CHEERS! BROWN SIGNS BILL TO ALLOW WINE TASTING AT FARMER'S MARKETS
July 8, 2014 (Sacramento)—Now you can sip a chardonnay or sample a sangiovese while perusing produce and other food items at your local farmer’s market. Starting immediately, a new bill signed into law today by Governor Jerry Brown legalizes wine tasting at farmer’s markets for winemakers.
The new law opens up opportunities for dozens of wineries that have sprouted up in San Diego’s East County and even more countywide.
Tastes will be limited to 3 ounces per person under Assembly Bill 2488, which passed the Legislature unanimously. Wine tasting must be separated from other areas at the markets by a rope or other barrier.
Previously, estate-grown wines could be sold—but not sampled--at farmer’s markets. The wine industry contended that this hurt sales, since customers are accustomed to trying wines before they buy.