SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed two wine-related measures authored by North Coast State Senator Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa).

Senate Bill 806, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2011, allows for the return of wine taken out-of-state where the wine was purchased from a holder of a beer and wine wholesaler's license or an off-sale retail license that only sells wine.

According to Wiggins, SB 806 is “a consumer bill which will allow consumers to return wine to any winemaker without regard to the winemaker's license.”

Existing law only allows consumers to return wine to winegrowers with an ABC Type 02 (winegrower) license. Over the past several years, hundreds of virtual wineries holding a combined Type 17 and Type 20 license sell wine to customers for use out of state.

Wiggins added that “a license category should have no bearing on consumer's ability to return wine. Updating the law to clarify that consumers can return wine to holders of beer and wine wholesaler and off-sale beer and wine licenses will clarify the law and simplify the process for consumers wishing to return wine.”

Schwarzenegger also signed Wiggins’ SB 1096, which likewise goes into effect next January.

SB 1096 makes various technical and code maintenance changes to several provisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act to keep up with modern technology, including existing direct inquiry provisions to include any electronic inquiries from consumers.

Existing law, known as the "tied-house" law, separates the alcoholic beverage industry into three component parts, or tiers, of manufacturer (including breweries, wineries and distilleries), wholesaler, and retailer (both on-sale and off-sale).

According to Wiggins, the complex restrictions of the ABC Act's tied-house laws make it difficult for wine and brandy manufacturers to utilize simple, modern ways of responding to consumer inquiries. She notes that current law “references electronic internet inquiries which could be narrowly construed to prohibit other types of electronic communications - such as texting.”

Under existing law, a response to a direct inquiry from a consumer received by telephone, by mail, by electronic Internet inquiry or in person does not constitute a thing of value or prohibited inducement to the listed on-sale or off-sale retailer. Therefore, SB 1096 is simply intended to modify the current restrictions to include, "electronic inquiry," instead of just "electronic Internet inquiry."