Section 340A.315 Farm Winery License - Minnesota Statutes

340A.315 FARM WINERY LICENSE.

Subdivision 1.Licenses.

The commissioner may issue a farm winery license to the owner or operator of a farm winery located within the state and producing table, sparkling, or fortified wines. Licenses may be issued and renewed for an annual fee of $50, which is in lieu of all other license fees required by this chapter.

Subd. 2.Sales.

A license authorizes the sale, on the farm winery premises, of table, sparkling, or fortified wines produced by that farm winery at on-sale or off-sale, in retail, or wholesale lots in total quantities not in excess of 50,000 gallons in a calendar year, glassware, wine literature and accessories, cheese and cheese spreads, other wine-related food items, and the dispensing of free samples of the wines offered for sale. Sales at on-sale and off-sale may be made on Sundays between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight. Labels for each type or brand produced must be registered with the commissioner, without fee prior to sale. A farm winery may provide samples of distilled spirits manufactured pursuant to subdivision 7, on the farm winery premises, but may sell the distilled spirits only through a licensed wholesaler. Samples of distilled spirits may not exceed 15 milliliters per variety.

Subd. 3.Applicability.

Except as otherwise specified in this section, all provisions of this chapter govern the production, sale, possession, and consumption of table, sparkling, or fortified wines produced by a farm winery.

Subd. 4.Minnesota products.

If Minnesota-produced or -grown grapes, grape juice, other fruit bases, or honey is not available in quantities sufficient to constitute a majority of the table, sparkling, or fortified wine produced by a farm winery, the holder of the farm winery license may file an affidavit stating this fact with the commissioner. If the commissioner, after consultation with the commissioner of agriculture, determines this to be true, the farm winery may use imported products and shall continue to be governed by the provisions of this section. The affidavit is effective for a period of one year, after which time the farm winery must use the required amount of Minnesota products as provided by subdivision 1 unless the farm winery holder files a new affidavit with the commissioner.

Subd. 5.

[Repealed, 1985 c 12 s 2]

Subd. 6.On-sale licenses allowed.

Nothing in this section or in any other section of law prevents a farm winery from obtaining a separate on-sale license and operating a business establishment that utilizes that license in conjunction with and within the physical facilities of the winery and its buildings.

Subd. 7.Distilled spirits permitted.

Farm wineries licensed under this section are permitted to manufacture distilled spirits as defined under section 340A.101, subdivision 9, which may exceed 25 percent alcohol by volume, made from Minnesota-produced or Minnesota-grown grapes, grape juice, other fruit bases, or honey. The following conditions pertain:

(1) no farm winery or firm owning multiple farm wineries may manufacture more than 5,000 gallons of distilled spirits in a given year, and this 5,000 gallon limit is part of the 50,000 gallon limit found in subdivision 2;

(2) farm wineries must pay an additional annual fee of $50 to the commissioner before beginning production of distilled spirits; and

(3) farm wineries may not sell or produce distilled spirits for direct sale to manufacturers licensed under section 340A.301, subdivision 6, paragraph (a).

History:

1985 c 12 s 1; 1985 c 134 s 1; 1985 c 305 art 5 s 15; 1Sp1985 c 16 art 2 s 3 subd 1; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1992 c 513 art 3 s 56; 2006 c 210 s 4-7; 2007 c 89 s 4; 2008 c 311 s 2,3; 2009 c 120 s 3,4