WWI News

WineAmerica members from around the country united to carry our messages to over 70 legislative offices, helping us protect and enhance the business climate for the American wine industry.

WWI joined WineAmerica’s Board of Directors, state association leaders, and other key winery members in Washington, DC to bring the American wine industry’s voice to Congress on the week of May 9. Representatives from thirteen different states came to Washington to spread the word about the Farm Bill, USPS Shipping, Nutritional Labeling, Music Licensing, among our 2023 issues. More than 70 Congressional meetings were held, and the entire group met with the senior TTB leadership.

WineAmerica Board Members Ryan Pennington of Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and Marty Clubb of L’Ecole No. 41, Josh McDonald of Washington Wine Institute, Dustin Tobin of Precept Wines, Mary Reimers of Washington Winegrowers with Congressman Dan Newhouse (WA-R), co-chair of the Congressional Wine Caucus.

We are fortunate to have two Washington wine leaders in Marty Clubb and Ryan Pennington serving on WineAmerica’s Board, which works year-round to advocate for the American wine industry. Congress also needs to hear directly from the businesses they represent to better understand how their policies impact those businesses on a daily basis. WWI will continue communicating our Washington delegation on the needs of Washington wineries, and we encourage all our members to also reach out to their US Senators and the Congressperson representing and let them know we need their help.

The Washington Wine Institute is excited to share that Governor Jay Inslee has signed SB 5448, which extends COVID-era allowances of cocktails to go for restaurants, wine home delivery, and takeout until July 1, 2025 for winery and wine restaurant licensees that have obtained the specific LCB endorsement. It also makes permanent the outdoor seating rules we accomplished in 2021, modernizing our ability to offer on-premise, outdoor wine service.

We will be involved in another round of rulemaking to continue to modernize outdoor seating. If you have any ideas on how to further improve these rules, please let us know by emailing marie@wwi.wine!

Open Positions on the Washington State Wine Commission – Letters of Interest For Producers and Distributor Seats Due April 28

Attention:  Washington State Wine Industry

The Washington State Wine Commission was created by the Washington State Legislature in 1987 to promote the growth of the wine industry. Its mission is to drive growth of Washington State Wine through Marketing, Communication, and Viticulture & Enology Research.

The Commission was constituted under the Washington State Department of Agriculture and is governed by an appointed board of commissioners.

The Commission board is composed of 12 voting members and one non-voting member who serve three-year terms:

1. five voting members shall be growers
2. five voting members shall be wine producers
3. one voting member shall represent the director of the State Department of Agriculture
4. one voting member shall be a wine distributor
5. one non-voting member is a producer of non-vinifera fruit wine

On June 30th, 2023 the terms of four members of the Wine Commission board will expire: two producers and two growers. In addition, one board position is vacant and will be filled during this process. Candidates must meet qualification requirements as outlined below.

Appointments [RCW 15.88.050(1)]:

The director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture shall appoint the members of the commission. In making such appointments, the director shall take into consideration recommendations made by the growers’ association and the wine institute as the persons recommended for appointment as members of the commission. The director usually makes appointment selections in early May for a July 1, 2023 start to the 3-year term.

Positions expiring on June 30th are currently occupied by:

1. Position 1: Producer over 1M gallons
2. Position 6: Small grower (less than 50 acres), who may also produce and sell wine
3. Position 11: Wholesaler
4. Position 12: Non-vinifera producer (non-voting seat) (this can be mead, fruit wines, cider above 8.5% abv)

Procedure

Pursuant to RCW 15.88.050, the Washington Winegrowers Association sends grower recommendations and the Washington Wine Institute sends wine producer and distributor recommendations to the Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture for appointment consideration. The Director usually communicates appointments in May for a July 1, 2023 start to the 3-year term.

If you are an interested, qualifying wine producer or distributor, please submit your letter of interest and biographical information by Friday, April 28th to WWI’s Executive Director, Josh McDonald, at josh@wwi.wine.

