Winepress - September 2024

Law benefits small wineries

New cellar door rules are passed in time for summer

BEV DOOLE

CHANGES TO cellar door law, passed by Parliament last month, are a game-changer for small companies such as Tūpari Wines in the Awatere Valley.

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Winery Cellar Door Tasting) Amendment Bill is now in force and allows cellar doors with an off-licence to charge for wine tastings. Previously only cellar doors with an on-licence and full food offering could charge for tastings.

The Bill, championed by Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith, also gives more flexibility around the definition of a cellar door. “We were really hamstrung by the previous law,” says Olivia Doonan, GM for Tūpari. “Under that legislation to

be a classified as a cellar door we had to be sited on our vineyard or at the place where our wine is made. That didn’t work for us because we make our wine at Tohu and our tasting room is in Seddon, 20km away from the vineyard. We could only get an off-premise licence and could not charge for wine tasting.”

Giving free samples did not stack up financially for Tūpari and other small producers, especially with cruise passengers who were unable to take wine back on to the ship. “We would hold tastings for cruise ship passengers who came to Seddon through eight bottles of samples and sold just two bottles of wine. We offer the love of wine and what we’re doing, but that’s not sustainable. We need to make some money too.”

Olivia is planning ahead for the summer season under the new rules. “We haven’t yet set what we will charge, but I prefer it when someone can taste all the wines for a flat fee. It encourages them to try something different apart from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. If we get a group of 20 and charged $10 each, that would cover our staff costs. And that’s a big thing compared with paying for staff, pouring free tastings, and getting no income.

“We won’t make a lot of money off the tastings but we will be able to access the tour groups, whereas previously we’ve tended to avoid them. Being able to charge for tastings

gives us the resources to manage the situation.”

The new rules set a tasting size at a maximum of 35ml, and requires snack food such as cheese and crackers, packets of chips, nuts, or olives to be available for purchase at the cellar door.

Olivia says many of the larger cellar doors are already settled with an on-premises licence where food is available, so the law change does not mean so much for them. But several made submissions to the select committee supporting the Bill as they could see the wider benefit to Marlborough wine tourism. Saint Clair Cellar Door and Restaurant was one of those.

“[This Bill] will help struggling Cellar Doors and may allow them or others to open up for more wine tastings, which would help with our workload,” said Ashley de Castro, manager of Saint Clair Cellar Door and Restaurant. “Having more venues to take more people for tastings over a very busy summer season is what many existing businesses like ours need,” he submitted.

Whitehaven Wine Company said the Bill would allow all winery cellar doors to better meet the needs of tourists, and allow wineries to better serve their business interests. “These changes will help enable wine tourism to develop its full potential, providing jobs and economic return. These amendments also remove complexity from the licensing regime, reduce unnecessary costs and support responsible consumption at winery cellar doors, which is already recognised as low risk.”

Local MP Stuart Smith pushed for the changes through a Private Member’s Bill, which was selected by ballot (the Bill number is literally pulled out of a biscuit tin).

“It was my idea, I sought help from the wine industry and NZ Winegrowers were very helpful in helping me draft the legislation as they had a lot of practial experience with the nuances of licensing laws around the country,” says Stuart. He encouraged submissions from the industry, but also worked to garner support from other MPs across all parties. “Green Party members all voted for the Bill, as did Act, NZ First and National. Labour treated it as a conscience vote. It was very heartening to have that support across the House to get the Bill passed.”

Stuart is pleased that finally wineries have some certainty, and in time for the summer. “The uncertainty around the nuances of licensing laws was as much an issue as not having the ability to charge for tastings. I know the difference it’s going to make to wineries, particularly the smaller ones. The wine tourist experience as a whole is going to be better off as a result of this Bill.”