Calif ABC Charges 37 Wineries & Major Distributor With Bottlerock 2013 Tied-House Violations

UPDATE: ABC appeals court decision delivers victory to wineries that contested BottleRock sanctions

Worth noting that the decision did not address the issue of the ownership of nested LLC chains.

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The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has charged 38 wineries with tied-house violations connected with their purchases of sponsorship rights for the 2013 Bottlerock Festival (BRF). 29 of those wineries have accepted some form of sanction according to documents provided by the ABC.

Ten cases are still pending before an administrative law judge or being appealed.

Wineries and other licensees involved ranged from small boutiques, iconic Napa Valley wineries and some of the largest names in the industry.

A spreadsheet of all the wineries and their status is available here for Wine Executive News premium subscribers.

Wine Executive News subscribers please click here to read the complete 2,517-word article and get your complete mind map password (thumbnail image at the very bottom of this page)

The following sections are available  to Wine Executive News premium subscribers

• Wineries Settle To Avoid Expensive Fight.

• ABC Says Wineries Should Have Been More Diligent

• What Does “Tied-House” Mean?

• What Both Side Can Agree Upon

• How Did Winery Sponsorship Funds Become Tied-House Violations?

• Wineries Insist Sponsorship Was Fair Market Value Purchase, Not Gift

• Wineries Fall Short On Proving Purchase-Versus-Gift

• Bottlerock’s Poor Record Keeping Thwarted Purchase Valuation

• Sloppy Bottlerock Accounting Helped Make The Sponsorships Illegal

•  Winery Due Diligence Hindered By ABC System Lapses

• The ABC’s Own Spelling Errors Would Have Given Uptown Theatre A Clean Slate

• Even The Calif Secretary Of State & LLC Owners Can’t Keep The Spelling Straight

•  With Correct Spelling, ABC’s LQS Won’t Deliver Premier

•  The ABC’s ABIS  System– Key Information Unavailable To The public

 

Other Premium Material Available Only To Wine Executive News Subscribers

In addition to the detailed mind map (referenced above) the following is available to Wine Executive News premium subscribers:

• A spreadsheet of all the wineries and their status is available here .
• A complete list of owners of Premiere Real Estate Investments LLC. is available here
• Complete ABC closing brief is available here.
• Complete winery response brief is available here.

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