The Georgia farm winery exemption is great for some, but unfair to others

I should definitely start this article by saying this is not a dig at wineries, cideries, and meaderies. The benefits they enjoy if they qualify for the Georgia farm winery exemption are awesome. However, the system is unfair to Georgia’s brewers and distillers as they cannot get the same exemption. At the end of the article I’ll list a few of Georgia’s wineries, cideries, and meaderies – show them some love.

What is the farm winery exemption?

The farm winery exemption is a special license that gives qualifying businesses an exemption to the three-tier system. The written regulations use the term “winery’ so going forward I’ll use that to apply to any business that could qualify; including wineries, meaderies, and cideries. It allows them to operate differently than distilleries and breweries. Let’s look at what qualifies a business for the exemption and then I’ll break down what this means for them.

A winery which makes, 40 percent of its annual production from agricultural produce grown in the state where the winery is located, and;

Is located on the premises of that farm, a substantial portion of which is used for agricultural purposes, including growing agricultural produce to use in their wine, or;

Is owned and operated by persons who are engaged in the production of a substantial portion of the agricultural produce used in its annual production

What does the farm winery exemption allow?

The biggest benefit to businesses that qualify for the exemption is that they can sell the products they make at their facility – samples, full pours, on-site, to-go, whatever they want. They can also be granted a license to “make retail sales of… the wine of any other Georgia farm winery in tasting rooms at the winery and at up to five additional locations in the state.” That must be nice.

Here’s the real kicker though… a farm winery can also be allowed to sell “distilled spirits, malt beverages, and wine” in any county or municipality where it is lawful to do so, for consumption in its tasting rooms, provided they purchase through a licensed wholesaler. A brewery cannot sell their beer on site, however a farm winery can sell beer on site. There is a cidery in Georgia that is located less than 1/2 mile from a popular Georgia brewery. The cidery sells that brewery’s beer at its tasting room for consumption on site, the brewery that makes the beer does not sell their beer on site… because it is illegal in the state of Georgia for them to do so.

Farm wineries can also self-distribute.

This part is a bit convoluted, but it does allow self-distribution for farm wineries. The regulations say the commissioner may authorize a farm winery to sell up to 24,00 gallons (774 barrels) per calendar year of its wine at wholesale within the state, provided it has first offered that wine to a licensed Georgia wholesaler and such wholesaler does not accept the wine within 30 days of such offer. While this doesn’t seem like much, because if a wine is going to sell then it’s likely a wholesaler would take it, it does allow a farm winery some protection if their wholesaler chose not to take an order.

The exemption is great, but the same laws should apply to brewers and distillers.

The farm winery exemption is great for those that qualify. It can make operating such a business much more profitable in Georgia. As we’ve mentioned on the show before, brewers in neighboring states are 2.5x more profitable than Georgia’s brewers due to their more reasonable laws. Allowing brewers and distillers here to operate the same way as the wineries do could spur growth of smaller businesses that may not have the financial resources to start a larger brewery that’s only allowed to sell tours or send their beer to a wholesaler. These small brewers could serve the people in their community – providing jobs and revenue. Some may choose to stay small and just serve their local area, but many others would grow and expand and need the services of Georgia’s wholesalers to get their product out to other locations. Better laws would not kill Georgia’s wholesalers, the growth that could be seen by easing restrictions would benefit every tier of the three-tier system.

Also, in the eyes of the end consumer, it’s confusing. It may make complete sense to some folks who work under the Gold Dome, but try to explain to a tourist that while you can buy cider, mead or wine directly from the source, beer is off-limits.

It’s time to change the laws to make it easier, financially feasible, and streamlined – so our craft brewing industry can create more jobs and more revenue….and more great beer.

Not all of Georgia’s cideries are created equal

Urban Tree Cidery is one of our guests this week on Beer Guys Radio, you can listen to the show Saturday 05/07/16 at 1:00 PM. We taped the show Wednesday evening and I learned that the cidery rules are even more complex than I realized. The regulation of cideries varies based on the ABV of their beverages as well as their status as a farm winery. Where Urban Tree qualifies for the farm winery exemption, Treehorn Cider in Marietta does not, so they are regulated as though they were a craft brewery. However, they cannot produce cider above 6% ABV as that would be beyond the state’s definition of a “malt beverage”. For a little more insight into the differences check out this article from Atlanta Magazine.

Support Georgia’s Wineries, Meaderies, and Cideries

I’ve got no issue with the businesses that operate under the farm winery exemption. What they are able to do makes perfect sense, I’d just like to see something similar for Georgia’s brewers. Here are a few wineries, meaderies, and cideries in Georgia. Go out there and show them some love.

Locations with tasting rooms:

Urban Tree Cidery | Atlanta, GA (Urban Tree will be our featured guests on this week’s show.)

(Urban Tree will be our featured guests on this week’s show.) Viking Alchemist Meadery | Marietta, GA

Frogtown Cellars | Dahlonega, GA (I don’t know anything about wine but Google tells me Frogtown is pretty good. The also have additional tasting rooms in Helen and Hahira.)

In addition, Monk’s Mead , Treehorn Cider, and JC Bulldog Hard Cider are made in Georgia but do not currently appear to have tasting rooms.

Sources

Nancy Palmer, Executive Director of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild

Atlanta Beer: A Heady History of Brewing in the Hub of the South – by Ron Smith & Mary O. Boyle

Georgia Department of Revenue: Alcohol Licensing Regulations: Farm Winery

Draftmag.com: Georgia’s brewers speak out on battle over beer laws