Wine labeling: “American” or “United States” appellation.
AB 1585
California Bills
20250AB__158598AMD INTRODUCED 2026-01-14 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-04-08 REVISED 2026-05-14 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Members Connolly and Ransom (Coauthors: Assembly Members Kalra, Macedo, Pellerin, Rogers, Wallis, Ward, Wilson, Flora, Jeff Gonzalez, and Hadwick) (Coauthors: Senators Hurtado and McNerney) LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Connolly LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Ransom COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Kalra COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Macedo COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Pellerin COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Rogers COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Wallis COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Ward COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Wilson COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Flora COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Jeff Gonzalez COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Hadwick COAUTHOR SENATE Hurtado COAUTHOR SENATE McNerney
An act to amend
Section of, and to add
Section 25243.5 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. alcoholic beverages Wine labeling: “American” or “United States” appellation. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages and the granting of licenses for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages within the state. A violation of the act is generally a misdemeanor.
The act imposes specified labeling requirements for containers of alcoholic beverages sold within this state, including prescribed requirements for the use of appellations from specified geographic regions in California. The act generally provides that these labeling requirements do not preclude the use of a label containing a truthful, nonmisleading appellation of origin or geographic description that complies with federal appellation law, except as specified.
Existing federal law authorizes the use of the appellation “American” if at least 75% of the wine is derived from fruit or agricultural products grown in the United States, as specified. This bill, notwithstanding the above-described provisions and for wine bottled on or after July 1, 2027, would prohibit the use of the appellation “American” or “United States” on wine produced, bottled, labeled, offered for sale, or sold in California unless 100% of the wine is derived from grapes or agricultural products grown in the United States, as specified.
The bill would authorize the department to seize any wine in California that is labeled or packaged in violation of this prohibition and would make related findings and declarations. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
MAJORITY NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (
a) According to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, more than percent of respondents expressed concern about climate change in their purchasing decisions and percent said they would pay more to support the land and environment. (
b) A Packer Fresh Trends survey found that percent of consumers said that they make a conscious effort to buy locally grown or regional produce. (
c) Consumers have come to expect American wines to be produced under some of the strongest labor and environmental laws in the world. This is because percent of American wine is from California, approximately percent of California winegrape acres are certified sustainable, and more than percent of California’s wine production comes from sustainable certified wineries. This makes California a global leader in sustainable winegrowing practices. (
d) When surveyed by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, 77 percent of Americans said they prefer to buy goods made in the United States. (
e) Senate Bill 1004 (Holmdahl),
Chapter of the Statutes of 1961, codified California’s “Made in the U.S.A.” law, making it unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association to sell or offer for sale any merchandise that is labeled as being made or manufactured in the United States when any article, unit, or part of the merchandise has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States. (
f) In January 2011, the California Supreme Court described the importance of truthful and accurate claims of domestic origin, stating, “In particular, to some consumers, the ‘Made in U.S.A.’ label matters. A range of motivations may fuel this preference, from the desire to support domestic jobs, to beliefs about quality, to concerns about overseas environmental or labor conditions, to simple patriotism. The Legislature has recognized the materiality of this representation by specifically outlawing deceptive and fraudulent ‘Made in America’ representations. The object of
Section 17533.7 ‘is to protect consumers from being misled when they purchase products in the belief that they are advancing the interests of the United States and its industries and workers.’ (Sen. Holmdahl, sponsor ... letter to Governor Brown, May 23, 1961) [‘There are many Americans who feel that American-made articles are of higher quality, and who rely on the “Made in U.S.A.” label’].
The Legislature evidently recognized some companies were using or might be tempted to use inaccurate ‘Made in America’ labeling, that some consumers might be deceived by and rely on it, and that consumers and competitors who honestly made their wares in the United States and marketed them as such were being or would be harmed.” (Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court (2011) 51 Cal.4th 310, 329. Internal citations omitted.) (
g) In a challenge to
Section 17533.7 of the Business and Professions Code, the United States District Court held that the California labeling law did not violate the dormant commerce clause. (Clark v. Citizens of Humanity, LLC (2015) 97 F.Supp.3d 1199). (
h) California produces an average of percent of total United States wine production. This makes California the dominant force in the American wine industry, even though other states also produce and consume wine. In hearing a case challenging California’s wine labeling law, the California Supreme Court ruled, “...
We conclude that the state’s interest in protecting California wine consumers from misleading brand names and preserving and maintaining the reputation and integrity of its wine industry as a result of the use of such brand names in out-of-state and foreign market outweighs the indirect and temporary effect of [Section of the Business and Professions Code] on out-of-state wine consumers. Accordingly, we hold that [Section] 25241 does not violate the commerce clause.” (Bronco Wine Co. v. Jolly (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 988, 1028). (
i) Under existing law, when a consumer purchases wine labeled as “American” or “U.S.A.,” 25 percent of the grapes used to make that wine could actually have been grown in South America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, or elsewhere. Based on the label, those consumers may believe the wine is produced domestically, and most likely in California, but the bulk wine in that bottle could have actually been shipped thousands of miles, creating a significant carbon footprint in putting that wine on California shelves and could have been produced in a country that has lesser labor or environmental laws than in California. (
j) While federal labeling laws for an American Viticultural Area (AVA) allow for percent of the wine to come from outside that AVA, state law for use of “California” or a subregion in California requires that the percent must still be from California. For several decades, state law has required that any wine labeled as “California” or labeled with any AVA or county in California is made from percent fruit grown in California. However, the “American” wine label has no national, continental, or even hemispheric restrictions as to the origin of the percent that is not from the United States. (
k) This measure is intended to provide truth in labeling for American wine so that consumers are aware of the origin of the wine and can make an informed choice when determining whether to purchase domestic or imported wine.
SEC. 2.
Section of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 25243. Except as provided in
Section 25243.5, this
article does not preclude a wine from using, on any label, packaging material, or advertising, either (
a) a truthful, nonmisleading appellation of origin that complies with
Section 4.25(
c) of Title of the Code of Federal Regulations governing multicounty appellations, or (
b) a truthful, nonmisleading statement as to the geographic location of the wine’s stated appellation or appellations of origin that is located in not more than two counties, for which the wine qualifies under applicable federal law, or both the appellation of origin and the statement of geographic location; provided that the label, packaging material, or advertising contains no other use of a name of viticultural significance, in a brand name or otherwise, that is prohibited by
Section or 25242.
SEC.
Section 25243.5 is added to the Business and Professions Code , to read: 25243.5. (
a) Notwithstanding any other law, a wine produced, bottled, labeled, offered for sale, or sold in California shall not indicate an appellation of “American” or “United States” on any label, brand name, packaging material, or advertising unless percent of the wine is derived from grapes or agricultural products containing natural or added sugar grown in the United States. (b)
(1) For purposes of this section, an indication of an appellation of “American” or “United States” includes, but is not limited to, use of the phrases “American wine,” “USA wine,” or “United States wine.”
(2) For purposes of this section, an indication of an appellation of “American” or “United States” does not include use of the phrases “North American wine,” “Central American wine,” or “South American wine.” (
c) The department may seize any wine located in California that is labeled or packaged in violation of this
section and may dispose of the wine pursuant to
Section 25355. (
d) This
section applies only to wine that is bottled on or after July 1, 2027.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of