If you are an interested, qualifying grower, please submit your letter of interest and biographical information by Friday, April 14th to the Washington Winegrowers Association Executive Director, Vicky Scharlau, at vicky@wawinegrowers.org.

Candidates will be interviewed by the Association responsible for each open seat (reflected above) and recommendations made to the Director of Agriculture.

The ideal candidate will:

1. Meet RCW 15.88.030(4) requirements here.
2. Support the mission of the Wine Commission
3. Willing and eagerly fulfill duties and responsibilities of a Commissioner (see below)
4. Meet or exceed key qualifications (see below)

Potential candidates must meet the requirements, as outlined in the Commissioner Duties and Responsibilities and meet Mandatory Qualifications, both outlined below. Candidates will necessarily need to be supportive of the Vision of the Washington State Wine Commission and help to advance the Commission’s Mission; to raise awareness and demand for Washington State Wine through marketing and education while supporting viticulture and enology research to drive industry growth.

Commissioner Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Active involvement in commissioner board meetings and committee meetings through regular attendance and engagement in discussions. Serve on at least one committee (Marketing, Communications, Finance, Research) and participate in Commission events, activities and programs.
2. Lead with intention, inclusiveness and equity.
3. Represent and speak for the broad, diverse Washington wine industry, not for one’s own business nor any particular subset of the industry.
4. Have a clear understanding of the mission of the organization and be able to articulate its purpose and structure to the industry and general public.
5. Serve as an Ambassador for the Commission, educating the broader constituency about the Commission’s strategic direction and programming.
6. Be available to serve on committees and participate in Commission events, activities and programs.
7. Be knowledgeable about state agency governance rules and regulations, i.e., Open Public Meetings Act, State Ethics laws, wine and grape assessment process, etc.
8. Have a desire and openness to learn and adapt to new ways of thinking as the wine industry grows.

Mandatory Qualifications [RCW 15.88.030(4)]:

Each member of the Commission must be a citizen and resident of the state and over the age of twenty-one years.  Each member must be engaged in that phase of the growing or wine producing industry that he or she is appointed to represent, and during his or her term of office must derive a substantial portion of income from, or have a substantial investment in the growing of vinifera grapes or the production of wine from vinifera grapes as an owner, lessee, partner, or a stockholder owning at least 10% of the voting stock in a corporation engaged in the growing of vinifera grapes or wine production from vinifera grapes; or the manager or executive officer of such a corporation.  These qualifications apply throughout each member’s term of office.

Desired qualifications:

1. In-depth knowledge of viticulture and/or enology and/or the wine business at large. Global perspective of the wine business desired.
2. A high level of integrity.
3. A collegial and collaborative approach to decision making and problem solving.
4. Strong leadership and management skills.
5. Strong communication skills.
6. Solid understanding of, and a strong belief in the importance of V&E research.
7. A strong grasp of marketing principles and tactics.
8. Strong understanding of the various wine marketing channels, including trade, media, distribution, and the consumer.
9. Extensive contacts and relationships throughout the industry and in the broader community (both within Washington and beyond).
10. A strong record of participation or involvement in industry activities

Current Board of Commissioners includes:

1. John Ware, Rocky Pond Winery
2. Todd Newhouse, Upland Vineyards
3. Ryan Pennington, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
4. Sadie Drury, North Slope Management
5. Dick Boushey, Boushey Vineyards
6. Anna Mosier, House of Smith
7. Kade Casciato, Ciel du Cheval
8. Shylah Alfonso, Pomum Cellars
9. Courtney Elbe, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
10. Tom Dugan, DeLille Cellars
11. Lacey Lybecker, Cairdeas Winery
12. Rianne Perry, Washington State Department of Ag (WSDA rep.)

On March 15, the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) approved a Preproposal Statement of Inquiry (CR 101) to consider allowing Class 13 MAST permit holders, in areas not restricted to minors, to open and pour wine and beer from bottles or cans away from the table. This would entail amending WAC 314-17-015 and repealing, amending and creating rule sections in Title 314 WAC, or both as necessary.

