A4025

An Act concerning winemaking and amending R.S.33:1-10 and R.S.33:1-75.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. R.S.33:1-10 is amended to read as follows:

33:1-10. Class A licenses shall be subdivided and classified as follows:

Plenary brewery license. 1a. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse. The fee for this license shall be $10,625.

Limited brewery license. 1b. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages in a quantity to be expressed in said license, dependent upon the following fees and not in excess of 300,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per year and to sell and distribute this product to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse. The fee for this license shall be graduated as follows: to so brew not more than 50,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $1,250; to so brew not more than 100,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $2,500; to so brew not more than 200,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $5,000; to so brew not more than 300,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per annum, $7,500.

Restricted brewery license. 1c. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to brew any malt alcoholic beverages in a quantity to be expressed in such license not in excess of 3,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons capacity per year. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.33:1-26, the director shall issue a restricted brewery license only to a person or an entity which has identical ownership to an entity which holds a plenary retail consumption license issued pursuant to R.S.33:1-12, provided that such plenary retail consumption license is operated in conjunction with a restaurant regularly and principally used for the purpose of providing meals to its customers and having adequate kitchen and dining room facilities, and that the licensed restaurant premises is immediately adjoining the premises licensed as a restricted brewery. The holder of this license shall only be entitled to sell or deliver the product to that restaurant premises. The fee for this license shall be $1,250, which fee shall entitle the holder to brew up to 1,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons per annum. The licensee also shall pay an additional $625 for every additional 1,000 barrels of 31 fluid gallons produced. No more than two restricted brewery licenses shall be issued to a person or entity which holds an interest in a plenary retail consumption license. If the governing body of the municipality in which the licensed premises will be located should file a written objection, the director shall hold a hearing and may issue the license only if the director finds that the issuance of the license will not be contrary to the public interest. All fees related to the issuance of both licenses shall be paid in accordance with statutory law.

Plenary winery license. 2a. Provided that the holder is engaged in growing and cultivating grapes or fruit used in the production of wine on at least three acres on, or adjacent to, the winery premises, the holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to produce any fermented wines, and to blend, fortify and treat wines, and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter and to churches for religious purposes, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse, and to sell his products at retail to consumers on the licensed premises of the winery for consumption on or off the premises and to offer samples for sampling purposes only. The fee for this license shall be $938. The holder of this license shall also have the right to sell such wine at retail in original packages in six salesrooms apart from the winery premises for consumption on or off the premises and for sampling purposes for consumption on the premises, at a fee of $250 for each salesroom. Additionally, subject to rules and regulations, one salesroom per county may be jointly controlled and operated by at least two plenary or farm winery licensees for the sale of the products of any plenary or farm winery licensee for consumption on or off the premises and for consumption on the licensed premises for sampling purposes at an additional fee of $625 per county salesroom. For the purposes of this subsection, "sampling" means the selling at a nominal charge or the gratuitous offering of an open container not exceeding one and one-half ounces of any wine.

For the purposes of this subsection, "product" means any wine that is produced, blended, fortified, or treated by the licensee on its licensed premises situated in the State of New Jersey.

Any holder of a plenary winery license who sold wine which was produced, bottled, and labelled by that holder in a place other than its licensed New Jersey premises between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1993, may continue to sell that wine provided no more than 25,000 cases, each case consisting of 12 750 milliliter bottles or the equivalent, are sold in any single license year. This privilege shall terminate upon, and not survive, any transfer of the license to another person or entity subsequent to the effective date of this 1993 amendatory act or any transfer of stock of the licensed corporation other than to children, grandchildren, parents, spouses or siblings of the existing stockholders.

