Loosening wine limits

Peggy Skotnicki had a picture-perfect Sonoma Wine Country experience last week.

The librarian from Niagara Falls, N.Y., and three friends enjoyed a picnic lunch on the patio overlooking the verdant vineyards at Kunde Estate Winery in Kenwood.

They marveled at the gorgeous summer weather.

They shared a bottle of crisp sauvignon blanc.

And they unwittingly broke a state law.

Skotnicki and the other members of her party were astounded to hear that the wine they were enjoying with their leisurely lunch was in fact not allowed by California alcoholic beverage laws.

"We've been doing it for years," Skotnicki said. "If we couldn't have a bottle of wine with our picnic, it would be awful."

State alcohol law permits most wineries to pour tastes of wine for visitors, defined by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control as 1 ounce of wine. It doesn't restrict the number of such pours.

Tasting rooms also may sell bottles of wine, but only "for consumption off the premises where sold," according to ABC regulations.

Many wineries turn a blind eye to customers who buy a bottle and open it on the winery grounds. ABC officials haven't exactly cracked down on the popular practice, either.

A bill by two Santa Rosa lawmakers that passed the Legislature last week would make such winery picnics legal as part of changes that would give tasting rooms at the state's 2,700 wineries far greater flexibility in how they operate.

"A person has the right to buy a bottle of wine that they have sampled in a winery tasting room," said state Sen. Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa. "It makes no sense to force them to wait until they get home before they can open it."

The legislation, Assembly Bill 2004, is sponsored by the San Francisco-based wine lobby, the Wine Institute. It is co-authored by Wiggins and Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa. It passed the Legislature unanimously June 30, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has 12 days from receipt of the bill to sign it.

Instead of the 1-ounce pour, tasting rooms would be allowed to sell their wines by the glass or by the bottle, allowing visitors to kick back and stay awhile.

"Now your tasting room can be a wine bar," said Barbara Insel, president of wine industry research firm Stonebridge Research Group in St. Helena. "People who want to go out and meet friends for a drink can go to their favorite tasting room."

The bill came about after local law enforcement agencies asked the ABC to clarify the laws relating to drinking at picnic areas on winery grounds. The agencies had received complaints about things getting out of hand in a few places.

"There were reports of people doing wacky things, screaming, peeing in the bushes, things that were not so cool," said Wendell Lee, general counsel of the Wine Institute.

Fearing an ABC crackdown on winery picnic grounds, the Wine Institute proposed changes to the law and was surprised to find ABC officials supportive of the idea.

The new law would grant all wineries with a production permit, known as winegrower or Type 02 permit, privileges similar to those enjoyed by bars and restaurants.

The main difference is they can only sell their own wines.

Whether it's by the glass, flute, carafe or bottle, wineries will now be able to serve customers far more than just a taste of Wine Country.

"I think it's a sign of the maturing of the wine industry," said Kevin Bellflower, a Napa resident relaxing with friends in the reserve room at Kunde last week.

The industry already has shifted toward more pairing of wine with food, Bellflower said, and the new law will continue that trend.

Overconsumption and potential increases in drunken driving are issues for the ABC, said Matthew Botting, special counsel for the department.

"That is a concern for the department and for all of law enforcement," Botting said. "But at the end of the day, each winery is responsible."

While a sweeping change, the law's impact will probably be limited.

Many tasting rooms don't have the staff or facilities to increase their services, and so will probably keep things the way they are. Others might decide they simply don't want people to linger over a full glass of wine.

At Kunde, the tasting bar is already three or four deep many weekends during the summer, so there's little room for people to comfortably drink a glass of wine inside, said consumer direct manager Jody Stewart.

The winery supports the new law, but hasn't yet decided whether to implement any changes. If Kunde decides to sell wines by the glass, it would probably be for customers on the patio, Stewart said.

By-the-glass sales have their own issues, she added.

"When people are buying by the glass, they maybe don't take into account how much they are consuming," she said.

The law won't apply to the tasting rooms that have been cropping up in recent years in city centers. Current law allows wineries to operate one tasting room separate from the facility where the wine is made. Many have chosen to locate those tasting rooms in tourist areas like downtown Sonoma and Healdsburg.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.

com.