Code Section

25503.4.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, a winegrower, California winegrower’s agent, wine importer, or any director, partner, officer, agent, or representative of that person, may conduct or participate in, and serve wine at, an instructional event for consumers held at a retailer’s premises featuring wines produced by or for the winegrower or, imported by the wine importer, subject to the following conditions:

(1) No premium, gift, free goods, or other thing of value may be given away in connection with the instructional event by the winegrower, California winegrower’s agent, wine importer, or retailer, except as authorized by this division.

(2) No alcoholic beverages may be given away in connection with the instructional event except that minimal amounts of wine, taken from barrels or from tanks, may be supplied and provided as samples at the instructional event. A person authorized by subdivision (a) may also provide no more than three one-ounce tastes of wine per consumer at the instructional event from bottles of wine provided by the authorized person. For purposes of this section, minimal amounts of the samples or tastes provided at the instructional event do not constitute a thing of value. Following the instructional event, any unused wine provided by the authorized person shall be removed from the retailer’s premises by the authorized person.

(3) No alcoholic beverages may be sold at the instructional event, except that orders for the sale of wine may be accepted by the winegrower if the sales transaction is completed at the winegrower’s premises.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 25502.2, a person identified in subdivision (a) appearing at an instructional event described in subdivision (a) may, in addition to other permitted activities, provide autographs to consumers on consumer advertising specialties given by the person to a consumer or on any item provided by a consumer. No purchase of any alcoholic beverage shall be required in connection with such autographing.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, in addition to any point-of-sale advertising or other advertising items allowed under this division or under rules of the department, a winegrower, California winegrower’s agent, or wine importer, in advance of an instructional event for consumers being held at a retailer’s premises, may list in any advertisement for the instructional event the name, address, telephone number, email address, internet website address, and any other electronic media of the retailer, the names of the wines being featured at the instructional event, pictures, illustrations, and depictions of the retailer’s premises, personnel, and customers, and the time, date, and location of, and other information about, the instructional event, provided:

(1) The advertisement does not also contain the retail price of the wines.

(2) The listing of the retailer’s name, address, telephone number, email address, internet website address, and any other electronic media in the advertisement, and any pictures, illustrations, or depictions, are relatively inconspicuous in relation to the advertisement as a whole. Laudatory references to the retailer in these advertisements are not authorized. Pictures, illustrations, or depictions shall be still pictures, illustrations, or depictions only and shall not include any video. The reposting of social media posts, including posts by the retailer, is permitted provided that the reposting complies with all the requirements of this section.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the name, address, telephone number, email address, internet website address, and any other electronic media of a winegrower, wine importer, or winegrower’s agent licensee, the brand names of wine being featured, and the time, date, location, and other identifying information of a wine promotional lecture at retail premises may be listed in advance of the event in an advertisement of the off-sale or on-sale retail licensee.

(e) Nothing in this section authorizes a winegrower, wine importer, or winegrower’s agent licensee to share in the costs, if any, of the retailer licensee’s advertisement.

(f) Nothing in this section authorizes any person to consume any alcoholic beverage on any premises licensed with an off-sale retail license.