Family Winemakers and Western Fairs Association Co-Sponsor Legislation to Fix Home Winemaking Law

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moving swiftly to address a problem with California’s alcoholic beverage statutes, Family Winemakers of California and the Western Fairs Association are teaming up to co-sponsor SB 607 (Wiggins) to allow home winemakers to continue participating in judging competitions. Currently, home winemakers are prohibited from removing the wine from the place where it is made, which makes it illegal to enter competitions that are typically held at county fairs, regional fairs and the California Exposition and State Fair in Sacramento. SB 607 remedies that situation and clarifies other aspects of the home winemaker law in California. “Home winemaking can be the incubator for tomorrow’s entrepreneurial producers, as well as fostering the innovative spirit that makes California wine a global leader. Family Winemakers supports broadening the diversity of the wine industry and is co-sponsoring SB 607 to continue that tradition,” said Paul Kronenberg, FWC President.

“Amateur competitions are the very heart of California’s fairs,” notes Stephen Chambers, Western Fairs Association Executive Director. “From Fine Arts to livestock, every year several hundred thousand Californians enter their very best efforts in County, State and regional fair contests. We greatly appreciate Senator Wiggins’s legislation to allow home wine judging to continue. Over 40 fairs host amateur wine judging and consider it a component of their mission to support agriculture.”

SB 607 will conform California law to federal statutes and actually allow a home winemaker to share the wine with his or her family. The bill must be approved by the both the Senate and Assembly and signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. It will be an urgency measure so that many planned competitions in upcoming months can still be held. The California Department of Food and Agriculture, which administers the state’s fairs, lists over 70 fairs throughout the year on its website.

Family Winemakers is a non-profit trade association representing over 725 small and growing wineries, vineyards and supporting businesses.

Western Fairs Association is a non-profit trade association serving the fair industry throughout the Western United States and Canada.