Agreements for Acquisitions and Operations
We can (and do) draft winery, vineyard, hotel, and restaurant purchase and management agreements. However, more often, we are special counsel, drafting only the documents that pertain specifically to the licensed alcoholic beverage operations.
These agreements can be useful for winery proprietors who wish to reduce operating costs by sharing their winery premises with other bonded wineries in alternating proprietor arrangements. We also create agreements that allow wineries to use "estate" designations on farmed and purchased grapes. Our special counsel work is particularly useful for hotel owners who prefer that their professional management companies become licensed and operate under the alcoholic beverage licenses used at the hotel.
We have:
- Negotiated appropriate language for winery alternating proprietor agreements with TTB at a time when they were threatening to disallow the use of host winery employees for routine cellar tasks.
- Drafted vineyard development and management leases that allow the use of "estate grown" designations by the managing winery.
- Produced a concession agreement form for hotel managers that complies with the ABC statutory requirements while maintaining the parties' intended relationships and economics.
- Pioneered the use of interim alcoholic beverage agreements for use in today's challenging state regulatory environment, in particular, those times when ABC offices are inundated with applications and encumbered by delays.
Contact: Lynne Carmichael
