Several updates from the TTB recently developed with respect to the alcohol beverage industry. These updates are noted below. New Certificate of Origin Requirement for Exporting U.S. Alcohol Beverage Products to Korea: The recent trade agreement between the United States and Korea, along with its provisions, are particularly relevant for…
Tag: federal law
Wine Law Seminar in Texas October 20th & 21st and a Special ‘On Reserve’ Discount
Law Seminars International presents the Third Annual Comprehensive Conference on Texas Wine Law, to be hosted in Austin, Texas this October 20th and 21st at the Hilton Austin Hotel. It is recommended that “[a]ttorneys, vineyard operators, grape growers, wine producers and distributors, government regulators involved with the production and distribution…
A Note on the Labeling of Wine in the United States
Labeling wine (or what appears to be wine) in the United States can often times prove to be quite confusing. Generally speaking, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (hereinafter “TTB“) of the U.S. Department of Treasury (or, formally, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, hereinafter “BATF”) has…
Trademark Infringement Suit Filed in California Court Between “Mommyjuice” and “Mommy’s Time Out”
On Monday, a lawsuit was filed in a federal court in California claiming that the “Mommyjuice” of California-based winery Clos Lachance Wines violates the trademark of “Mommy’s Time Out,” a wine marketed by a New Jersey wine distributor. (See Wine for “Mommy” Sets off Trademark Fight.) Both “Mommyjuice” and “Mommy’s Time Out”…
H.R. 5034 is Now H.R. 1161
The bill many wine lovers feared last year, H.R. 5034 or the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act (CARE), is now known as H.R. 1161, the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2011. The text of the 2011 Act is identical to the second version of H.R. 5034 introduced to the…
The Four Legal Categories of Wine in America
I receive a lot of questions regarding the legal protection of different types of wine in America on a somewhat daily basis. This entry serves as an overview of the American legal protection of different classifications of wines. Background The history of the U.S.’s protection of intellectual property is one…
TTB Proposes New Regulations on Wine
Last week, TTB announced several proposals with respect to wines in the United States. These proposals include the Yamhill-Carlton Viticultural Area; Use of Various Winemaking Terms on Wine Labels and Advertisements; Labeling Imported Wine with Multistate Appellations; and Disclosure of Cochineal Extract and Carmine in the Labeling of Wines, Distilled…
Granholm v. Heald and the Wine Industry
General Information on Granholm In the 2005 opinion of Granholm v. Heald, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5–4 decision that state laws allowing in-state wineries to make direct sales to customers but effectively authorizing out-of-state wineries to make sales only through wholesalers at a greater expense are unconstitutional. The…
Is There a Future for the Three-Tier Alcohol Beverage Distribution System?
The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 by the 21st Amendment of the United States Constitution not only reinstated the legality of alcohol beverage consumption, but also introduced a new system for alcohol beverage distribution: the three-tier system. The three-tier system creates a platform between alcohol beverage producers, distributors, and retailers….