16105212D
SENATE BILL NO. 758
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social
Services
on February 5, 2016)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Black)
A BILL to amend and reenact §4.1-219 of the Code of Virginia,
relating to alcoholic beverage control; farm winery license.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §4.1-219 of the Code of Virginia is amended and
reenacted as follows:
§4.1-219. Limitation on Class A and Class B farm wineries.
A. For Class A farm winery licensees, at least 51
percent of the fresh fruits or agricultural products used by the owner
or lessee to manufacture the wine shall be grown or produced on such farm and
no more than 25 percent of the fruits, fruit juices or other agricultural
products shall be grown or produced outside the Commonwealth.
B. For Class B farm winery licensees, 75 percent of the
fresh fruits or agricultural products used by the owner or lessee to
manufacture the wine shall be grown or produced in the Commonwealth and no more
than 25 percent of the fruits, fruit juices or other agricultural products
shall be grown or produced outside the Commonwealth. No Class B farm winery
license shall be issued to any person who has not operated under an existing
Virginia farm winery license for at least seven years.
C. Farm winery licensees may trade fruits or agricultural
products grown or produced on such farms with other farm winery licensees. For
the purposes of this section, fruit or agricultural products traded or
exchanged between farm winery licensees shall be considered grown or produced
on the receiving farm for the purposes of meeting the fruit sourcing
requirement in subsections A and B, provided that verification is provided to
the receiving farm that the fruit or agricultural products traded or exchanged
were grown or produced in the Commonwealth by the farm winery licensee engaging
in such trade or exchange. Both licensees shall maintain complete and accurate
records of the quantity and source of any fruit or agricultural products traded
or exchanged. Such trades or exchanges shall be bona fide transactions based on
the fair market value of the fruits or agricultural products traded or
exchanged. For the purposes of this subsection, "agricultural
products" means the raw materials used or intended to be used in the
manufacture of wine or cider by farm winery licensees.
D.However Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsections A and B, upon petition by the Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services, the Board may permit the use (i) of a greater quantity of
out-of-state products if supplies grown or produced in the Commonwealth are
insufficient for a farm winery licensee, whether Class A or Class B, to achieve
the level of production which otherwise could be anticipated during a given
license year or (ii) by a Class A farm winery of a lesser percentage of
products grown or produced on the farm if unusually severe weather or disease
conditions cause a significant reduction in the availability of fruit or other
agricultural products grown or produced on the farm to manufacture wine during
a given license year. As used in this section, the terms "owner" and
"lessee" shall include a cooperative formed by an association of
individuals for the purpose of manufacturing wine. The term "farm" as
used in this section includes all of the land owned or leased by the farm
winery licensee as long as such land is located in the Commonwealth.
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