Good news for wine tourism as Bill passes

New Zealand Winegrowers is welcoming the passing of a Bill that will streamline the process for wineries to sell samples at their cellar doors.

It has congratulated Stuart Smith MP and Parliament on the passing of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Winery Cellar Door Tasting) Amendment Bill following its third reading.

The Bill had been drawn in September 2022 and was proposed by Smith, National MP for Kaikōura, whose electorate encompasses the major wine region of Marlborough.

The changes will allow winery cellar doors with an off-license to charge for providing samples of wine, which were previously only able to be given away for free, making it difficult for wineries to cover the costs of providing these experiences.

“These changes will make a difference”, says Philip Gregan, CEO of New Zealand Winegrowers. “The Bill brings legislation on winery cellar doors into the 21st century. It recognises the contribution made by winery cellar doors to the tourism offering in New Zealand’s wine regions and enables wineries to charge for providing their tourism experience.

“It is positive that the legislation will be in force ahead of the busy summer season,” adds Gregan, “which was one of our requests to the Select Committee when hearing submissions on the Bill. We thank them for the timely consideration of the Private Members Bill.”

Gregan says that they expect this change will create new jobs and tourism experiences to encourage visitor growth. “During the submission process the Select Committee heard directly from our members that this change will help them to cover their costs and encourage other members to open new winery cellar doors that would otherwise have not been an economic proposition.”

Winery cellar doors will continue to observe host responsibility practices, including a maximum sample size of 35ml, meeting the new requirements to have snack food available for purchase and for water to be freely available.