California Business and Professions Code

§ 25242

BPC § 25242 Effective Jan 1, 2007Div. 9 · Ch. 13 · Art. 3

Statute text

(a)(1) The Legislature finds and declares that for more than a century, certain California counties have been widely recognized for producing grapes and wine of the highest quality. Both consumers and the wine industry associate the names of those counties with the distinctive wine produced from grapes grown within those counties. If producers were to use the names of these counties on labels, for packaging materials, and in advertising for wines that are not made from grapes grown in the designated counties, consumers may be confused or deceived by these practices.

(2)It is the intent of the Legislature to assure consumers that the wines produced or sold in the state with brand names, packaging materials, or advertising that mention or refer to these California counties, in fact accurately reflect the origin of the grapes used to make the referenced wine.

(b)(1) No wine produced, bottled, labeled, offered for sale or sold in California shall use, in a brand name or otherwise, on any label, packaging material, or advertising, the name of viticultural significance listed in subdivision (c), unless that wine qualifies under Section 4.25 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations for an appellation of origin that is either Sonoma County or a viticultural area lying entirely within Sonoma County and includes that appellation of origin on the label, packaging material, and advertising for the wine.

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Legislative history

Added by Stats. 2006, Ch. 879, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007.