Rebecca Stamey-White presents Emerging Issues in Wine Law

On Wednesday, February 18th, Rebecca Stamey-White gave a continuing legal education presentation to the Business Law Section and Intellectual Property Committee of the Palo Alto Area Bar Association (PAABA) on Emerging Issues in Wine Law.  During her presentation, Rebecca gave an overview of the complicated legal history of alcohol beverage regulation in the United States; a primer on tied house law, the three-tier system and investment/investor qualification considerations; and discussed other issues that may affect business and intellectual property counsel working with wineries and other licensee clients. Rebecca covered some of the emerging trends in the industry, including recent legal shifts in the regulation of private and control labels, the growth of unlicensed third party providers (such as online marketers, special event companies and local delivery platforms), the legal complications facing wineries advertising on social media and the growth of the legal cannabis industry and how it may affect California wineries if cannabis is legalized in the state.  The presentation was well-received with a lively discussion from the participants and of course was complemented with wine tasting, which always pairs best with wine legal education!