Winegrowers and small wineries split on bills to allow wine-by-the-glass and shared production

Committee members heard extended testimony on two companion bills, S41 12 and S41 13, proposing to allow certain New Jersey wineries to sell wine by the glass at winery-operated sales rooms and to permit supplemental production off the primary farm or cooperative production among wineries.

David Wollam, owner of Old York Cellars and a past chair of the Garden State Winegrowers Association, testified in favor and described a 20% drop in New Jersey winery sales from 2021 to 2023 and structural constraints on small producers. He said permitting wine-by-the-glass at operated sales rooms and allowing production at non-adjacent supplemental facilities would help small agritourism businesses remain viable. "Wine by the glass is a much better way to go," Wollam said, adding the reforms would help downtown outlets and reduce waste from opened bottles.

A speaker identified as the manager and winemaker for Rebel Sheep Wine Company (a small Morris County farm winery) testified in strong opposition, saying the changes would favor larger wineries and create unfair competition for micro-producers required to hold three acres of land to qualify for a winery license. "As a new smaller winery producing under 2,000 gallons per year, this will directly hurt my business and allow larger wineries to create a monopoly in the industry," the speaker said, urging the committee to reconsider.

Other farm and agritourism stakeholders suggested amendments to allow breweries, cideries and preserved farms to share products for Jersey Fresh promotions. Committee members encouraged outreach between sponsors and affected small producers because the bills were slated for discussion only and not a vote at this hearing.

Next steps: sponsors and industry groups were urged to meet with small producers to negotiate language before any committee vote.