The Washington Wine Institute requested this rulemaking after the MAST 13 permit additional allowances expired when pandemic regulations for operations ended in September of 2022. Click the links below to learn more or to submit a public comment to the LCB by April 17.

The Washington Hospitality Grant Program – brought to you by the Washington State Department of Commerce – is now accepting applications.  

This program offers one-time grants to eligible restaurants, hotels, motels and other qualifying businesses that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency or its negative economic impacts.

The grant program is intended to support eligible small businesses that can demonstrate a 25% reduction in gross receipts or sales as a result of the pandemic. A portion of funding will be directed to reimburse lodging establishments that experienced loss during the state’s eviction moratorium.

About the Grant Program

Begin your application for a Washington Hospitality Grant!
Restaurants, bars, caterers, food trucks, bakeries, lodging businesses and other small hospitality organizations are eligible to apply for a one-time grant award. Use the application checklist to guide you through the application process and APPLY NOW.

One of the biggest cutoff dates of the session happened March 8th, when all bills must be voted out of their respective chambers to be still “alive” and worthy of further consideration.

For WWI priorities this session, we are excited to share that a few of our top priority legislative proposals continue to move through the process while other very concerning bills we worked hard to educate lawmakers on the harm they would cause and to not support them moving forward by the March 8th cutoff.

HB 1258, a 300% increase in dedicated tourism funding for Washington State, passed the House 96-0.

SB 5448, our alcohol-to-go and outdoor seating modernization permanence bill, passed the Senate Wednesday afternoon (and just before the 5 PM cutoff deadline) by a vote of 38-10.

SB 5002, the .05 BAC bill, failed to receive a vote by the full Senate and for now appears to be no longer a consideration for this session.

Finally, HB 1131 a very long and comprehensive bill overhauling our waste management and recycling system died in the House Chamber.

As Washington State’s pandemic order was lifted as of September 30, 2022, temporary allowances for wineries that were in place have now expired. One we know of significant importance to our members was:

• The MAST 13 permit which allowed 18-20-year-olds to pre-pour samples, flights, and glasses of wine or beer for customers away from the customer’s table instead of having to pour wine or beer at the customer’s table. A person 21 years or older must be on duty supervising the sale. Washington Wine Institute is working with the LCB on rulemaking to make these changes permanent based on feedback from WWI members being favorable towards these allowances.

Curbside and home delivery is still allowed after the passage of HB 1480 in 2021 that created three-year temporary allowances for to-go sales from the tasting room, curbside service, and home delivery sales were allowed to continue.

COVID 19 Basic Requirements for All Workplaces 

The Washington Wine Institute has partnered with the Washington State Labor and Industries (L&I) agency for 2022-2023 to provide our members, and at certain times, the whole WA wine industry with educational opportunities and consistent communications on our state’s laws and rules around wages, labor practices, workplace safety, and all the elements of running a business that is regulated by L&I.

Today, we bring you a reminder of what L&I requires of all employers related to COVID-19.

At a minimum, all employers must do the following:

1. Keep workers known or suspected to have COVID-19 from working around others by following appropriate isolation guidance as outlined by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH).
2. Provide hand washing facilities and supplies, and regularly clean and sanitize surfaces.
3. Educate workers about COVID-19 prevention in the language they understand best.
4. Provide written notice of potential COVID-19 exposure within one business day to all workers, and the employers of subcontracted workers, who were at the same work site as a person who tested positive (without disclosing the person’s identity).
5. Report COVID-19 outbreaks to L&I within one business day when they involve 10 or more workers at a workplace or job site with more than 50 workers.
6. Address COVID-19 notification, reporting, and prevention measures in the employer’s workplace-specific, written Accident Prevention Program or equivalent safety program.
7. Allow workers to voluntarily wear masks (respirators, medical procedure masks, or cloth face coverings) and personal protective equipment (PPE) as long as it doesn’t create a safety or security issue.

Where masks are still required:

1. In health care settings, including long-term care settings (home/hospice) and correctional facilities.
2. The healthcare mask sign is also available in Russian, Spanish & Vietnamese.