Farm winery license. 2b. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to manufacture any fermented wines and fruit juices in a quantity to be expressed in said license, dependent upon the following fees and not in excess of 50,000 gallons per year and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter and to churches for religious purposes and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse and to sell at retail to consumers for consumption on or off the licensed premises and to offer samples for sampling purposes only. The license shall be issued only when the winery at which such fermented wines and fruit juices are manufactured is located and constructed upon a tract of land exclusively under the control of the licensee, provided that the licensee is actively engaged in growing and cultivating an area of not less than three acres on or adjacent to the winery premises and on which are growing grape vines or fruit to be processed into wine or fruit juice; and provided, further, that for the first five years of the operation of the winery such fermented wines and fruit juices shall be manufactured from at least 51% grapes or fruit grown in the State and that thereafter they shall be manufactured from grapes or fruit grown in this State at least to the extent required for labeling as "New Jersey Wine" under the applicable federal laws and regulations. The containers of all wine sold to consumers by such licensee shall have affixed a label stating such information as shall be required by the rules and regulations of the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The fee for this license shall be graduated as follows: to so manufacture between 30,000 and 50,000 gallons per annum, $375; to so manufacture between 2,500 and 30,000 gallons per annum, $250; to so manufacture between 1,000 and 2,500 gallons per annum, $125; to so manufacture less than 1,000 gallons per annum, $63. No farm winery license shall be held by the holder of a plenary winery license or be situated on a premises licensed as a plenary winery.

The holder of this license shall also have the right to sell his products in original packages at retail to consumers in six salesrooms apart from the winery premises for consumption on or off the premises, and for sampling purposes for consumption on the premises, at a fee of $250 for each salesroom. Additionally, subject to rules and regulations, one salesroom per county may be jointly controlled and operated by at least two plenary or farm winery licensees for the sale of the products of any plenary or farm winery licensee for consumption on or off the premises and for consumption on the licensed premises for sampling purposes only, at an additional fee of $625 per county salesroom. For the purposes of this subsection, "sampling" means the selling at a nominal charge or the gratuitous offering of an open container not exceeding one and one-half ounces of any wine.

Unless otherwise indicated, for the purposes of this subsection, with respect to farm winery licenses, "manufacture" means the vinification, aging, storage, blending, clarification, stabilization and bottling of wine or juice from New Jersey fruit to the extent required by this subsection.

Wine blending license. 2c. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to blend, treat, mix, and bottle fermented wines and fruit juices with non-alcoholic beverages, and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse. The fee for this license shall be $625.

Instructional winemaking facility license. 2d. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to instruct persons in and provide them with the opportunity to participate directly in the process of winemaking and to directly assist such persons in the process of winemaking while in the process of instruction on the premises of the facility. The holder of this license also shall be entitled to manufacture wine on the premises not in excess of an amount of 20% of the wine produced annually on the premises of the facility, which shall be used only to replace quantities lost or discarded during the winemaking process, to maintain a warehouse, and to offer samples for sampling purposes only on and off the licensed premises for the purpose of promoting winemaking for personal or household use or consumption. Wine produced on the premises of an instructional winemaking facility shall be used, consumed or disposed of on the facility’s premises or a premises utilized for sampling purposes or distributed from the facility’s premises to a person who has participated directly in the process of winemaking for the person’s personal or household use or consumption. The holder of this license also shall be entitled to serve alcoholic beverages for consumption at events held on the premises of the facility for the purpose of promoting winemaking for personal or household use or consumption. The holder of this license may sell mercantile items traditionally associated with winemaking and novelty wearing apparel identified with the name of the establishment licensed under the provisions of this section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the holder of this license from permitting a person to use the licensed premises for an event or affair, including an event or affair at which a plenary retail consumption licensee serves alcoholic beverages in compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations promulgated by the director. The fee for this license shall be established by the director. For the purposes of this subsection, "sampling" means the selling at a nominal charge or the gratuitous offering of an open container not exceeding one and one-half ounces of any wine.

Plenary distillery license. 3a. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to manufacture any distilled alcoholic beverages and rectify, blend, treat and mix, and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse. The fee for this license shall be $12,500.

Limited distillery license. 3b. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to manufacture and bottle any alcoholic beverages distilled from fruit juices and rectify, blend, treat, mix, compound with wine and add necessary sweetening and flavor to make cordial or liqueur, and to sell and distribute to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution and to warehouse these products. The fee for this license shall be $3,750.

