Going Green: Sustainability Certification in California

Best Practices, Going Green, Wine and Beer2 Comments

A few weeks ago, I attended the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento. One of the seminars I attended dealt with sustainability, a topic that seems to be popping up with increasing frequency in the wine industry. Sustainability is an interesting concept, primarily because it lacks any single definition or set of criteria. And, when it comes to certifying your wine as “sustainable” there are several programs to choose from. Wineries need to do their research to uncover the criteria for each certification program, and evaluate which program best fits their current practices and goals for sustainability. One of California’s main sustainability programs is the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program. It advances and provides resources for practices that are “environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically viable.” Its certification program – Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW Certified) – provides third-party verification of a winery’s implementation and ongoing improvement of nearly 200 sustainability practices/criteria drawn from a publication called the “California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Workbook,” which is available for free to California vintners and winegrowers here. According to its literature and website, CCSW emphasizes conservation of water and energy, soil health, protection of air and water quality, employee/community relations, and the preservation of local ecosystems and wildlife habitat. Another third-party certified sustainable winegrowing program is Lodi Rules for Sustainable…

Sledding is Not Child’s Play Anymore: Public Agencies Balance the Risk of Litigation, Murphy Campbell a Sacramento law firm

Sledding is Not Child’s Play Anymore: Public Agencies Balance the Risk of Litigation

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The fear of litigation is causing some public agencies to prohibit activities which were once considered a normal part of childhood play. On January 7, 2015, the City Council in Dubuque, Iowa voted to ban sledding in almost all of its 50 parks. Other cities in the country have taken similar action, including: Des Moines, Iowa; Lincoln, Nebraska; Columbia City, Indiana; and various locations in New Jersey. While such actions are directly associated with child safety, often the biggest motivator for imposing such restrictions is fear of legal liability. For example, in Omaha, Nebraska, the family of a five year old was awarded $2.4 million dollars as a result of a sledding accident involving their child. In Boone, Iowa, a sledder was awarded $12 million dollars, and in Sioux City, Iowa, a sledder who crashed into a stop sign was awarded $2.8 million dollars. Those jury awards are noticed by other public agencies and their insurers. One study estimated that 20,000 children are injured per year in the USA, although most injuries are relatively minor. Avoiding litigation also has prompted various public agencies to modify playgrounds. In some areas, swing sets have been removed, such as in Cabell County, West Virginia, where a school district was confronted with two different lawsuits from the same parent…

Social Media is Advertising: Know the Basics

Best Practices, Licensing & Regulations, Wine and Beer1 Comment

There’s no question that social media is critical to marketing one’s product. For wineries, however, maintaining a social media presence comes with some serious restrictions. That’s because social media is considered advertising, and is subject to both federal and state regulations governing the advertising of alcoholic beverages. This post is intended to give you the basics on regulations governing the use of social media by wineries. It is, however, not exhaustive. If you have questions about whether something you want to post is permitted, it’s best to look into it or seek advice before posting, rather than risk an inquiry by the TTB or ABC. Federal regulations set forth both mandatory and prohibited content for any advertising. As for mandatory content, regardless of what social media platform you are using (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc.), you must post the name and address of the permittee responsible for the advertisement. This information does not need to be repeated in each individual post, but should be readily accessible to anyone visiting the page. The best place to put this information is in the “About” or “Profile” section of the page. If you are posting about a specific product, your post is required to have “a conspicuous statement of the class, type, or distinctive designation to which…