licensed domestic farm
wineries; requirements
HB 2012 allows domestic farm wineries to sell spirituous liquors in addition to their own wine.
A domestic farm winery is defined as one that yields between two hundred gallons and seventy-five thousand gallons of wine annually. Seventy five per cent of the grapes used must have been grown in Arizona. A person must apply for a license from the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control to operate a domestic farm winery. This license allows a domestic farm winery to produce wine and to sell wine only from that winery for consumption on or off the premises.
Arizona maintains a three-tiered system for those who produce and sell alcoholic beverages. The three tiers are producer, wholesaler and retailer. A person may not hold more than one type of license. An exception to this rule exists for domestic farm wineries and domestic microbreweries that are allowed to produce, wholesale and retail their own wine or beer. Currently, a domestic microbrewery is allowed to sell other spirituous liquors in addition to the beer it produces if it obtains an on-sale retail license.
These terms are defined in the Arizona Revised Statutes as follows:
Spirituous Liquor – Any beverage that contains more than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume. This includes hard alcohol, beer and wine.
Wine – A product obtained by fermentation of grapes or other agricultural products that contains less than 24 per cent of alcohol by volume. This includes port, champagne and sherry.