillery law seminar at the Columbia Winery in Woodinville, Washington on Thursday, March 15.

Panels to include these hot topics, plus much more:

  • Privatization/I-1183
  • Trademarks
  • Employment Laws
  • Tasting Room Operations
  • Taxes

For more information and registration visit: http://www.stoel.com/showevent.aspx?Show=9199

Defenders of I-1183 received a holiday gift last week from the Cowlitz County Superior Court. On Thursday, December 22, 2011, the Court issued two important rulings in the declaratory judgment action challenging the constitutionality of I-1183.

First, the Court granted the motion to intervene brought a group of supports of I-1183 led by Costco and