By JACK HEEGER
The American Canyon Eagle
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 12:03 AM PDT

Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a bill Friday that will allow all vintners in California to pour their wine at events sponsored by charitable organizations.

Thus ended a year-long campaign to change the law that prevented wineries that had certain types of licenses from pouring at any events attended by consumers.

The bill was sponsored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), whose district encompasses Napa and Sonoma Counties and who represents a major portion of the affected vintners.

The old law affected about 1,400 vintners statewide that do not have brick-and-mortar facilities, hundreds of which are located in Napa Valley — though until recently few, if any, knew that such a law existed. Those wineries hold Type 17 (wholesaler) and Type 20 (retailer) licenses. Only holders of Type 02 licenses were legally permitted to pour their wines at consumer events.

In May 2006 several vintners with 17/20 licenses were cited by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at an event in Tiburon, and faced a 15-day suspension or a fine based on a percentage of sales.

Three Napa Valley vintners who were cited — Eagle Eye Wines, StoneFly Vineyards and Elkhorn Peak Cellars — decided to fight the citations, not because they felt they weren’t guilty of breaking the law, but to call attention to the law and the need to change it.

At first the ABC told the vintners that not only could they not pour wine, but they could not donate wine to charitable events attended by consumers. But a few weeks later the ABC announced that it had re-interpreted the law and ruled that donations were okay, though pouring was still prohibited.

Bill Wolf of Eagle Eye rallied other vintners and nonprofit organizations whose fundraising events would be affected, and began to contact various industry organizations, including Napa Valley Vintners and the Wine Institute. He also contacted Evans, who introduced legislation intended to fix the problem. Aiding her in writing the proper wording were members of the ABC staff.

The bill, like all legislation, took a long time to wend its way through myriad committees before it could reach the floor of the Assembly and Senate; in every vote, there was not a single dissenting voice, which indicated that everyone saw the inequity in the law.

Normally after a bill is signed by the governor following approval by both houses of the legislature, it doesn’t take effect until Jan. 1 of the following year. But Evans submitted an amendment to allow it to take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

“All vintners are now free to donate and pour their wares for a good cause,” Evans said in a prepared statement. “This new freedom will unleash a new wave of generosity across our state. Government should not place obstacles between charities and those who support them.”

“We knew the way the law was written was wrong for the community,” Wolf said. “It was just a bad law that needed to be changed to support nonprofits and family wineries. What we did (in appealing the citations) was the right thing to do.”

Claudia Sansone of StoneFly Vineyards, another of those who appealed the citations, agreed. “I feel honored to be part of the trio of wineries that marched forward for the betterment of our industry,” she said. “It’s good to be able to give back to the community and be within the law. We’re grateful to (Noreen) Evans for pushing this through.”

Last year the California wine industry made more than $115 million in charitable contributions.