Winegrowers: spirits of wine.

Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the application, issuance, and suspension of alcoholic beverage licenses. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of winegrowers and establishes the privileges that a winegrower may exercise. Existing law authorizes a winegrower, among other things, to produce spirits of wine and blend those spirits of wine into wine produced by the winegrower or sell those spirits of wine to an industrial alcohol dealer or a distilled spirits manufacturer. This bill would additionally authorize a winegrower to sell the spirits of wine that the winegrower produces to any person holding a license authorizing the manufacture or rectification of distilled spirits. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of craft distillers and authorizes a craft distiller to, among other things, manufacture and produce distilled spirits. Existing law defines "produce" for this purpose to mean "to mix, color, flavor, or blend distilled spirits, whether manufactured by the licensee or by another manufacturer of distilled spirits." This bill would expand this definition to include spirits of wine produced by a winegrower, as described above.