SB358 Alabama 2012 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Gerald O. Dial

Republican

Co-Sponsor

Tom Whatley

Session

Regular Session 2012

Title

Farm wineries, licensing, fees, distribution, and sale of wine, Secs. 28-3-1, 28-7-13, 28-7-18 am'd

Summary

SB358 would create and regulate farm wineries in Alabama, enabling licensees to operate multiple locations, distribute and sell wine to retailers and consumers, and impose a new tax structure on table wine.

What This Bill Does

It adds a farm winery license with a $150 fee and defines farm wineries as limited manufacturers. It allows farm wineries to open up to two additional locations, conduct all permitted premises activities without needing to manufacture or bottle at each site, purchase wholesale table wine and beer for on-site use, fortify wine with brandy up to 24% ABV, and sell table wine outside Alabama where allowed. It lets farm wineries sell up to 50,000 gallons of fermented table wine to board licensees, offer samples at certain events, and sell on-site to licensed retailers. It also introduces an excise tax of 0.45 per liter on wine sold retail from the manufacturer or as samples, with related tax collection and distribution to the board and local governments, and provides a renewal option for some current wine manufacturers to convert to a farm winery license without reapplication.

Who It Affects

• Farm wineries (existing and potential) would gain a new license category, expanded location rights, broader selling and sampling opportunities, and new tax obligations.
• Wine retailers, wholesalers, importers, counties, and municipalities would interact with the new licensing framework, potentially collecting local license taxes and the state excise tax, while consumers would be affected by the new per-liter excise tax on table wine.

Key Provisions

• Creates a farm winery license with a $150 annual fee and allows counties or municipalities to levy a limited local license tax up to half the state fee.
• Defines farm winery as a limited manufacturer producing up to 250,000 gallons of wine annually and authorizes two additional farm winery locations beyond the primary license location.
• Allows farm wineries to purchase wholesale table wine and beer for on-premises consumption, fortify wine with brandy up to 24% ABV, and sell table wine outside Alabama where allowed by other states.
• Permits farm winery to sell and deliver up to 50,000 gallons of fermented table wine to board licensees and to sell samples at up to five off-premises events per year, with required event listing and license display.
• Authorizes on-premises sales of fermented table wine produced at the winery to licensed retailers by the bottle or case.
• Defines fermented table wine as wine produced and bottled by the farm winery.
• Imposes an excise tax of 0.45 per liter on table wine sold retail on the manufacturer premises or dispensed as samples, with 38 cents per liter remitted to the board and 7 cents per liter to the local county or municipality; tax collection is monthly.
• Provides that taxes on farm winery table wine are in lieu of other state, county, or municipal taxes measured by sale volume, except general sales tax still applies.
• Current wine manufacturers producing under the farm winery capacity may renew as a farm winery license without reapplication during the renewal period.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 25, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Alcoholic Beverages