Wendel Rosen handles many transactional and litigation matters for clients in the wine, beer and alcohol beverage industry. The firm represents clients in various aspects of the alcoholic beverage industry, including growers, including many in organic and sustainable crop agriculture, as well as manufacturers, packers, storage and transportation providers, wholesalers and retailers.
Regulatory
The alcoholic beverage industry is highly regulated and includes many special considerations. For these types of businesses we advise in areas including:
- ABC licensing, recordkeeping and compliance
- Tied house regulations
- Labeling requirements
- Distributor and licensing agreements
- Proposition 65
Business Operations
For beer, wine and distilled spirits companies, we advise on every aspect of business operations, including:
- Business entity formation and ownership structures
- Capital raises and financing
- Succession planning for family-owned businesses, estate planning and wealth management matters
- Mergers, acquisitions and sales of businesses, real property or assets
- Intellectual property (trademarks and copyrights)
- Review of advertising, sweepstakes and contest materials
- Employment
- Wholesaling and retailing issues
- Insurance matters and coverage litigation
- Real Estate, environmental and land use
- Equipment leasing
- Sustainability and green business practices
Litigation
Our experienced litigators are ready to defend and protect your rights. When a competitor’s mark strays too close to your design or a supplier is in breach of a contract, Wendel Rosen’s attorneys will protect your market position. With experience successfully defending a range of business disputes for those in the alcohol beverage industry, we’ll help you make the strategic decisions to best protect your business interests.
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Recovered $1.8 million from one of the largest mechanical contractors in the U.S. who abandoned a winery project in Northern California. The total attorneys’ fees expended for the client in this matter were less than $125,000.
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Represented the owners of a Napa County vineyard in negotiating a settlement of a Cleanup and Abatement Order in which the agency initially sought penalties and site restoration that could have cost the client several million dollars. The final resolution required only an off-site mitigation program, which cost the owners $15,000.
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Advised major Napa Valley vintner on CEQA, wetlands and vineyard development permits.