§60-8-6d. Wine retailer, wine specialty shop, private wine restaurant, private wine bed and breakfast, private wine spa, Class B retail dealer, private club restaurant, private manufacturer club, Class A retail licensee, and Class B retail licensee’s authority to sell wine growlers.
(a) Legislative findings. — The Legislature hereby finds that it is in the public interest to regulate, control, and support the brewing, manufacturing, distribution, sale, consumption, transportation, and storage of wine and its industry in this state to protect the public health, welfare, and safety of the citizens of this state and promote hospitality and tourism. Therefore, this section authorizes a licensed wine retailer, wine specialty shop, private wine restaurant, private wine bed and breakfast, private wine spa, private club restaurant, private manufacturer club, Class A retail licensee, or Class B retail licensee to have certain abilities in order to promote the sale of wine manufactured in this state for the benefit of the citizens of this state, the state’s growing wine industry, and the state’s hospitality and tourism industry, all of which are vital components for the state’s economy.
(b) Sales of wine. — A licensed wine retailer, wine specialty shop, private wine restaurant, private wine bed and breakfast, private wine spa, private club restaurant, private manufacturer club, Class A retail licensee, or Class B retail licensee who pays the fee in subsection (h) of this section and meets the requirements of this section may offer wine for retail sale to patrons from the licensed premises in a sealed wine growler for personal consumption off of the licensed premises, and not for resale. Prior to the sale, the licensee shall verify, using proper identification, that any patron purchasing wine is 21 years of age or over and that the patron is not visibly intoxicated. The nonprorated, nonrefundable annual fee to sell wine growlers is $100.
(c) Retail sales. — Every licensee authorized under this section shall comply with all the provisions of this article as applicable to wine retailers when conducting sales of wine in a wine growler and is subject to all applicable requirements and penalties in this article.
(d) Payment of taxes and fees. — A licensee authorized under this section shall pay all taxes and fees required of licensed wine retailers, in addition to any other taxes and fees required, and meet applicable licensing provisions as required by this chapter and by rule of the commissioner.
(e) Advertising. — A licensee authorized under this section may advertise a particular brand or brands of wine and the price of the wine, subject to state and federal requirements or restrictions. The advertisement may not encourage intemperance or target minors.
(f) Wine Growler defined and requirements. — A licensee authorized under this section shall use the wine growler definition and requirements in §60-8-6c(g) and §60-8-6c(h) of this code.
(g) Wine Growler labeling and sanitation. — A licensee authorized under this section shall label and sanitize wine growlers as set forth in §60-8-6c(i) and §60-8-6c(j) of this code.
(h) Complimentary samples. — A licensee authorized under this section may provide complimentary wine growler samples to a person intending to purchase a wine growler which may be no greater than two fluid ounces per wine growler sample and a wine growler sampling shall not exceed three complimentary two fluid ounce samples per patron per day. A licensee authorized under this section providing complimentary wine samples shall, prior to providing any samples, verify that the patron sampling wine is 21 years of age or older and that the patron is not visibly or noticeably intoxicated.
(i) Limitations on licensees. — A licensee under this section may only sell wine growlers during the hours of operation set forth in this article. Any licensee licensed under this section shall maintain a secure area for the sale and filling of wine in a wine growler. The secure area shall only be accessible by the licensee. Any licensee licensed under this section is subject to the applicable penalties under this article for violations.
(j) Non-applicability of certain statutes. — Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, licensees under this section are permitted to break the seal of the original container for the limited purpose of filling a wine growler or providing complimentary wine samples as provided in this section. Any unauthorized sale of wine or any consumption not permitted on the licensee’s licensed premises is subject to penalties under this article.
(k) Rules. — The commissioner may propose legislative rules for legislative approval, pursuant to §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, to implement this section.