Supplementary limited distillery license. 3c. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to bottle and rebottle, in a quantity to be expressed in said license, dependent upon the following fees, alcoholic beverages distilled from fruit juices by such holder pursuant to a prior plenary or limited distillery license, and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse. The fee for this license shall be graduated as follows: to so bottle and rebottle not more than 5,000 wine gallons per annum, $313; to so bottle and rebottle not more than 10,000 wine gallons per annum, $625; to so bottle and rebottle without limit as to amount, $1,250.

Rectifier and blender license. 4. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to rectify, blend, treat and mix distilled alcoholic beverages, and to fortify, blend, and treat fermented alcoholic beverages, and prepare mixtures of alcoholic beverages, and to sell and distribute his products to wholesalers and retailers licensed in accordance with this chapter, and to sell and distribute without this State to any persons pursuant to the laws of the places of such sale and distribution, and to maintain a warehouse. The fee for this license shall be $7,500.

Bonded warehouse bottling license. 5. The holder of this license shall be entitled, subject to rules and regulations, to bottle alcoholic beverages in bond on behalf of all persons authorized by federal and State law and regulations to withdraw alcoholic beverages from bond. The fee for this license shall be $625. This license shall be issued only to persons holding permits to operate Internal Revenue bonded warehouses pursuant to the laws of the United States.

The provisions of section 21 of P.L.2003, c.117 amendatory of this section shall apply to licenses issued or transferred on or after July 1, 2003, and to license renewals commencing on or after July 1, 2003.

(cf: P.L.2004, c.102, s.1)

2. R.S.33:1-75 is amended to read as follows:

33:1-75. a. The director may, subject to rules and regulations, issue special permits authorizing the manufacture by a person who is 21 years of age or older, within a home or other noncommercial premises, of wines or malt alcoholic beverages in quantities not exceeding 200 gallons per calendar year for the person's personal or household use or consumption.

b. The director may, subject to rules and regulations, issue special permits authorizing the manufacture of wines in an instructional winemaking facility by a person who is 21 years of age or older, residing within or without this State, in quantities not exceeding 200 gallons per calendar year for the person's personal or household use or consumption.

c. The director shall, by regulation, establish a reasonable fee to cover the costs incurred in issuing the special permits required by this section.

d. A person manufacturing wines or malt alcoholic beverages pursuant to this section shall not be liable for any tax imposed under the "Alcoholic beverage tax law," R.S.54:41-1 et seq.

(cf: P.L.1991, c.302, s.1)

3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the third month after enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill creates a new “Instructional Winemaking Facility License” to be issued to facilities that teach winemaking. The holder of this license may instruct persons in and provide them with the opportunity to participate directly in the process of winemaking, and assist them in that process, on the premises of the facility. The fee for this license is to be established by the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The bill also permits the holder to manufacture a limited amount of wine on the premises to be used only to replace quantities lost or discarded during winemaking and to offer samples for sampling purposes on and off the licensed premises for the purpose of promoting winemaking for personal use or consumption.

Wine produced on the premises of an instructional winemaking facility is to be used only on the facility’s premises or a premises utilized for sampling or distributed to a person who has participated in winemaking for that person’s own household or personal use.

The bill also permits the license holder to serve alcoholic beverages for consumption at events, sponsored by the license holder or another person, held on the premises of the facility for the purpose of promoting winemaking for personal or household use and consumption. The bill further permits the use of the facility by a person other than the licensee for an event or affair, including events and affairs at which a plenary retail consumption licensee (e.g. a caterer) serves alcoholic beverages in compliance with all applicable statutes and regulations.

Under current law (R.S.33:1-75), a person age 21 or older may manufacture up to 200 gallons of wine annually at home or on a commercial premises. At present, the director will not issue this permit to persons who are not New Jersey residents. This bill authorizes the director to issue a permit to manufacture wine on the premises of an instructional winemaking facility to persons who reside in New Jersey or any other state.