Three Napa Valley wineries—Hoopes Vineyard, Summit Lake Vineyards, and Smith-Madrone Vineyards & Winery—have sued the Napa County government over their right to free speech. Specifically, they say the county's "vague" and "ambitious" regulations regarding the organization and marketing of wine-tasting events infringe upon the winemakers' constitutional rights.
The complaint stems from recent changes to the county's winery database and permitting process, which includes the specific offerings available at each vineyard. According to the complaint (via SF Chronicle), the three wineries have been left off the list, meaning they are no longer allowed to host tastings, and were never notified of such changes.
In order to regain their wine-tasting-hosting rights, the wineries must enter a "voluntary compliance" program, which the vineyards claim will actually cost them millions of dollars in public improvements and legal fees.
Now for the "free speech" part. From Vine Pair:
The lawsuit also accuses Napa County of violating free speech on the grounds that the government cannot legally restrict businesses' rights to commercial speech — which includes marketing and advertising — unless the county has a reasonable pursuit in regulating it. As Napa County does not have clear-cut definitions for the terms "tastings" and "marketing," interpretation is left to county staff. Without such clarity, the county is able to change its restrictions freely, thus threatening to shut down allegedly non-compliant wineries as it sees fit.
Complaints about permitting processes dovetailed into accusations of free speech violations. How very Libertarian!
Previously:
• A Napa woman was arrested for selling fake Moderna vaccination cards
