May this be the one time an electorate raises a toast to the politicians in Sacramento, as Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law July 8 a bill allowing wine tasting at Farmers Markets across California.
Yet do not plan on getting drunk – or even buzzed – when you heading over to your local Farmers Market to complete the week’s grocery shopping, as the new law limits just how much wine you can taste during this routine errand (or outing).
Specifically, wine tasting connoisseurs at any given Farmers Market will be limited to consuming three ounces daily of the fermented grape juice. In addition to the three-ounce daily limit, the actual wine tasting must take place in a roped off area.
A winemaker who bottling its own wine would be allowed to host tasting events at any Farmers Market in California, including many of the popular ones on the Westside. Only one winery at a time would be allowed to conduct a wine tasting within the roped off area. Yet another limitation: a winery cannot host more than one wine tasting per week at a Farmers Market.
Finally, participating wineries would have to pay a $50 permit fee in order to host a wine tasting at a Farmers Market.
There is actually no moratorium attached to Brown’s signature, meaning the law went into effect while the ink on paper was still wet.
Though the law is now in effect, it might still take time for Farmers Markets across the state to actually implement a wine tasting element at their respective locations. According to multiple news reports, each individual Farmers Market would have to institute policies governing wine tasting events.
Still, Farmers Markets are now legally able to allow wine tasting to exist at their respective locations if they so choose. If you are a wine connoisseur and a tasting event arrives to a Farmers Market you frequent, be sure to send a “Cheers!” to the State’s lawmakers.
The law Brown signed – Assembly Bill 2488 (AB 2488) – sailed through the State Assembly and Senate votes without a single dissenter.
Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, introduced AB 2488 on the Assembly floor earlier this year.
